Savvy Leaders Use Great Resignation To Their Advantage
FRESH CONTENT
The Great Resignation, when millions of Americans left their jobs in 2021, continues well into 2022. For great leaders, the flux of the Great Resignation is giving way to a new paradigm of employer-employee relations. Is the Great Re-Engagement the new normal in the workplace?
Understanding Who is Leaving the Workplace and Why
The Great Resignation movement's primary demographic is the 30-45 range. This is a valuable chunk of employees, industry veterans, middle managers, and those poised to take over C-level positions soon. This group has decades of working potential ahead of them but is different from other working generations. They value work-life balance more than ever and understand their worth as skilled leaders.
These are your core employees, those who are flexible, adaptable, and, after two years in economic flux, more in tune with what they want. Two primary drivers fuel the job departures for this age group:
- Leaving was already part of the plan, but the uncertainty of 2020 placed plans on hold
- Many realized they can successfully do a career pivot, and their status quo isn't meeting their needs
For businesses to make the most of workforce activity and movement, they need to identify what great talent wants and then authentically provide it.
What Does Top Talent Truly Want?
First, take stock of what your company offers regarding work-life balance and a flexible working environment. Second, evaluate your company culture. Are you an inviting place to work? Is your management team engaged with employees? What perks do you offer, and are they actually what new employees want?
Evaluate the roles in your company and each one's impact on the bottom line. Consider reorganizing people within the company to match their skillsets and ambitions better. Many of your loyal employees may appreciate the opportunity for a lateral move to round out their skill set and make themselves better candidates for promotion. If you find that there are people in roles they aren't suited for, now is the time to either find a job or team they'll thrive in or gracefully transition them out.
Reassess, Realign, and Restructure
Movement is normal in the workplace, and many industries have cyclical periods of flux. As a savvy business leader, you should be prepared for this and have a plan to ensure smooth transitions of employees out of the workplace and onboarding of new hires.
You can take advantage of the Great Resignation, looking at it as an opportunity to see where your company's current position is in your field and what potential you have to offer workers what they truly need – an understanding of their need for a better work-life balance, and flexibility to look at their productivity instead of the time spent physically on the job, whether it's in the office or logged in and working from home.
Bottom Line
The sheer volume of people making changes means you have the chance to get the cream of the crop, as long as you demonstrate that your company offers growth potential, not just for linear promotions but also opportunities to learn other aspects of your business, such as training in both the sales side and operations side or in-house employee development courses that can teach "soft skills" like leadership.
Your company should be seen as a place that's not just shiny and new but as a place where employees will be professionally challenged and rewarded.