3 Things Employers Can Do Now to Stop Top Talent Leaving

We’ve all heard of The Great Resignation. In 2021, as many as one in four employees quit their jobs for various reasons.

Their rationale ranged from the logistical – they no longer wanted to go into the office after remote work became possible – to the philosophical – workers realized their missions and jobs didn’t align.

The pandemic led to what’s being called a new era in the workplace. Employees are still most likely to quit their jobs in search of better pay, but other factors also attract them. These include more flexibility, a better work-life balance, and more calm.

The Great Resignation is something of a misnomer. Workers aren’t just quitting their jobs; they’re looking for better ones, even if they liked their previous jobs. So, innovative companies are focusing on the significance of these resignations: employees are re-imaging what role work should play in their lives.

These mass resignations beg the question: what can executives do to retain their employees?

They can start thinking about the trend following The Great Resignation for CEOs and other executives: The Great Re-Evaluation.

Here, we’ll talk about some of the common sources of workers’ dissatisfaction – and what you need to consider about your workplace culture to avoid losing employees.

Focus on Collaboration, Values, and Onboarding

According to Tiffany Chelsvig of DISQO, executives need to consider three elements to meet workers’ demands. These include changing conceptions of the physical and virtual office, company values, and effective onboarding.

The office isn’t just a physical space anymore.

Instead, the “office” should be both a physical and virtual space that prioritizes building connections among employees.

“Our office spaces should better enable team interactions, and our technology stacks should better enable online collaboration. This creates a hybrid solution that accommodates both our remote and in-person needs,” Chelsvig writes.

The second of these changes involves prioritizing mission- and values-driven work. Leaders should work with their teams to identify these aspects; a company’s values shouldn’t be top-down. Instead, teams can identify values by connecting with all levels of the workforce and creating a resonant mission.

The last of these changes in onboarding. When new staff is hired, they need to be adequately trained to ensure their longevity at the company.  

“Employers should ensure that new team members feel welcomed, connected, and included and that they are creating value. Today’s new, flexible work environment can make onboarding even more challenging, so managers need to be methodical with their approach,” said Chelsvig.

Build in Ways to Identify Workforce Discontent

There is no one-size-fits-all reason that workers quit. That’s why it’s important to bake in regular assessments – often stay interviews – with employees to ensure that they’re satisfied with the conditions o their employment.

“Stay interviews also give you the opportunity to understand what your team members think satisfaction with the company looks like and assess whether you can meet their expectations,” said Paul McDonald for Forbes.

Then, executives can be better informed about what would motivate their employees to stay at the company. For instance, they may want to learn new skills they could use to advance in their roles. Others may ask for more flexibility to support their work-life balance, while others might identify a conflict or a company culture hindering their productivity.

So, checking in with the employees you have – rather than overemphasizing recruitment – can make them feel like your priority.

Understand Employees’ Interest in Work-Life Balance

Not all employees are interested in commuting long distances to work in an office. Others want flexible work options so they can pay less for childcare, for instance. This reflects a seismic shift: employees now recognize that their lives are not all about work. 

Employers were willing to make accommodations for workers during the pandemic, but the ones that will get through the Great Resignation most seamlessly are those that those changes are here to stay. 

Nickle LaMoreaux, Chief Human Resources Officer at IBM, explains that most IBMers adopted a “Work from Home Pledge,” a social contract that encouraged staffers to prioritize workers’ lives outside the office. Now that some staffers are moving back to the office, at least on a part-time basis, the company plans to shift again – but keep the same mentality that employees’ lives aren’t all about work. 

“Taking the best of pre-pandemic work models and the new models learned during the pandemic to be more intentional about where and when work gets done – making room for remote work and in-the-office collaboration to serve clients, drive innovation, and support employees,” she said. 

Making the Most of the Great Re-Evaluation

The Great Resignation saw many workers leaving their positions in favor of more flexibility or values-based opportunities. Companies should envision this mass resignation as an opportunity to re-tool their policies to be more aware of post-pandemic trends in the world of work. 

For instance, they should create physical and virtual offices that promote collaboration. They can also connect with employees to consider how to make their jobs more values-driven and flexible and onboarding new workers more appropriately. 

Executives should also make more time to understand what would keep their employees at the companies and what would force them to re-assess. 

The next stage of the Great Resignation is undoubtedly the Great Re-Evaluation. What will you do to make your employees feel more valued and less stressed?