The Great Resignation: How Can Employers Prepare?

Understanding The Great Resignation

What's behind the Big Quit? Could the substantial unemployment benefits be the reason? Or could employees seek better job opportunities?

According to recent reports, millions of people have left their jobs across various industries in the US. "The Great Resignation" is a phenomenon impacting businesses everywhere. Many experts attribute this trend to several factors, including the shift towards remote work, a reassessment of career goals, and the pursuit of more fulfilling job opportunities. Technological advancements and changing workforce demographics have also significantly influenced employee expectations and priorities.

Let's analyze the situation in depth and determine the probable reasons for the great resignation.

What's Behind the Great Resignation?

Some reasons that we can think of include the following:

Better Opportunities: Employees seek higher pay, improved benefits, and career advancement.
Entrepreneurial Ventures: Experienced professionals are starting their own businesses.
Work-Life Balance: There is a greater demand for flexible working conditions and remote work options.
Burnout and Mental Health: Awareness of mental health issues and burnout has driven many to seek healthier work environments.
Technological Advancements: New job opportunities and career paths are emerging due to rapid technological change.
Changing Workforce Demographics: Gen Z's entry into the workforce brings new values prioritizing meaningful work and personal fulfillment.

According to a recent survey by HR Executive, 1,500 full-time US workers who started jobs in 2023 cited burnout (45%) as the main reason for leaving their job.

Josh Bersin on “The Great Resignation”

“This is not a Great Resignation; it’s a Great Migration.”

Josh says that the financial return on investment in people is greater than ever. He further explains that nearly 90% of the jobs in the US are service-centered, which means they add value through their human touch and care.

Therefore, companies need to ramp up their employee experience plan and capitalize on career pathways and the internal development of the workforce.

Suggestions for HR Professionals and Organizations

How can HR teams help overcome the tidal wave of "The Great Resignation" and end the labor crisis? Here are a few suggestions that might help the organization worldwide.

1. Provide a Fantastic Employee Experience

Employee experience has garnered favorable attention in the past year and a half. It is primarily due to the burnout employees face for several reasons. What is employee experience all about?

Employee experience summarizes an employee's viewpoint about your organization. It comprises how employees in your organization perceive the company culture over a certain period.

A great employee experience can bring visible benefits such as a broader talent pool, enhanced retention rates, and increased revenue.

Therefore, providing an excellent employee experience can make all the difference.

How is employee experience significant in recruitment?

A good EX will affect all recruitment areas, including screening, engagement, and retention. Studies reveal that many employees leave the organization within six months of joining it.

A great onboarding experience can significantly contribute to an employee's stay at the organization. It can change the perception of the employees towards the company. Here are some ways for a superior employee experience:

Strive for a fantastic onboarding experience
Invest in employee wellness
Offer rewards and compensation
Improve internal communication
Review employee feedback

What happens when employers give priority to employee health and well-being? A good employee becomes an invested employee when companies focus on employee well-being.

Josh Bersin Quote (800 x 450 px)

2. Skills-based Hiring

The recent wake of things has changed all industries' hiring paradigms. Hybrid work models have replaced the full-time-on-site jobs and given the much-required flexibility to employees to work remotely.

Similarly, employers have changed their strategies for hiring and onboarding new hires. Skills-based hiring has outdone the conventional approach to educational qualifications and four-year degrees.

How can RChilli help you find the right talent?

RChilli Taxonomy promotes skill-based hiring with its comprehensive collection of skills, job profiles, and related information. It currently provides 3 million+ Skills and 2.4 million+ Job Profiles in multiple languages.

Taxonomy enables you to understand better how to hire the right talent by helping you create skill profiles, conduct skill gap analysis and enhance your resume/job searching capability.

3. Invest in HR Technology

We live in the 21^st century, where there’s no room for half-hearted attempts of employers to make their employees happy. Are your employees working with centuries-old HR software and hardware? Do they sleep while waiting for the software to find them suitable for the open position?

If you answered yes to any of the above, it’s high time to give your employees the appropriate tools and the latest technology to do their jobs efficiently. Consider investing in advanced HR tools, such as an AI-powered resume parser.

The modern HRTech solutions not only help to streamline the recruitment process but also help recruit top talent.

Conclusion

Will offering higher salaries to candidates solve the problem?

Money is crucial, and we all need to pay the bills. Wouldn't it be nice to have extra dollars to buy that expensive car you wished for the new year? Sure, it would be.

But don't think money will bring back labor; it would be short-term come back even if they do return. They may eventually quit because of burnout, leaving you in a lurch.

It's not money that Millennials and Gen Z are running after. Instead, they want to be well-compensated and be treated respectfully by their employers. It's the mental health and work-life balance that matter to them.

Let us know how your organization prepared for the great resignation.