The Great Resignation-Key takeaways for Employers
As the year 2021 progressed and the impact of the great Resignation started to become visible, organizations across the globe suddenly woke up to the harsh reality of losing their key talent all at once. The impact on business was direct without and any lag and the organizations realized they had to move fast or they risked losing their competitive advantage i.e. their key talent. Many organizations tried a variety of strategies to stem the tide ranging from trying to match an offer an employee had from a competitor to offering retention bonuses to key talent to offering promotions to those denied earlier. However, all of these had a very limited impact in controlling the tide of the Great Resignation and eventually most organizations shifted focus to replacement hiring rather than retention to meet the growing demand. Having said that, a few organizations were more successful in plugging the leak. The following strategies really stand out when it comes to retention and loyalty:
Benchmarking compensation- No one can deny the importance of right compensation in attracting and retaining talent. Most organizations realize this and do benchmark their compensation against their industry peers, keeping in mind their own business models and the constantly changing market dynamics. However, what is also true is that benchmarking once done very soon gets outdated through either new entrants in the industry or through market forces of supply and demand. Therefore organizations need to revisit their benchmarks frequently to ensure that their compensation standards reflect the market reality and are applied equally to all rather than a few who are able to make the system work for them. We all know that there is nothing more frustrating for an employee, when he/ she feels they are not being valued fairly. Having said that, fair compensation alone is certainly not an elixir that will set the house in order on its own.
Enabling True Employee Growth- every organization takes pride in having a great performance appraisal process. One that is transparent and objective and is able to deliver results. A few years back many organizations moved away from a comparison based evaluation, at least on paper. The system was thought to be unfair to individuals as the performance of individuals was compared against their peers and everybody was ranked to meet the organization’s bell curve. Now most organizations practice an individual goals based performance evaluation. However, the rankings continue to remain in some shape and form and are still very much used to determine how individuals are rewarded. It is just that they are not communicated directly and as always, opinion is divided as to the merit of this strategy.
Irrespective of whether you do an absolute or a relative performance assessment, what is missing is the fact that most employees still do not get meaningful feedback at the right time. Most often feedback lacks objectivity and is provided when it is too late to be actioned. Many people managers take the easy route by sugar coating performance concerns with softer messages or deliver them in a roundabout manner, as they are not comfortable in delivering a tough message, fearing their own discomfort. This is even more harmful in the longer run as an individual never gets to understand his growth areas clearly and an opportunity for real growth is lost. This is true at all levels. We can see this from the attrition data of any company from the junior most to the mid senior level.
Giving direct, constructive and meaningful feedback makes all the difference between caring for the employee growth and saving your back. We see so many examples of people leaving organizations after putting in a decade or even longer years of service, because of hitting a roadblock and not knowing how to get past the same. These are talented and hardworking people, hitting a roadblock and not knowing how to take their careers to the next level. The easiest way to do that is to look elsewhere, which in many cases gives their careers a short-term fillip, but no more! and the story repeats after a few years; While most companies offer a great variety of learning courses and interventions for their employees, very few companies are investing in developing their people managers, who need to get better in the art and science of people management which if done rightly can go a long way in changing the tide. If there is one thing that will make a difference in the long run, it is this ability to truly care for your people and take people growth as passionately as we do business growth.
Making Work meaningful- the pandemic has made us realize the fragility of life and the need to live in the present. We saw in the first part of the blog post, vast majority of people want to live a life where work gives them meaning, but does not define them. It is important for organizations to understand this sentiment and adapt themselves to this new reality where work and life co-exist, each part complimenting the other and not competing with the other. In the digital age where life never stops and neither does work, how do you strike the right balance? The emergence of digital age has provided us immense benefits in all aspects of life including work. Benefits such as the flexibility to choose our work location, define our own work timing and even chose our own teams makes it easy for us. While some may see this flexibility as a benefit, others may see the flexibility coming at a great cost, where the boundary of work & life vanishes. Whichever camp you may belong to, one thing is sure that organizations have to provide the flexibility in work. At the same time, the apparent costs of the same do not outweigh the benefits! The other undeniable reality of the digital world is blurring of boundaries between work and life. Organizations need to make sure employees are provided multiple avenues to bring their life to work, whether it is about following their passion in Sport, Music, Arts or Community Service. The good part is, more and more organizations are embracing this new reality and integrating life into work, thereby delivering on the promise of making work meaningful.
While there is no magic wand, (there never can be), organizations, which are practicing the above, are seeing better results. The decision is still wide open and the last word on the great Resignation is still to be written!
In the final part of the series, we will look at some of the ways employees can make hay, while the sun shines.
Views welcome, as always.
For those, who missed the first part, you can find it here.
