Turning the Tide on the Talent Tsunami

By Brad Federman

Finally, the pandemic is receding and people are returning to work.  Wait! A record 4 million people quit their jobs in April alone?  More Americans are quitting their jobs than we have seen within the past 20 years.   One survey from Monster found that 95% of workers are considering changing jobs and Microsoft research found that 41% of workers globally are thinking of leaving before the year is out.  A stark shift from a year ago when millions of Americans lost their jobs.   Call it ‘The Great Resignation’, ‘The Great Reshuffling’ or ‘The ‘Turnover Tsunami.’  The big questions are:

1. What is going on?  
2. What has changed?; and
3. What can we do about it?

What is going on?

The world changed and we are never going back to the way it was.  Events unfold every once in a while that shape a generation.  The Great Depression, Pearl Harbor, Watergate, the Moon Landing, the Fall of the Berlin Wall, Challenger Disaster, 9/11, and now COVID-19.  

During the pandemic many people went through a mindset change causing their values and priorities to shift.    The impact of the pandemic was profound.  Certain people were dealing with issues of isolation as well as mental and emotional stress. Others felt guilty because they were doing well while people they knew were suffering, front line workers experienced brutal work conditions and hours, and many became accustomed to a walk down the stairs as their commute and working in their pajamas. A migration occurred because it no longer mattered where you lived, people lost loved ones never being able to see them or mourn for them in their traditional manner, many lost their jobs and feared their later years would be negatively impacted, and so much more.  Moments like this cause people to reevaluate what is important to them, what they are willing to and not willing to trade, and how they want to live their life.  Moments like these change hearts and minds.  We have not witnessed anything quite like this before.  There are few parallels to be pointed at, none of them recent.  

What has changed?

Work is no longer about a paycheck.  It has to pay for more than the bills.  Work is now about accommodating one’s life, life-goals and values.  Work is now an expression of who we are and what is important to us.  Work is about being valued and being treated fairly.  Many employees are burnt out, want a sense of balance and need to create an experience that highlights self-value.   And while a paycheck is not enough, workers are demanding they be paid fair and livable wages.  In essence, Americans are finally saying that they want to ‘Work to live and not live to work.’   People had a taste of flexibility and the ability to manage the personal and the professional. They do not want to lose that ability.  

Certain employees are quitting without having another job and choosing a lack of security.  As we return to work people are resigning as a health precaution for themselves or to protect those around them.  

Childcare has created challenges for employees as we congregate at the office again.  Those with children want to maintain flexibility in order to support their families post pandemic.  That means they desire scheduling time at home and maintaining flexibility.  

Many have moved and cannot return to the office.  They moved to a place that was more cost effective for them, that had the lifestyle they truly wanted, for a better climate, to be close to family, and more.  They do not want to give that newfound benefit up.  

What can we do about it?

1. We must first recognize that the world changed and so did we.  Sometimes it is difficult to recognize how we have been affected by recent events, but we must recognize the impact the pandemic has had on society as a whole.  Our employees today are not the same employees they were prior to Covid-19.
2. Know that the ability for you to retain your workforce is a differentiator that will impact your revenue, profitability, and customer loyalty/retention.  Employee retention is a business issue and right now it is one of the most important issues affecting business success.  
3. Not all employees are equal.  Their impact and performance, the difficulty to replace that person or train a new employee in that role, and their potential capability will help determine where you need to invest your time and energy.  
4. Understand that the reasons why people stay and why they leave are different.  Compensation, for instance, can cause people to leave if it is low, but is rarely the reason for sticking around.  Work factors such as job security, benefits, work environment, interesting work all impact retention in some way.  Get clear on all of the work factors that are making a difference, positive or negative, in your workplace.  
5. Recognize that managers have a great deal of influence on retention well beyond their leadership style.  Help them determine what is within their sphere of influence.  Too often managers rely on the organization when they can make a difference themselves.  
6. Help managers identify attrition triggers such as downsizing, return to work efforts, bonuses being paid out and more to be more cognizant of potential departures.  Manty trends regarding attrition are predictable when you know what to look for.  
7. Train your managers on picking up on early warning signals employees demonstrate such as changes in behavior, changes in performance, divorce, and death in the family.  These early warning signals should provide managers insight and time to address prior to a person deciding to leave if they are paying attention.    
8. Train managers on how to hold a Stay conversation and an Early Warning Signal conversation.  A proactive effort that focuses on why people want to stay at your organization or why someone may be thinking about leaving will generate an intent to stay when executed properly.  
9. Train managers on how to proactively and productively address the team when someone leaves. Transparency, openness, and the ability to express concerns and even the emotional stress of loss allows a team to work through these challenges and then regroup around what is important.
10. If you have not or will not invest in and take the time to tackle steps one through nine then you can always throw money at the problem.  But know that money alone won’t fix the inherent issues that exist.

The Turnover Tsunami is the effect of the pandemic.  It has forever altered how we live and work.  And that is having a profound effect on the employer employee relationship.