A longtime friend, Gordon Miller, wrote a best-selling book titled, Quit Your Job Often and Get Big Raises! Unfortunately, this is so often what is happening in today’s world—and what employees feel they must do to get ahead.
After 25 years of filling positions, we experience, firsthand, the trends and cycles in hiring weighed against candidate demands and expectations. Astute candidates are aware of the talent shortage we are facing in the industry. Many reach out to us with a desire to broaden their experience, better balance their time or, in some cases, to simply get big raises.
While there are a variety of reasons that employees are seeking a career transition, here are the top five that we have been hearing on a consistent basis:
- More money
- Advancement opportunities
- Greater flexibility
- Purpose of work
- Diversity and inclusion
So, what’s the best way to stem the tide and prevent more of your people from walking out the door? The most effective way, experts say, is to develop a robust retention strategy.
Here’s how:
- Competitive compensation. Compensation shows how much a company values an employee and rewards for performance. Ensure that your company is competitive in incentives, benefits and base compensation.
- Support career development and learning opportunities. Everyone wants to work for a company that promotes from within. Invest in leadership development to build inclusive leaders and, whenever possible, seriously consider “growing your own” by providing mentors to help coach and lead your employees.
- Promote work-life balance and flexibility. With the talent shortage following the pandemic, and companies having to tighten their belts as a result of the dip in sales and profits, we are increasingly hearing more reports of burnout. The churn-and-grind approach is not sustainable. Allow employees to have a voice in how they accomplish mutually agreed upon goals. Trust them to get their work done when and even where they do it.
- Purpose of work. A Garnter Research report shows there’s a shift in perspective about the purpose of work. Roughly 65% of those who participated in a survey stated that the pandemic made them rethink the place work should have in their lives, while 56% of employees reported wanting to contribute more to society. Employees are less likely to leave when they have purpose and are making a difference.
- Develop, articulate and promote a strategy of diversity and inclusion. Clients and employees want to work with companies who have people with similarities to themselves, who understand their culture and does not discriminate in any way. In today’s environment, it’s important to have a sincere commitment to inclusivity.
Bottom line: Employers and employees alike need to be more strategic to survive in this ever-changing world and economy.
Laurie Baatz is a senior recruiter at The McSweeney Group, which specializes in sourcing candidates for commercial flooring businesses across the country. Marilyn McSweeney, president of the company, co-authored the article.
