Have you heard the term The Great Resignation?
The phrase refers to the well above average number of American workers that left their current roles around March 2021 and continued to do so into the latter part of 2021.
In fact, in August 2021 a staggering 4.3 million US workers left their jobs across all types of roles, and research at Microsoft indicated that around 40 per cent of workers globally are thinking about quitting as well.
The UK’s Evening Standard reports that the country is seeing the highest number of resignations since 2009 (standard.co.uk/business/great-resignation-
uk-rate-deutsche-bank-sanjay-raja-b978084.html) so given this is happening in the US and UK, are we likely to see the same effect in Australia?
Unfortunately, the answer is yes with experts predicting that we will start to see a significant rise in staff exiting their roles from next month onwards.
Indeed, from our recruitment perspective (omtalent.com.au), we are seeing evidence that this is already occurring, but why is it happening at all?
According to a recent survey conducted by ELMO there are a number of reasons for this (elmosoftware.com.au/resources/newsroom/covid-19-variants-are-making-workers- concerned-about-returning-to-the-workplace/):
New Covid-19 variants are making 69 per cent workers concerned about the workplace.
Working alongside unvaccinated colleagues makes 67 per cent workers uncomfortable.
45 per cent of workers report feeling burnt-out.
The opportunity to work from home was a great benefit for many workers and as work restrictions start to reduce, many staff are less than keen to return to the office for the two reasons cited above plus they have got used to the lack of travel and traffic.
Add to this a clear skills shortage in many areas and increasing wages (the age old rule of supply and demand applies – the scarcer the resource, the more you need to pay) and you have a potentially perfect storm of problems for employers.
So how do companies address this? At least three important things can be done:
1. Check out how your staff are feeling.
What issues and concerns do they have that might make them move? You may not be able to fix all of these, but the fact you at least demonstrated an interest (and hopefully tried) certainly can’t do any harm. It is important to do this in a quiet, confidential place as staff are unlikely to disclose how they are feeling in an open office.
2. Keep an eye on market rates.
Whilst you do not necessarily need to be a top payer, you will need to be paying around market rates and given that these are up, make sure you get good information here. Over recent months we have seen a few situations in which an employer refused to believe that salaries had moved and hence lost the opportunity to secure great candidates for the sake of a small increase.
3. Act quickly.
With the market the way it is, good staff are in high demand and will likely have the benefit of being able to choose between a range of roles. So if you find the right candidate at an acceptable price, it is essential to move fast to avoid missing out.
Ian Ash is the managing director for OrgMent Business Solutions.
