Turning the great resignation into the great refresh

It’s easy to get carried away with the negative statistics relating to the so-called great resignation.

According to a report about the skills shortage in The Guardian last October, one in four people were planning to change roles over the next 12 months. There have been many similar reports since then and according to recent government data, the situation doesn’t appear to be improving with the announcement that 1.3m jobs in the UK are currently not filled.

The explanation for this is not straightforward and although the skills shortage is causing major headaches for UK businesses, there are a number of things organisations can do to attract and retain people more effectively.

The race to recruit

The waves of resignations are causing turbulence and making life very tough for many firms at the moment. In response, organisations need to do all they can to make themselves more attractive to new recruits. To do that, they must understand why employees would want to work for them and why employees are leaving in the first place.

All businesses have an employer brand - how your company is viewed externally as an organisation to work for. It’s important to bear in mind that in the current climate anybody applying for a job with you will most likely be having conversations with other businesses. Ask yourself, why should they choose you?

When you are look at your benefits package, for example, it is important to look further than simply your core offering of salary, pension and bonus.

Increasingly, individuals are expecting these things as standard. Candidates will also be looking closely at your culture, your values, your views on a issues such as sustainability and your practices s in relation to diversity and inclusion. They’ll be interested in the make up of your board and whether it is reflective of society. They will be looking for authenticity too and any evidence where you can back up your claims will be much more likely to attract.

These areas are becoming non-negotiable, particularly for younger people who are looking to start their careers. They want to be part of something they value and are proud of and work for an employer they feel will value and invest in them. Trust is a key factor here.

Speaking of trust – a company’s approach to agile and hybrid working is also relevant at this stage. Quite simply, if you don’t offer some sort of flexibility for people to work from home where the role permits, your organisation will be at a disadvantage for both attraction and retention of staff.

Faced with a shrinking talent pool, it is also worth remembering that allowing people to work from home allows you to attract people from a wider geographic area.

It might sound obvious, but making it is possible for a candidate to accept your offer is also crucial. Don’t make the process too long-winded or you will lose out. Think about how you can streamline the process and perhaps use peer colleagues to be your best advocates. Don’t give any reason for attractive candidates to think that they’re not important or valued or simply go with the other opportunities that they have.

Focus on culture to retain

Whether it’s poor culture, low investment in professional development, a lack of appreciation, or poor work life balance - people leave jobs for many reasons.

Culture has become so important in recent years with commentators saying that a good one is the best protection against the great resignation. There are steps that businesses can take to tackle this. In the current market, employees will almost certainly be being approached by other organisations and it only takes one bad day in the office for somebody to become receptive to these approaches.

Most organisations conduct exit interviews when someone is about to leave and although these can unearth wider issues, they are too late if you want to keep the employee. It’s therefore worth considering ‘stay interviews’ as part of your strategy to retain staff. These should be conducted on a regular basis to ensure the employer is fully aware of what is important to an employee, knows of any concerns that the employee has and has opportunity to address them.

In the same way that newcomers are attracted to those organisations with good values and culture, this will be the same for those people that already work for you. An inclusive and supportive culture will have a dramatic impact on your retention figures - businesses should consider ensuring that they are investing as much time and energy in this area as they are in recruitment.

Great culture can not only support retention, according to a recent report by McKinsey, culture can provide higher financial rewards, make your colleagues more innovative, lead to lower absence rates and also better decision making.

The reality is however that some staff will leave and it is important to consider your high-risk leavers and if you have sufficiently protected the business in the event of their departure. Restrictive covenants can be a powerful tool to prevent key members of staff from taking staff with them, soliciting business from you or misusing confidential information. However, it is important you take the appropriate legal advice to ensure they are well drafted and enforceable.

Your reward strategy can work harder

Although reward by way of salary increases is encouraging some people to leave their current job, the impact of reward is far more nuanced in the context of the great resignation.

Since the pandemic the majority of individuals have seen their benefits packages change with flexible working being the most widely implemented benefit. It’s expected in most roles now and where it’s not available, candidates will be ready to look elsewhere.

Can you be more creative and offer benefits that meet the wider needs of employees? They want employers who recognise them as a human, demonstrating empathy for the things in life which matter to them. Do you, for example, offer generous and flexible family friendly policies? Can employees able to buy extra holiday? Can they choose to work more hours over fewer days in the week? Salary sacrifice schemes which are sustainable in nature are also on the rise, providing a cost effective way for staff to do their bit towards a greener future. All this will certainly help you establish yourself as an employer of choice.

Time to consider, not panic

The great resignation and the statistics that go with it can strike fear into any organisation.

Our advice however is to use it as an opportunity to reflect and refresh how you support, attract, reward and engage your employees. Deeper consideration of your culture, your brand, how you want to be known, and what people enjoy about working at your organisation is as important as the salary you give to staff. It is a great opportunity to show the employment experience to the outside world and be proud of what you offer to those who work for you.

I’d like to thank all external speakers and my colleagues at Irwin Mitchell who contributed to the insights and themes included within this article. External speakers were Steph Evans-Hill from Nestlé, Tanya Garstang from Michael Page, Lisa Tomlinson from Limelite People Group and Patrick Crooks from Mazars.