Employee Retention: The Great Resignation

In 2021, the term “The Great Resignation” or “The Big Quit” made its way to become a common phrase. In October of 2021, the Bureau Labor of Statistics reported that over 4 million Americans had quit their jobs. Towards the end of October 2021, 11 million jobs were available in the United States, leaving employers scrambling to replace and retain top talent in their workforce.

What can employers do to retain employees and avoid the costly process of recruitment and selection and the effects this may have on their organization and programs?

1. A retention plan – Developing a retention plan can help identify why your employees are leaving. An analysis of the turnover rate in your organization is a great start. Is the turnover isolated to one department, maybe under one manager? Figuring out where your organization needs the most focus regarding retention is the first step.
2. Avenues for Professional Development – Make clear training and development opportunities within your organization, so employees won’t have to look outside of your organization for growth opportunities.
3. Work/Life Balance – Ensuring a good work life balance for employees in your organization is a way for your company to show employees that you are making a commitment to them. Workplace flexibility is shown to increase employee loyalty to an organization. Implementing a hybrid home and office schedule for employees may be a great consideration, where applicable.
4. Employee Engagement – Is your organization one that inspires/motivates employees to work there? Establishing programs and practices to enhance employee engagement within your organization helps morale and productivity. Disengaged employees are more likely to decrease productivity and leave the organization at increasingly higher rates.
5. Recruitment/Onboarding – Selling your organization to potential candidates is important. Recruiting the best employees also helps motivate other employees who currently sit within the organization by reducing their stress and workload. Once you’ve hired that top candidate, how you can you keep them? The onboarding process is critical to making sure employees understand their new role and where to reach out for help during the process. If onboarding is not done effectively, the employee can feel at a lost during their transition into your organization and may decide to leave.

Taking these steps will not guarantee that you will be able to recruit, hire and retain talent within your organization. However, not doing so is very likely to lead to your organization contributing to the statistics above.