Flipping the 'Great resignation'

Numbers published are surreal. The real numbers are jaw-dropping.

When it first appeared with the adjective 'great', the world was undergoing the second wave of the pandemic. It appeared like a phenomenon that was restricted to the USA. But it turned out to be a global phenomenon. No one imagined that the 'coup' would start right in the belly of the pandemic. On the contrary, the surmise was that those who could save the job during the pandemic would be 'lucky' to be with the 'kind-hearted' employers. Because it was a reality. Several people got axed, too. One of my friends, a CEO of a multinational brick and mortar company said that even if he wanted to, he probably cannot save the axing of some of his colleagues. His board wanted some action for the bottom line while they were hardly selling anything. Not every board on this earth imbibes the Tata values. So many corporates got rid of the flab in the first phase, using the 'excuse'. While this was the story of the larger corporates, the SMEs struggled with the reverse migration of the workers from the factory floors. Even if the Indian government created some rules to keep the worker flock intact on the factory premises, the rules proved unviable for most small enterprises.

Then came the second wave (of thought). And it went like? - 'people are getting more time to think about themselves and their lives, so they are recalibrating their career choices'. It sounded all too natural when many started feeling that they were in the wrong profession (including those in the mid-life crisis). WFH provided the perfect recipe not just to think of recipes in the kitchen but also to find one for their personal freedom. This too lasted as much as the second wave did.

Third-wave was more lethal. This wave was created by the natural aftermath of the 'great depression’, i.e. 'roaring 20s' - essentially, large movement of money in the investment circles. OEMs started investing in their own IT setup which pulled the people from IT companies out into OEMs.? The startup cauldron got heated further with several unicorns being thrown up every month in India. Flushed with the investor money, this startup flushed out the talent from other organizations by providing irrational salaries. WFH situation has anyways cut the binding thread of human interactions and bonhomie. Office relationships are now highly transactional. There are no more informal mentors, therapists, and philosophers who could chit-chat by the water-cooler and provide quick advice.

Everyone knows that the party is as good as it lasts, but then the reality as of now is that the 'party is on'. Entrepreneurs are all messaging each other with memes and jokes around having to face the churn. Large companies are hiring by thousands because hundreds are leaving every month. Everyone is trying all the tricks up their sleeve to wriggle out of the situation. The HR department never found themselves in the middle of 'delivery team', till yet.

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?

Yes, once the storm is over, some norming would take place. Every investment has a honeymoon period; after that, the ROI call starts. This could be till the next balance sheet is prepared. Till then the storm would keep brewing.

So what do we do till then?

Better perks, better work policies, better work environment...everything is being tried under the sun because all the best practices in this arena are stale now. I was surprised to learn that a company was allowing some of its employees to freelance on the side, as employees were getting restless during the 'bench period'. However, I also heard of other cases where business owners have been able to create 'intra-preneurship' possibilities for their key team members and successfully warded off the problem.

Another way out is to hire the raw diamonds and invest in polishing them without worries of poaching because it is bound to happen. It is a jungle out here and poaching would continue. Just increase the intensity + efficacy of raw hiring and training so much that net result is still positive after attrition (the same principle is used in handling IP protection in India… as the IP protection is a long costly battle, so it is better for small businesses to move on and innovate even better, faster, rather than to fight the piracy and get strangled in legalities).

Whatever happens, there are a few good things coming out of it:

• Digital transformation is now a foregone conclusion irrespective of the sector and size of the business. Even SMEs now look at it as a necessity after the pandemic.
• ‘Learning and Development’ is really 'developing' now in face of rapid hiring. A fresh wave of thinking was highly needed beyond stale formulae.
• Recalibration of HR policies (beyond the cliches and 'best practices') is happening at all levels
• Loyalty and long term people-orientation would find a new interpretation beyond ESOPs
• Expect the GIG economy to bloom in multifarious ways. Small teams, not individual freelancers, would fill in for the 'free-electrons' of the system.
• A new tsunami of consolidation is coming. Prepare your business plans or the war chest.