The Great Re-engagement

?The Great Resignation

?By the end of July 2021, there was reported to be over one million vacancies for the first time in the UK and according to the Harvard Business Review, 4 million Americans quit their jobs in the same month, adding to a record-breaking 10.9 million vacancies in the US in total.

?The Great Resignation, a phrase coined by psychologist and professor of management Anthony Klotz in May 2021 describes a mood as much as a movement as talented professionals choose to walk away from their jobs despite the economic insecurities associated with the pandemic.

?What’s behind it?

?‘From organisational research, we know that when human beings come into contact with death and illness in their lives, it causes them to take a step back and ask existential questions,’ Klotz told Insider. ‘Like what gives me purpose and happiness in life?’

?The Great Resignation throws open a number of issues we cannot afford to ignore. It goes deeper than simply a loss of talent to facilitate the innovation, creativity and productivity that drives the businesses we’re passionate about – it also flags up the fundamental problems with the way that we’ve perceived the interplay between human and commercial need. The culture that imagines that we must steal from one to feed the other has been laid bare and our thorough examination and reworking of it has a ring of urgency to it.

?How much do we know about what our people want and how engaged are we with their needs? One survey found that over half of employees who’d recently left a firm mentioned at their exit interview that they hadn’t had a conversation with their manager about their satisfaction or future with the organisation within three months. 52% said that this kind of interaction may have prevented them from leaving.

?When you consider that it can take anything from half to twice an employee’s annual salary to replace them, the moral imperatives are backed up with those of a commercial nature too.

?What are our opportunities?

?At the top of the list in terms of priority and strategy, should be actively and responsively listening in. This requires using a degree of curiosity, honesty and attentiveness because there cannot be any kind of meaningful and sustainable change without this kind of in-depth knowledge and understanding.

?A Glassdoor survey examined the priorities of a sample of millennials:

• 41% said they would consider a lower salary for hybrid working.
• 47% said they would be prepared to leave their job if they weren’t offered this kind of option.
• 80% said flexible options would increase their loyalty to their employer.

?The same survey found that 68% of the group interviewed examine the potential employer’s social media to explore their brand before they apply. It’s therefore imperative that a firm’s external messaging and internal culture align. In this way, there are no surprises – there is complete transparency and honest accountability.

?Unlocking potential for both your business growth and that of the talented people who choose to work with you, there are a number of areas we have the opportunity to rethink and remodel, including hybrid working.

Purpose-fueled change

?Evolving a work culture takes more than reviewing where people work and what they do, it takes a radical shift in the way we think and the skills we develop. As we’ve seen, employees are prepared to move jobs in order to achieve the kind of flexibility that increases job satisfaction while reducing burnout. Getting this right is important.

?Empathy is a crucial element. Health and wellbeing, brought to the forefront by a disruptively dangerous virus cannot be put aside again as it once was. Some consideration needs to be given to how we communicate change and give feedback as leaders and managers but it also involves a willingness to tune into what the needs, desires and goals of individual humans are.

Putting thought into practice

?A flexible working model requires trust, innovation and a people-centred approach. We may currently oversee teams working in different locations and at different times and the thought of bringing them together to pull in the same direction may seem impossible and impractical at times. This is where mindset change not only makes this workable, it makes it rewarding and enjoyable too:

• Autonomy goes hand-in-hand with responsibility. Whilst micromanaging is harmful to productivity and wellbeing you do need to make sure that lines of communication are open and effective. Actively seek feedback.
• Don’t just celebrate and reward success, find out the best ways of doing this with recognition questionnaires. Some enjoy more formal recognition, others may want more time with their families.
• Don’t invite burnout back in through the back door by elongating work time into personal time. That’s not what flexible working is about.
• Revisit, review and revise. Bring in help and seek training if you think you or your team need it.

Valuing people makes commercial sense

It’s not why we’re doing this but the business imperative is so strong, it cannot be ignored.

One study found that businesses actively improving employee experience are:

• Five times more likely to engage and retain employees.
• Five times more likely to foster a sense of belonging and create a rewarding place to work.
• Twice as likely to exceed their financial targets.
• More than twice as likely to achieve customer delight.
• Three times as likely to be able to innovate and adapt to change, which is vital in these times.

In addition, the importance of ESG on investment and financial opportunities cannot be ignored. It means that a company’s approach to environmental, social and governance concerns can be the difference between growth and stagnation in a fast-changing climate.

Be ambitious with culture

With our reorientation towards human needs, diversity and inclusion naturally come to the fore. Be curious about your blind spots and imaginative about how you address them. Underpinning all of the points examined above is a genuine desire to do the right thing by the people who work for you.

The Great Resignation hasn’t happened in a vacuum. Unlock potential for growth by being an active part of the Re-Engagement.

This takes appetite, skill, initiative and leadership development but you don’t have to go it alone. We were specialists in the field long before the current climate so we’re experienced in putting this kind of change into practice. Please contact us if you’d like to talk to us about how we can help you.