The Great Resignation, The Great Reflection or the Great Retention?

This job market is, for lack of a better term, crazy!? As a Talent Acquisition professional who has been through the Dot.com boom and bust, The Great Recession and now COVID and whatever one wants to calls this current situation, I’ve been through it.? Yet, each one has its own unique twists and turns to navigate through as well as opportunities to grow.

This period has been named? “The Great Resignation” by many on LinkedIn and in the Media. It’s certainly an accurate term to describe the tip of the iceberg but there is so much below the surface that needs to be discovered.

Employees are resigning in record numbers.? Why???

Location, location, location! ?People can live in their ideal location without worrying about a commute or the industry opportunities in the geographic area.? Employers are also at an advantage in many cases because they can attain talent and human resources who were otherwise unavailable for their location.

The Great Reflection As a Director, Talent Acquisition, many candidates have used the word “Reflection” to describe why they are looking for a new opportunity.? Quarantine has given people time to think about what they really want and what their goals are.? We are always go, go, go and for a moment in time, we all had time to stop and reflect - whether we knew we were or not.? We also have to consider that there was the typical number of employees who were getting ready to look for a new opportunity prior to COVID and put their search on hold until things were more stable.

The Great Retention?Counter Offers are the new pandemic.? In 23 years of recruiting, I have never seen more counter offers given or actually accepted.? The bonuses candidates are being given to stay are borderline obscene.? In practice, and from years of experience, a counter offer is more often than not a band aid; the candidate will likely be back on the market in 6-12 months.? Will the job market be as strong in 12 months? If an employee likes their company and is unhappy with a piece of it, they should discuss it with their supervisor to see if it’s something they can come to an agreement on.? If not, it’s time to start looking at what else is out there.? Without going on a major tangent about my disdain for counter offers, I’d rather focus on our learning opportunity.? This is the time for employers to be proactive to look at their teams; see who can be promoted, give a shout-out to someone for doing an amazing job on a project, give someone an unexpected day off, spa day, gift card, dinner out, etc.? It’s also a time to shift and create a culture that truly engages remote and in-person employees alike and focus on creating a company culture that has evolved with the current landscape.? This effort will retain the best employees, nurture emerging talent and attract new hires.

The dust will eventually start settling on a completely new landscape in Employment, Recruitment and Human Resources.? In the meantime, one can see this time period as they choose: The Great Resignation, The Great Reflection or The Great Retention.