The #GreatExcuse

While the #GreatResignation has given employees a newfound energy—the energy to bet on themselves, the energy to control their own narrative, the energy to dig deeper and prioritize themselves over their work—it has also given something to average (and poor) leaders alike. What exactly has it given them? It has given these leaders an excuse!

Every business has a natural flow of turnover in their staffing base, and that comes with the territory of running a business. There have been a variety of studies that have concluded that turnover has a direct correlation with who is in leadership and the combined leadership styles experienced while on the job. One reason for this correlation is the fact that the leadership group has the ability to make the changes needed to help reduce and/or avoid much of the experienced turnover; it is when leadership does nothing that you see stagnant or increasing levels of turnover.

Insert: the #GreatExcuse.

?While recently discussing current trends with a business owner, I heard them mention how they are “losing a lot of employees due to the #GreatResignation” and how they couldn’t wait for it to be over so business can get back to normal.

My face cringed, immediately, and I couldn’t stop it from cringing before this business owner caught a glimpse. Now their face was cringed, but it was from confusion and mine was from frustration for their employee base.?

By them using the #GreatResignation as a catalyst for their turnover, they were bypassing any ownership of what they can do to change their turnover results. As an employer, when someone leaves your workforce, it is your duty to figure out why, but when you deploy the #GreatExcuse to the problem, then you likely do not feel the need to do anything to help facilitate the changes needed.

Within this era of employment, the power dynamics are shifting from the employers to the employed. The previous expectations were laid out in a sense that “you should be happy you have a (good) job” and those thoughts are now competing with today’s expectations of “you should be happy AT your job.”

What does this all mean?

It means the superstar employee that has been patient while awaiting the employer to implement needed resources to make the job more manageable, may not be as patient moving forward. It means the reigning Employee of the Year award winner would rather have a pay increase to keep them ahead of inflation instead of another cool, glass trophy for their desk. It may even mean that middle-management wants more than a promotion and title change because they are good at their job, but they also want to be properly trained on how to lead a team of people to also be good at their job.?

The #GreatResignation has empowered employees like these to seek other opportunities when their current opportunities are failing them. In many cases, these employees have already voiced their concerns. They’ve spoken to the proper channels and clearly articulated what they wanted, or even needed, in order to remain and thrive as an employee with the organization.

As a leader, if you find yourself in an environment like this, then it is up to you to help make an impact to the ecosystem. No, you mustn’t be a martyr to achieve results, but you should flex the muscles you’re able to flex that allow you to move the company in the right direction. Listen to your employees and do some additional research when you find a theme within the complaints. (This tactic alone can go a long way).

As an employee within this environment, give your employer a chance to make things right by you. If you have not clearly communicated your needs or your frustrations, then you must do so. You may even be surprised by the results of your conversation. For those of you that are truly nervous about having these conversations, I encourage you to speak with your Human Resources department in order to guide you through the needed conversations.

In the beginning of this essay we highlighted the fact that only the poor leaders are using the #GreatExcuse during this time. While every business experiences turnover, the reason for that turnover will be fluid. Good leaders often find the driving force of this metric for the moment and addresses it accordingly. Poor leaders often find that the reported metric isn’t much worse than it was last year, so they do nothing about it.

The next time you find yourself sitting across the table from someone who is resigning, ask yourself if you’ve done everything in your power to help this employee. Unfortunately, you may not be doing this to save that particular employee because they’ve already mentally checked out by the time they come to you with an actual resignation letter. However, the time you spend solving that problem within that moment allows for you to save the next employee and many others to follow.

So, ask yourself: are we losing employees because of the #GreatResignation or are we using the #GreatExcuse to avoid accountability?