Turnover is all around us. Restaurants are back to full capacity, but the staffing shorting in the service industry is not matching up with the mouths. Recreation centers and pools have opened back up, but the struggle to employ workers has left some to keep their hours reduced and capacities limited. What is causing, or caused, the “great resignation”? Many things. Some employees who worked from home for months were disinterested in a return to work full-time when the pandemic subsided. Some got that “life is too short” feeling during the nasty year which was 2020 and decided to take their dreams a different route. Some have started or are planning to start their own new business or work gig work, and others are doing a straight “more money” resignation. Still others have quit to go back to school, or stay home with their child(ren). The reality is that millenials and the new to the workforce Gen Z workers turnover more frequently than their Gen X and Baby Boomer co-workers.
So what’s an employer to do? Turnover happens, but when you find yourself the revolving door equivalent as an employer, it’s time to take a close look at the cause. Are you turning over employees more frequently than other similar employers in your industry? Is their a common theme to the talented candidates that are accepting other jobs or leaving employment for other options? Are you conducting stay interviews, exit interviews, and running salary surveys? What makes you stand out as an employer of choice amongst your competition? Ensuring competitive pay and time off benefits, insurance benefit offerings, and other enticements such as flexible workplace options and hours is a start.
It is a fascinating job market right now. It will change, we will learn, and we must grow along with the market to stay in touch with the top talent. The oft mentioned “company culture” deserves a solid analysis, and only our employees can give us that.