The Great Resignation – You have heard this phrase too many times recently and wondered what it is and why is everyone talking about it.
The Great Resignation is the trend of rising resignations across the globe over the past one year. Though the term was coined in the US, companies across the globe and across sectors are facing the “Great Resignation” where employees are re-evaluating their jobs and careers and leaving their jobs in record numbers.
Understanding the Great Resignation
A study conducted by HR firm AON reports that the attrition rate across sectors has increased to 21% in 2021 as compared to 12.8% in 2020 based on data from 1500 companies from over 40 industries.
While all sectors are reporting higher attrition levels, IT & tech companies are the most impacted.
How it all started?
This trend was first noticed when the American administration refused to provide employee benefits during the covid pandemic. Factors like burnout, unfair treatment by employers and low wage led to the start of this trend.
This was further fuelled by the shift to work-from-home option, desire to move to a better profession/job and change in the long-term goals because of the pandemic.
In India, the rising attrition is reportedly limited to white collar jobs and high paying jobs.
Another factor that is leading to a high turnover is also the rise in the start-up ecosystem.
Employees are not just looking for flexibility at work but also challenging work and a good work culture. Salary is surprisingly not the top reason for the increase in employee turnover.
“People are not just moving on for money. In the pandemic, something else is happening. It’s called YOLO—’You Only Live Once ” Anil Santhapuri, head of learning and development, CGI
Economy has reached pre-covid levels and there is a tectonic shift towards digitisation caused by the pandemic. This has increased the demand for skilled talent especially in the IT industry.
Pandemic led to the employees, especially skilled tech talent, re-evaluating their priorities, career & professional choices, values as they realised that productive work could happen remotely, without having to go to office physically every day.
How can Indian companies reduce employee turnover amidst the great resignation?
Given the above situation, what can you as an HR manager do to reduce attrition in your organisation?
Here are some ways you can ensure your employee turnover ratio is low and you attract better talent.
- Compensation & Benefits
Though salary is not the key factor in employee retention, it is a key modern HR tenet to ensure that compensation is competitive and comparable with the best in the industry.
Take an extensive look at your current compensation, rewards & benefits package. This is a good time to customise your employee compensation package based on various factors like fresher & senior employee, experience & skills, etc.
Wellness & wellbeing are a big part of the new age compensation packages. Offer benefits that can help employees feel nurtured and taken care of. Day care facilities, wellness packages, medical insurance, health benefits need to be a part of the employee compensation.
Adobe India has increased its wellness reimbursement to $600 and is offering employees wellness apps.
- Flexible & Remote Work Options
Flexible and remote work are now a deal breaker for many employees, especially the ones from the technology industries. Employees want a good work-life balance, and they are willing to move jobs because of this.
Everyone has seen the impact of remote working on productivity and companies that are moving toward a more flexible or hybrid work model stand to gain in the talent war.
- Offer Growth Path
Apart from compensation & flexible work environment, employees today seek a clear growth path. They are not willing to look at a long-term plan of 5-10 years. They want a clear road map for their career advancement over the next year or two.
Providing challenging work opportunities and new learning & development opportunities should be the key when charting employee growth plan. Job rotation & internal movements are good strategies to provide an overall growth ecosystem.
You can identify your key employees and work closely with them to offer them lateral and vertical growth opportunities within the organisation.
- Employee Wellbeing
Employee Burnout is real, more so in times of remote working/hybrid work environment. In the current post pandemic business world, companies and start-ups are in the hyper-growth mode. Though the work is challenging and rewarding, it can lead to issues with mental and physical wellbeing.
Companies need to invest heavily into ensuring that employees enjoy good work-life balance. Regular breaks and destressing programmes are a must in any organisation today.
A well-thought out & invested employee wellbeing strategy is critical to creating a good work culture and employer brand value.
- Upskill
Lastly, invest in upskilling your employees to ensure that they are ready to take on any new challenges and disruptions. Technical & non-technical skills training programme need to be a regular part of your Human Capital L&D strategy.
Training employees in new age skills helps in improving employee engagement. It helps them see their long-term career growth plan and feel valued improving retention.
Pro Tip
Partnering with top staffing companies in India like Flexi Ventures (www.flexiventures.in) can help you get ahead in the talent war. They provide you access to the top skilled candidates at the shortest time possible.
As the supply demand gap increases, costs & attrition rates are likely to be high.
Use this opportunity to plan out your talent requirement and create a work environment that can help nurture top talent.
