Want to Navigate the Great Resignation? Focus on People, First and Foremost

The still-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused people to question a large number of things - and employment may be chief among them.

According to one recent study, the total number of people who voluntarily quit their jobs hit a record high of 4.5 million in November of 2021. This, coupled with the 1.4 million who were either laid off or fired, has caused some people to dub this "The Great Resignation."

It's something that is affecting all industries, as well. The same study revealed that about 7% of people working in food services quit during the period, while 1.7% of those working in finance left as well. It's a trend that shows no signs of slowing - but it's not one that has to impact your company.

The truth of the matter is that a lot of the people leaving their positions are doing so for the same reasons: a lack of leadership. They don't have a strong, foundational figure to help them navigate the trials of the COVID-19 pandemic. They don't have someone with a solid vision that they can believe in and get behind. They don't have someone that they can see themselves working for indefinitely - and that is very much the problem.

Strong Leaders Build a Stronger Workforce

According to another recent study, about 50% of people say that they left their job entirely to "get away from their manager." If you needed a single statistic to underline the importance of prioritizing employees, let it be that one.

This is why strong leaders are needed to help relieve not just "The Great Resignation," but employee turnover in general. If you begin to feel that employee engagement is lacking, the number one thing you can do is simply talk to people about it. What is it about their current position that they're unsatisfied with? What about the company culture do they not like? How likely are they to recommend working at your company to friends, family members, and other loved ones? These are all simple questions but the insight they generate can lead to actionable steps you can take to improve things moving forward.

Indeed, identifying what currently works and what doesn't is one of the most pivotal steps to improvement.

Another important step to take involves eliminating all bias from employee performance management. This is an issue that small businesses in particular often run into. Nobody likes performance reviews - not the managers and certainly not the employees. Oftentimes it feels like a lot is on the line for both parties. That's why it's important to put a system in place where actionable goals are created all throughout the year - not just when performance evaluations are coming up.

Offering employees regular, constant feedback is also a must. If someone isn't doing a good job, don't wait until the end of the year to tell them. Don't put all of the pressure on a one-off performance review. Let them know - in a fair, polite way - as early on as possible. Likewise, if someone is doing a good job, make sure they're aware of that as well. Doing so will go a long way towards increasing employee morale.

Overall, "The Great Resignation" is not a problem that is necessarily going anywhere anytime soon. The pandemic continues to change things - both in terms of consumer behavior and with regards to the way businesses operate. Organizations need to put themselves in a position to adapt - that much is clear.

But part of that comes down to working conditions on behalf of employees. People want to know that they're valued - that their work output is important enough to risk coming into the office every day. Those strong leaders who are able to showcase that are likely the ones that have the least to worry about.

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All Articles by Sonu Shukla, CPA, CFP