As 4 in 10 employees plan to look for a new job; here’s how to hire and hold the best
For 20 years I’ve heard leaders talk about skills shortages. Leaders worried about a global scarcity of IT workers in 2000, and a shortage of 400,000 truck drivers in 2010. Perhaps this is a permanent condition of fast-changing, growing economies; the need for certain skills grows faster than the supply of people to fill that need.
Today, there are skills shortages in healthcare and in tech. Tomorrow, there might be shortages in infrastructure work. The Federal Reserve just wrote that current labor shortages are caused by increased turnover, early retirements, and childcare needs. Continuing coronavirus concerns and an uneven recovery complicate the situation.
Given that skills shortages might be a permanent part of the business landscape, I think CEOs can turn this into a competitive advantage. Those who can hire, grow, and retain employees with the right skills, and the ability to learn new skills, will outperform their peers.
Besides throwing more money into salaries or advertising, what’s your strategy for attracting and retaining the most skilled employees? Sound human capital strategy rests on developing an agile, resilient, and engaged workforce, not cycling endlessly in search of new “assets” (which I call “people”).
Three tactics must become part of your workforce strategy:
- Study current data and surveys to understand WHY more people are thinking of leaving. When you understand the post-pandemic employee mindset you can adjust tactics.
- Revise your recruiting methods to attract and hire a wider range of candidates than now.
- Personalize the employee experience at your company in areas like diversity, inclusion, and belonging, as well as learning and career pathing.
Skills are headed out the door
Workhuman’s 2021 International Employee Survey adds detail to the rising turnover dubbed “The Great Resignation.” The percentage of employees planning to look for a new job in the next year nearly doubled during the pandemic, from 21% in December 2019 to 38% now. Think about that: as many as 4 in 10 employees at your company might be thinking about finding a better job elsewhere.
Before you ask why someone might leave your organization (there’s data in the survey) ask first why individuals would even be looking for a new job. They’re not just looking for more money. For example, one-third of job-seeking respondents across all demographics cited flexibility as important; among Black employees, that number is 39%. Twenty percent said they want to find a better work culture, which includes factors like respect, recognition, and psychological safety.
The need for new skills won’t slow in the post-pandemic workplace. A culture of continuous growth for everyone is what’s needed, and it’s one promise of the Human Workplace I’ve advocated in this space.
Here are steps you can take right now to create that culture:
Revise job requirements
Separate technical skills from the willingness to learn. You’re not going to hire a programmer without basic coding skills; does he or she really have to start on day 1 with the entire alphabet soup of coding languages, or can getting up to speed quickly be part of your job requirements? The agility to learn and change is itself a valuable skill.
Curtail degree level requirements
IBM and Merck are cutting degree requirements from as many as 70% of their job descriptions. Why should a candidate with certifications in critical skills (by such firms as Microsoft and Google) be a weaker hire than someone with four years of college? For many jobs, I’d rather hire someone with a combination of technical qualifications PLUS the right temperament and energy than someone with a bachelor’s degree who lacks the skills to deal with change.
Reinvigorate DE&I recruiting.
If your Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion program is 90% search, you’re missing the shift toward making inclusion and belonging a signature of your daily culture. People want to bring their whole selves to work and know they belong, so talk to those employees most directly in tune with DE&I issues. Learn whether your strategies are working.
Expand and clarify paths to advancement
Career advancement and career pathing are based on someone’s experience and track record, usually with upper management advocating for high-potential people. When you leave career pathing strictly up to managers, however, you risk the effect of unconscious bias. Even a well-meaning manager can subtly base his or her view of an employee’s potential on irrelevant factors like weight, gender, or ethnicity. Use the informal networks that already exist in your organization to identify potential leaders of all kinds through a peer-based social recognition system that is open to all. Publish alternative career paths, encourage learning and advance employees who acquire new skills.
Explode the myths
Workhuman also learned some cliché-busters: Women are commonly claimed to leave for greater flexibility; the survey says they’re more attuned to making more money right now. We weren’t surprised that parents are more stressed than non-parents; we were startled to find that fathers were more likely than mothers to change jobs to balance family responsibilities.
Finally, The Human Workplace requires a kind of transparency and honesty rarely found in organizations, because it’s built on the confidence that the people who share a culture of trust and mutual appreciation will naturally want to grow. A recent analysis in Harvard Business Review suggests leaders identify the root causes of resignations. In addition to studying insights like the Workhuman Survey, I want leaders to discuss these data openly at all-hands meetings… and say what they’re doing to fix problems.
Visionary leaders find opportunity in disruption. The Great Resignation is surely disrupting workforce strategies, and yet those who respond to the new employee mindset will hire and hold people with critical skills. Continuous appreciation, communication, openness to change, and transparency about your culture make your organization more attractive to the best.
