The pandemic brought about many unprecedented events and caused the business scenarios to change exponentially. As one of its myriad of consequences, it irrevocably altered the workforce’s expectations from their employer. The challenge here lies in the employers’ inability to completely comprehend these expectations, resulting in the great attrition.

What is the Great Attrition?

The present phenomenon where employees are leaving companies in huge numbers is overtaking the business world. Companies are unable to retain the best talent. This phenomenon is what we call the ‘Great Attrition’.

How can you avoid the Great Attrition?

Organizations must adapt, adjust, and offer desirable opportunities to retain their best talent in today’s scenario. This can be done by making the right changes and meeting specific employee demands:

  • Upskilling or Reskilling –Organizations can invest in upskilling or reskilling programs to help their employees attain the necessary skills for better performances. Employees who realize that their employers are willing to invest in their continuous empowerment and development experience enhanced levels of motivation and loyalty. 
  • Offering New Opportunities – Employers should provide professional development opportunities to their workforce. This initiative makes employees feel more valued and recognized.
  • Ensuring Work-Life Balance – Companies that ensure their employees’ personal wellbeing tend to make their employees happier. Increased levels of satisfaction and the feeling of being valued act as incentives for employees to stay at their current position. It also attracts new talent.

How to turn Attrition into Attraction?

As the business landscape changes, it is essential to pay attention to your employees’ demands and clearly listen to what they have to say. So, try including their opinions in the process of shaping new solutions for turning attrition into attraction.

As a business leader, you can do so by looking for answers to questions like:

  1. Are we boarding toxic and demoralizing leaders? One of the most significant demands of today’s workforce is to feel valued as people instead of just as workers. You may not realize that you’re boarding demoralizing leaders at certain levels in your organization. They can make your employees feel demotivated and unvalued. Ask for anonymous employee feedback to ensure honest responses and invest efforts in hiring people who lead with compassion.  
  2. Are you placing your talent in fitting roles? Although it may seem unlikely to happen, placing the right talent in the wrong positions is a common mis happening, especially among managerial roles. This issue can be significantly damaging if you don’t pay proper attention. Self-assessment tests and personalized training programs can help you to bridge skill gaps that prevent managers from performing their jobs optimally. Especially in today’s hybrid working models, this step can be highly beneficial to retain employees and ensure them that the right people are leading them.  
  3. How strong is your company culture?As a leader, it is exceedingly vital for you to understand that all prior weaknesses in your company culture have magnified in the post-pandemic remote/hybrid work setting. These weaknesses may be opaque to you, but they are crystal clear to your employees. The thought of continuing to work in a non-supportive company culture doesn’t sit well with employees. So, instead of avoiding the idea of working on connectivity concerns and loopholes in your culture, it would be best if you’d take the lead and bridge the gaps. Take valuable feedback from your employees to make these gaps transparent, and then take effective initiatives to work through them.  
  4. Are your benefits in complete alignment with employee priorities?As we mentioned earlier, the pandemic has significantly changed employee priorities. So, tiny benefits like perks related to entertainment are no longer enough to make employees stay. Especially in challenging times like today, employees expect their organization to offer perks that fulfill the rapidly expanding basic needs (for example, medical and/or housing needs). Employers can formulate progressive and supportive policies that act as incentives for employees to stay in their current roles.

CONCLUSION

As a leader, you clearly understand the criticality of the phenomenon that is the Great Attrition. If not dealt with effectively, it will only worsen. Hence, it will be best if you use it as an opportunity to listen to your employees and restructure your organizational culture. Constructing a supportive working environment where employees are actually happy to work will reflect in your business’ success as well.

At the core, employees are looking for organizations that value their workforce as people and offer a strong sense of community. By acting thoughtfully and implementing practices that allow your employees to feel valued, you can convert great attrition into great attraction.