The Great Resignation – What to Know about Employees Quitting Jobs
The term “the great resignation” has been popping up on business topic boards for a while now.
And there is a reason why.
In the past several years, younger workers (18- to 40-years-old) have been much more likely to be looking for new opportunities, at 46%.
So, why are people leaving their jobs and what do companies need to understand to help deter it from happening at the office? Continue reading to find out.
What employers and HR managers need to know.
Before judging everyone for leaving jobs, it’s critical for HR managers and employers to understand the reason behind why and fully understand these statistics below.
You will also want to determine the scope of the “problem” you are facing and its impact. You can do that by using this formula:
Number of Separations per Year ÷ Average Total Number of Employees = Turnover Rate
Once you know your turnover rate, we can move forward and discuss the reasons why people are leaving.
In Canada, there are three main reasons why people are leaving their jobs.
- A salary boost
58% of people mentioned that the main reason why they have left a job in the past several years is because they wanted a boost in salary. This is a very common reason, especially if they have been at a position for a long time and haven’t received any type of raises, added benefits or recognition.
In order to retain employees, be sure to have all raises written down to be able to refer back to when a last raise was given and the reason behind it. As an employer, you of course do not want to just give our raises without reason, but if there is a reason to, showing your employees attention can go an extremely long way. And, if a raise isn’t in the cards, are there any other ways to show your employees that they matter? Could a gym membership or several mental health days off work instead? Be inventive in ways to show employees they matter.
- Advancement opportunities
The second reason people are leaving jobs is because of advancement opportunities elsewhere. According to Consulting.ca, 37% of people quitting cite wanting to grow in their position, but never having the opportunity to.
With this information, take a look at your employees and consider how they can advance in their position and within your company. As managers, create a ladder of potential for the employee and show it to them during a review.
Having something to look forward to and grow towards will help employees want to remain at their position. And, if you notice that your employee isn’t growing within their position, before losing them, consider if there’s another opportunity within the business that may better suit their skills.
- Ability to work remotely full-time
The final reason why people are leaving is the want to work remotely full time. This probably isn’t a super surprising finding after what COVID-19 did for workplaces. After years of working remotely, people got the itch to continue to do so.
As companies bring their employees back into the office, more than half of workers considering a change want to pursue hybrid or remote jobs, at 56% and 51% respectively.
If your company hasn’t considered a hybrid model or remote positions, it may be something you should strongly consider to help with employee retention.
How to solve the great resignation.
As a business owner, the resignation letter is something that will continue to come up and will always be a part of your job duties. But, it’s important to understand the root cause of it before you get your emotions involved.
If you want to work on employee retention, it all stems back to employee happiness. Are your employees cared for? Do they feel like they matter and are they encouraged to grow and evolve? If the answer is no, a resignation letter may be coming.
your resignation problem.
As we mentioned above, there are so many great ways to ensure that employees stay at their position. You can retain valued employees with raises, schedule flexibility, greater advancement opportunities, and employee recognition programs.
Consider your benefits package and ensure that it includes everything that employees are after. Lastly, talk to your employees. They are the people who are running your business through day to day operations. Take them for a coffee, ask them how they are and what could make their position or role within the company better.
Their answers may just surprise you!
Reach out to Navy & Sage for more.
If you’re looking for more information on resignations, need help with HR tasks or are ready to update your benefits package, give us a call today! We would be happy to help you solve your great resignation problem… or keep it from happening!
