Great Attrition or Great Attraction?

Since April 2021, more than 19 million US workers have departed their employment, a record rate that has wreaked havoc on businesses across the country. Companies are straining to solve the issue, and many continue to suffer for one obvious fact: they don't know why their employees are leaving. Rather than taking the time to understand the true causes of attrition, many businesses resort to well-intended quick remedies that fall flat, such as increasing financial incentives. As a result, Employees detect a transaction rather than gratitude. Such a transactional relationship reminds them that their needs are not being satisfied.

Why is Great Attrition Occurring?

Employees are exhausted and desire to rediscover their sense of purpose while forming social and interpersonal bonds with their coworkers and managers. They want to experience a sense of belonging. They want benefits and perks, but they also want to feel valued by their companies and supervisors.

Companies who seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity may gain an advantage in the race to attract, grow, and retain the talent required. This does not have to be the case. Companies that make a determined effort to understand better why people leave and take adequate measures to keep them could turn the Great Attrition into the Great Attraction.

The Great Attrition Continues!

Executives believing that staff churn slows or stays limited to specific industries are mistaken. What are the current scenarios?

Employee attrition may worsen due to employees' willingness to depart without having a lined up job offer.

Employees across the US probably reported having left their previous employment without finding new ones. This tendency is not only likely to go on, but it may get even worse. Almost two-thirds of employees who indicated they might leave their employment in the coming few months claimed they would do so before looking for new work. This is another significant difference between the earlier recovery and downturn cycles and Great Attrition.

Employees who are otherwise content may be enticed to leave to expand their options.

With more firms giving remote-work options for essential talent, employees who are now not considering resigning may change their minds. Employees who are not likely to resign stated that one of the main reasons they stayed was because they enjoyed their residential place. However, over 90 percent of those taking new jobs in new cities did not have to shift in the past few months as many employers permit remote working scenarios. With this, even the satisfied employees may begin to question their loyalty to the company where they presently work.

Employers cannot mend what they do not comprehend.

The heads must learn why people are departing to stem the Great Attrition. When questioned why the employees left, employers mentioned remuneration, the balance between work and life, and poor mental and physical health. Such issues were essential to employees, but not to the extent that employers believed. 

Employees' top three reasons for departing included that they didn't feel appreciated by their supervisors/ organizers or didn't experience any feeling of belonging at work. Employees were significantly more inclined than employers to favor relational elements, but bosses were more likely to prioritize transactional ones.

Transformation of Attrition to Attraction

As organizations experiment with new hybrid-work models, the landscapes are evolving. If you're a CEO or a top team lead, the most appropriate action for you currently is pressing "stop" and thinking about your future steps. But don't plan your future steps alone; involve your employees too.

As you assess the situation, consider the following:

Are we providing a safe place for the toxic leaders? 

You need leaders who can encourage and motivate the team members while also leading with compassion if you don't already have them. Executives failing to make their employees feel valued are more likely to push them away from a company, whether or not they have a new employment offer lined up.

How robust was our work culture before the pandemic?

 It would help if you remembered that while your employees' requirements may have shifted, your culture may not have been up to the mark. Any previous organizational shortcomings are now amplified. The Employees would have little tolerance for getting back to an unfavorable status quo.

Is our workplace transactional? 

Suppose your leading solution to attrition is raising the salary. In that case, you're unknowingly telling your employees that your connection with them is about money and the only reason you think they will stay is to get a payout. Avoid this and create a sense of belongingness.

Are your perks in line with the needs of our employees?

 Expanding daycare, services related to nursing, and other perks focused on family and home's betterments could help retain staff while demonstrating that you appreciate them entirely as individuals.

Employees seek professional routes and possibilities for advancement. Can we supply it?

Employees are in search of positions with better, more stable career paths. They want advancement as well as recognition. Innovative businesses find methods to reward their employees by giving them promotions and transferring to new positions and higher levels inside their present ones. This is a method by which businesses can recognize/ reward employees more rapidly for their efforts.

If you oversee a large corporation/ team, remember that the Great Attrition continues, will persist, and may worsen before it improves. However, this one-of-a-kind time also indicates a significant opportunity. You might get a chance to turn the Great Attrition into Great Attraction by knowing why they're leaving and acting sensibly.

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