Did the Great Resignation, just turn into the "Great Regret"?
The Great Resignation was the talk of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, but has it turned into the Great Regret?
The Great Resignation, or the Great Reshuffle, was a movement that got started in 2021, and was designed to give employees the power to run their own careers. The motto was, "Walk away from your current company and find an organization that values you". But, did achieve its desired result?
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As we all know, hindsight is always 20/20; a lot of things have changed since early 2021. The commitment to remote work was highly supported then, but now there is a push for RTO and with a potential looming recession, organizations are moving forward with or without their current employees. Company culture has taken a backseat, and it has some employees who left during the Great Resignation, starting to regret their decisions. Hiring has been up in the employment numbers for August. However, perks and incentives have slowed down.
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A Joblist survey showed that over 25%+ of the people who left their jobs during the Great Resignation have regretted leaving, and over 40%+ of the people who took their new roles, said the new role, did not live up to their expectations. Other studies have shown that over 40% of the people who left their companies have either considered going back to their previous employer or applied to go back.
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Does that mean that the Great Resignation was a failure or full of regret? Not necessarily, what it shows is that, employees are looking for something different from their employers. When they resigned they did it for a specific purpose. They felt the new organization was going to provide that missing piece. Above everything, employees want a better working culture. That means that, yes, the bottomline matters, but employees need to feel empowered, respected, and valued. Does that mean more money? Because the common thought by many is, more money tends to make happier employees? Once again, not necessarily, yes, a fair and competitive compensation package is important, but, it is not everything. A number of our recent executive placements (that changed their organizations over the last year, and then had second thoughts) that weren't satisfied with their new organization, said that the compensation was greater at the company they went to, but, the culture did not meet their expectations. Nothing is new in this era, the most important part of a position is the company culture, and the feeling of being valued. If you want to retain your team and not have to worry about your organization being part of the Great Resignation, or the Great Regret; develop a company culture that makes your employees feel valued and included.
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The need for exceptional talent has never slowed down (across all levels), and we do not foresee it doing so in the near future. If we enter into a recession, it is even more imperative to have exceptional level talent. If you are looking for new talent to assist your organization in growth, we recommend that you look at your organizations culture first. Before you offer more money to entice candidates; make sure that your organizations culture is one that promotes inclusiveness and an environment where employees feel valued, and empowered. Overpaying an employee, may get you the employee that you are looking for (immediately), but, if you want to keep them, and not have them regret their decision, you will need to work on your company culture.
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If you are an employer and you have questions on how to make your organizations culture more desirable, we are here to assist you. We have been cultivating cultures for over a decade. For more information, click here.
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