How Smart Employers Handle the Great Resignation
As pandemic life recedes in the U.S., people are leaving their jobs in search of more money, more flexibility and more happiness. Many are rethinking what work means to them, how they are valued, and how they spend their time. It's leading to a dramatic increase in resignations — a record 4 million people quit their jobs in April alone, according to the Labor Department.
"I think the pandemic has changed my mindset in a way, like I really value my time now," Caballero says.
According to NPR, Jonathan Caballero made a startling discovery last year. At 27, his hair was thinning. The software developer realized that life was passing by too quickly as he was hunkered down at home in Hyattsville, MD.
There was so much to do, so many places to see. Caballero envisioned a life in which he might end a workday with a swim instead of a long drive home. So when his employer began calling people back to the office part time, he balked at the 45-minute commute. He started looking for a job with better remote work options and quickly landed multiple offers.
As pandemic life recedes in the U.S., people are leaving their jobs in search of more money, more flexibility and more happiness. Many are rethinking what work means to them, how they are valued, and how they spend their time. It's leading to a dramatic increase in resignations — a record 4 million people quit their jobs in April alone, according to the Labor Department.
In normal times, people quitting jobs in large numbers signals a healthy economy with plentiful jobs. But these are not normal times. The pandemic led to the worst U.S. recession in history, and millions of people are still out of jobs. Yet employers are now complaining about acute labor shortages.
"We haven't seen anything quite like the situation we have today," says Daniel Zhao, a labor economist with the jobs site Glassdoor.
The pandemic has given people all kinds of reasons to change direction. Some people, particularly those who work in low wage jobs at restaurants, are leaving for better pay. Others may have worked in jobs that weren't a good fit, but were waiting out the pandemic before they quit. And some workers are leaving positions because they fear returning to an unsafe workplace.
So lots of employees leaving at once puts any company at risk. If you’re seeing it, how should you handle things?
Our own HR expert, Lorein Brightwell has some thoughts. She says, “much like my thoughts on the employers who were sobbing over employees not being delighted with a promotion that comes with a relocation, employers are going to have to be agile while the labor pool is in the driver’s seat. Professional HR staff must take this opportunity to draw on the remaining stellar talent that you have. That is, by being creative and letting your marketing department and/or your engineering department form a task force with your highly capable recruiter to ‘design’ the job description and ‘promote’ the best fit you can possibly find in the market place today, you will pivot to adapt to the recruitment needs of your organization. Your HR leader can work with this task force to develop and utilize an updated interactive Exit Interview* for use with the resigning employees, to facilitate frank feedback and create data for change management, continuous improvement, and becoming an Employer of Choice.”
Brightwell continues, “But you must keep in mind they’ve just been through a lot…they are looking for safety, security, and shorter commutes, or remote working capabilities. It’s a new day, but not one that ingenuity cannot overcome. Remember two years ago you would have never envisioned surviving and, in many cases, thriving in the ‘Brady Bunch boxes,’ … now something new is coming. You have the internal talent to help you to mine for external talent—with the right HR leadership guidance."
Finally, Brightwell reminds us of the fundamentals in the separation process:
- Exit interview—not required by law, but if done right this can be extremely informational and helpful for continuous improvement in finding new talent today
- Final pay**—including what your state regulations require (unused, accrued vacation balance) and within the time frame of those regulations (next pay period, within 72 hours); Companies who get this wrong risk penalties
- Forms, forms, forms**---according to your state regulations (required employee notices, return/release of company equipment, COBRA, unemployment, etc.)
**failure to provide these may result in penalties to the company
Handling a dwindling workforce the RIGHT way is very important for any employer. The smartest ones KNOW PLB Resources can HELP them deal with resignations or any HR situation effectively , and get fully in compliance while building that AMAZING workplace!
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