The Turnover Tsunami is Real

The turnover tsunami or the great resignation of 2021 is here.  According to the U.S. Department of Labor, during the months of April, May, and June 2021, a total of 11.5 million workers quit their jobs. Experts are predicting that it is not over quite yet.  Some are asking is it the ‘great resignation’ or the ‘great reprioritization’?

It’s imperative to understand why employees are leaving and what leaders can do now.  A recent article from SHRM, recommended that every organization look at the people strategy to ensure that they ask questions in three key areas:
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Retention. How do we take care of the people we have? What are the ways we're assessing people? Investing in them? Developing them? How are we measuring all that and making sure our best people are happy in their roles and feeling motivated and appreciated?

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Recruitment. What is our strategy for replenishing people? How are we ensuring that we have the right pipelines in place to replace those who have retired or left for other opportunities? This is critical because, of course, you will lose people, regardless of how much you pay them or perks you offer.

Succession. The people strategy should include not only a shortlist of candidates who might fill a role but other ways to tackle that need in the interim.  What are the other ways to do the work? Part of the tool-box could be things such as: stop-gap the loss of a key role or to replace it, where appropriate. Would it be better to outsource work or use on-demand platforms such as Upwork.  

Now is the time to look at the people strategy for your organization.  What will you add to your strategy for 2021 and 2022? 
 

*Adapted from SHRM resources Viewpoint: The Turnover Tsunami is Real.