There are plenty of opinions around the Great Resignation, and whether Australia will follow in the footsteps of the United States and the United Kingdom – both currently facing significant talent shortages and high employee turnover rates. Some Australian companies are seeing higher resignations than usual, but on the other hand, many people believe that although there may be higher numbers, the threat of the “great resignation” will not be a huge disruption to the industry, as in other countries.
The Current Conversation Around The Topic
Stability with your job and loyalty to your company is something many Australians have valued over the years. People have a more long-term approach to their job search and place importance on careers that can be long-lasting.
However, while significant life and career transitions can happen at any time during our lives, the unprecedented time of disruption and uncertainty during the Covid Pandemic has been a catalyst at a global level for many to slow down and examine what’s really important in their careers and their lives.
Of 3500 employees from a Gartner international survey: “65 per cent said they were rethinking what kind of role they wanted work to play in their lives. More than 68 per cent said it made them long for bigger changes in their life.”
Gartner also informs us that employee turnover rates are not massively high, however, they have all been packed into a tighter window, which makes it seem larger than is, and felt more intensely.
Trends in the market currently
Strength-based recruitment
An emerging recruitment trend is identifying the strengths that will deliver success in a role and then recruiting employees that have those strengths. Employees are now seeking job satisfaction and personal growth – searching for fulfillment of both personal and professional goals. Therefore, hiring someone that fits perfectly for the role because they understand their individual skills and strengths can help improve productivity and engagement.
Job Seeking Behaviours
Job searching usually starts to peak in the first quarter of the year. Australians are normally very passive job seekers, however owing to the mass availability of jobs, passive and active job seeking has increased slightly more than pre-pandemic levels. This becomes a strong indicator for people to believe that it could be time to change jobs and that there are jobs out there if they want them.
Industries facing the brunt
It has been predicted that the effects of the great resignation for Australia will span across all sectors, however, some industries will feel the impact more than others. Food, accommodation, and retail are hit hardest, due to their markets being disrupted.
According to the Gartner research, although employees in the healthcare and social assistance sectors have reported higher rates of burnout and experienced the emotional exhaustion and stress of working on the frontline, there was a lower percentage of them who changed jobs leading up to 2021 compared to the preceding year.
So, what can we do about all this?
Challenging the Great Resignation
Irrespective of whether the great resignation is going to happen in Australia or not, one thing that is happening to employees everywhere, is the great disengagement. Even if employees aren’t considering leaving the organisation, the pandemic has left employees re-evaluating their life choices, including the place and importance that work has in their lives.
Rather than a career change or leaving a current employer, employees are seeking some job crafting of a current role or reskilling for a sidewards or upwards step. We’re seeing more and more people wanting to understand themselves better and explore where they’re at with their careers.
Here are some strategies that can help:
Re-engage employees
To help your people come into work with a renewed focus, energy and commitment to their goals and your business outcomes, why not offer them access to resources that can help them align their personal and professional goals?
Give your people the tools to evaluate their decisions around their careers effectively. Start an open conversation with them, by providing them with some structured tools that can help them understand themselves, and your EVP better.
Career Money Life’s psychometric career assessment can help employees reflect on their values, their skill gaps, and support them to re-engage in their role with you. Our Career ID Assessment is a 15-minute tool that delivers intelligent, science-based insights into Behaviours, Stress Styles, Values, and Culture fits. Packaged with a debrief with a certified coach, your people will be able to action their insights to help return to work more engaged and productive.
Provide options for career development
If your employees know what they need, and are looking for career development, another great option is to provide employees with access to career coaching sessions and upskilling courses to help them enhance their skills. When personal growth and business goals align, employees feel more motivated within their current roles. Career Money Life offers a flexible, customisable coaching program where your employees get to choose which coach, the type of coaching or the specific courses that suits their needs best.
Enhance your employer brand (EVP)
Enhance your employer brand by doing the right thing for your people and for you. Employees need support that’s well-rounded and personalised for their individual needs. Supporting your employees with resources that help balance their work-life, manage their mental health, and support them during life’s biggest challenges can help enhance your employee value proposition. Employees will feel valued and taken care of, which helps increase motivation to show up for work, ready to contribute.
They require personalised, carefully crafted offerings to support their unique needs, not an out-dated one-size-fits-all approach. If you’re looking for such a solution, get in touch with us and we can customise a solution for you and your people.
Career Money Life – Different, on purpose.
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