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As the world opens after over a year of remote working, more and more employees are evaluating their next move. Some are contemplating. Others have already made a move. Another group are unemployed and searching for the next step in their career trajectory.
While some trends were emerging pre-covid, the year of isolation and remote work seems to have been an accelerant. Data shows that people are not afraid to leave their job without another immediate job prospect. That means If you manage employees right now, you need a strategy to retain your best employees in this post-pandemic landscape.
Here’s why:
U.S. workers are leaving jobs at historic rates, and many are not coming back despite record openings (Source: Peterson Institute for International Economics). With a hot labor market, workers feel confident to quit their job, knowing there are plenty of opportunities to find new and better ones.
According to the Microsoft 2021 Work Trend Index, over 40 percent of the global workforce is considering leaving their employer this year. (The Index outlines findings from a study of more than 30,000 people in 31 countries and an analysis of trillions of productivity and labor signals across Microsoft 365 and LinkedIn.)
In another survey conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of Prudential (Pulse of America Worker Survey: Is This Working), 2,000 full time working adults were polled approximately one year after many workplaces shut down on-site operations and employees began working remotely. The survey revealed that 41 percent of the global workforce is likely to consider leaving their current employer within the next year, with 46 percent planning to make a major pivot or career transition.
With so many looking to make a career transition, what are people looking for and more importantly, what can you do to attract and retain employees post-pandemic?
Employees want the best of both worlds.
They want flexibility. This includes the convenience of working from home combined with the structure and connectedness of being in the office. Demand for a more flexible hybrid work model, blending remote and on-site work, will be the next big shift, assert the writers of the Microsoft 2021 Work Trend Index. Most significantly, 73 percent of workers surveyed want flexible remote work options and 67 percent crave more in-person time with colleagues. The data shows that a demand for extreme flexibility and hybrid work is here to stay.
The Prudential Poll mentioned above echoed that data. It found that 87 percent of American workers who have been working remotely during the pandemic would prefer to continue working remotely at least one day a week, post-pandemic. Among all workers, 68 percent say a hybrid workplace model is ideal.
The year 2020 changed work forever. “We know two things for sure: Flexible work is here to stay, and the talent landscape has fundamentally shifted,” wrote the authors of the Microsoft 2021 Work Trend Index.
The bottom line is this: If you are considering a 100%, all-staff return to the workplace, think again.
Many have experienced the benefit of working remotely from home. Yet they are also aware of the shortfalls of a full-time remote schedule.
Workers want the convenience of no commute times. They like the flexibility offered in a remote work schedule. They like structuring their own day with more family time. Yet they recognize the pitfalls of working fully remotely. There is a tendency to work longer hours and take fewer breaks. Many have feelings of isolation, lack connectedness, and tend to work in silos.
As you bring employees back to the workplace, be open minded as to how it will look.
Capitalize on the best of each work style.
What was good about remote work? What benefits does the company get from being together in person? Flexibility of thinking and workplace structure are key. Ask for ideas, engage your staff in the process so that you come to mutually beneficial solutions.
Among those planning to seek new employment post-pandemic, 80% say they are concerned about their career growth (Source: Pulse of the American Worker Survey: Is This Working? A Year In, Workers Adapting to Tomorrow’s Workplace). Employees want to learn and grow in their jobs and are looking for opportunities to move up in a company. Many want more of a challenge or have felt uninspired.
What are you doing to inspire and ignite passion in your top talent?
Can you offer more professional development? This could include seminars, lectures, workshops on skill building, communication and how to give and receive feedback. Can you offer a position with more responsibility? Can you invest in coaching for your top talent to help them grow professionally? How do you show your appreciation and that you value your employees? Are you teaching, mentoring, and inspiring your talent to become the next managers/leaders? Can you offer tuition reimbursement?
It’s not just flexible work environments that employees want. They want better benefits, too.
A different Prudential Survey Pulse of the American Worker Survey: Road to Resiliency, which completed in January 2021, found that American workers expect employers and lawmakers to provide solutions that will strengthen their financial resilience and alleviate the financial stress that became a part of their pandemic lives.
In fact, in an effort to become more financially resilient, nearly 8 in 10 workers (77%) want their employers to provide benefits such as retirement plans, health, disability and life insurance, paid family medical leave and emergency savings programs.
Whether workers have experienced a loss of family or friend, increased the size of their family, experienced unexpected financial struggles, or simply had time to reflect and prioritize, they are looking for creative benefits solutions.
Can you reimagine your benefits package? Perhaps offer tuition reimbursement, a paid sabbatical, longer parental leaves?
Workers who were surveyed also mentioned communication and company culture as a top workplace consideration. In fact, according to the Prudential Pulse of America survey, 42 percent of workers with plans to leave their current employer graded them a “C” or below for their ability to maintain employee connectedness and culture during the pandemic.
After longer than a year at home, people want to feel like a part of something more than ever.
They want to feel connected, valued, and appreciated. What are you doing to promote a positive workplace culture? Do you have a healthy working environment? Offer opportunities for employees to build internal and external relationships. Offer staff engagement opportunities.
After such a difficult year, make some of these engagement opportunities FUN. Create opportunities to collaborate and connect
Another way to help your talent feel a sense of belonging, is to create a more collaborative work environment with more opportunities to socialize, too.
Create collaborative and flexible workspaces so that people can re-connect, talk in person, collaborate and connect. When it is safe, have in-person informal gatherings so that people can get to know each other outside the stress and pressures of day-to-day work. Organize a company or department community service project or sports or theater outing.
In addition, employees want transparency and a roadmap to their company progression.
If you already have a roadmap, do not keep it to yourself. In the absence of feedback, workers often feel unsure. In this market, uncertainty can lead to an exit. Share your plan. Provide consistent feedback on what it will take to accomplish each next step. Establish a consistent communication stream so that there is ongoing feedback on progress.
Lastly, DO NOT OVERLOOK the social and emotional toll this 18 months has taken on everyone.
What are you doing to support the social and emotional fitness of your staff? Do you have a diverse and inclusive culture? Take a look at your policies and procedures and look for ways to refresh and reimagine. Provide workshops, or other learning opportunities. Offer tips, tools and strategies to manage stress, anxiety and burnout.
Beyond the data and trends, let’s face it. We all went through a pandemic. Perhaps the great transition is the realization by a global workforce that if work is such a large part of our daily lives, we may as well choose it well. Why not find work that meets both our work AND life needs so that we can more fully enjoy our daily lives.
Maybe the great transition to a hybrid work model is really more of a great awakening.
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