The 2021 Great Resignation wave has changed completely how employees think about their companies, this has given them the opportunity to control the conditions that they are willing to accept when pursuing their careers, and they are ready to ask for more opportunities and better conditions, but this doesn’t mean that they are only focused on salary, they instead are looking for more fulfilling positions where they can have more freedom to be creative, to keep learning, to have an impact and to feel recognized for their efforts (1).
So, what does this mean for companies? What can we improve as a result of this trend?
The Great Resignation is giving us the opportunity to compete with bigger companies to find and retain top talent by offering a different set of conditions that can help the employee thrive and find fulfillment because of the work environment that we offer.
One of the main reasons that employees start looking for new opportunities is because they don’t feel recognized and respected because of their achievements at work (2). However, companies are not moving fast enough to address this issue, even though it can be improved with simple steps that can be implemented right away:
– Create a 5 minute space in your weekly or bi-weekly team meetings to give opportunity for a member to acknowledge or say thanks to a colleague, followed by a round of applause or cheers.
This simple addition to team meetings will make colleagues feel that they have an opportunity to share their success or to return the favor that other team member did for them while working on a project. It will also provide a way for people to get to know better what other team members are doing right and how they can also contribute to the companies success.
However, if you would prefer to keep this more confidential, or you have some budget, you can implement a plan of co-worker bonuses:
– Every period a colleague can give a team member a bonus of $40, this program can have specific rules like having to include a clear reason of why he/she deserves it, and add some restrictions to avoid abuses, like not permitting the awarded colleague to return the bonus to the colleague that nominated them in a period of 2 or 3 months.
This strategy will also take less time for managers, since Individual Contributors are going to be responsible of maintaining the process (3).
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(1) Pew Research Center. 2022. Majority of workers who quit a job in 2021 cite low pay, no opportunities for advancement, feeling disrespected.
(2) Franklin, M. L. 2021. Impact of Career Planning, Employee Autonomy, and Manager Recognition on Employee Engagement
(3) Richman, R. 2015. The Culture Blueprint: A Guide to building the High-Performance Workplace