Have you heard about the Great Resignation? How does this effect you and what steps can you take to minimize its impact?

Forbes magazine reported that 40% of the global workforce is considering resigning or changing jobs post-pandemic.

The Covid 19 pandemic has significantly impacted the ways in which individuals are able to work, not only affecting their personal circumstances and the organisations that they are a part of, but the ways in which they achieve job satisfaction and view their careers.

In early 2022, the United States noted a wave of employees resigning from their jobs – en masse. Between 4 and 11.5 million employees resigned, and by August 2021, 4.7% of the workforce in the UK had resigned too.

The Harvard Business Review reported that the greatest increase in resignations had been observed in the 30-45 years age group. Employees were voluntarily resigning from their jobs, often without anything else lined up to go to. These resignations were pandemic-induced, and attributed to the shift in remote work, salary discontentment, increased stress in the workplace, job insecurity and company- reorganisation.

The cost of en-mass resignations can be enormous for a company – not only from a talent acquisition perspective but from an efficiency and production one. To avoid this, organisations need to have the right conversations with their staff and build trusting relationships between staff and management. The Conversation Initiative workshop on positive interaction training can facilitate these conversations and help management and human resources groups to build a cohesive environment in which relationships thrive. Staff will be energized with the knowledge that they are valued, heard and seen, and in return, organisations will see improved teamwork, better productivity, innovation and creativity, more accountability and less tension amongst staff.

According to the PwC Non-Executive Directors Report for 2022, many skilled employees in South Africa left corporates in 2021, whilst in search of greater fulfilment in their work lives as ‘free agents’. Remchannel, a South African reward-management platform, indicates that South Africans have been working harder than ever during the pandemic and that local resignation trends are emerging alongside global ones.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and digitalization is also a prominent influencer behind the increase in resignations. Many large corporations are prioritizing digitization as a mechanism of better efficiency, production and customer engagement, however are forgetting to include it in their own organisations to measure staff satisfaction. In addition, many individuals are finding their roles reshuffled to make way for new technologies.

PwC indicates that the increase in resignations is not only due to the pandemic and increased digitization. “Given the dynamics of SA’s political, social and economic evolution, it is perhaps not surprising that many boards are still finding their way 28 years after the country’s first democratic election.” Boards continue to be preoccupied with diversity and transformation, often overlooking workplace dynamics and workforce satisfaction.

Our Unlearning Unconscious Bias program will enable your organization to move towards greater harmony around these issues of diversity and transformation. The feedback that we’ve had on this workshop is that the safe space we create allows for more honest and non-judgmental communication which results in more authentic relationships that are bult on understanding and trust.

Many organisations are tackling the ‘war for talent’ by offering sign-on bonuses, as well as retention awards to keep key talent. Now more than ever however, they need to prioritize workforce sentiment and build stronger personal relationships across their organisations. They need to ensure that their employees feel understood and appreciated, and they need to show their employees that they are working towards their upliftment, not just their profits. In return, organisations will not only be met with a motivated workforce that understands their objectives, is more creative, and trusts management, but one that feels valued and will be less inclined to jump ship. Let us enable you to build more lasting relationships with your employees. Contact us for our standard programs or a bespoke one the meet your specific needs.

Why are HEALTHY Relationships important for your business?

The Great Resignation is not ONLY about pay but more about lifestyle issues…

Strikes are seldom just about money, they are a means for those that feel disempowered, to try to correct their perceived power imbalance – and take what is “justifiably theirs”.

How many of your staff are coming to work just for their pay cheque?

How many of your staff feel they need to leave themselves at the office door?

How many of your staff, feel unseen, unheard, and unappreciated?

How many of your staff resent the cultural nuances of working for a woman, black/white boss etc.?

What is the cost to productivity, pride, and losses due to preventable “mistakes”? How many of your staff are scared to ask questions as they don’t want to stand out?

Our communication methods and tools will help make your staff feel seen, heard, and valued. It will improve productivity, creativity, innovation, and teamwork. It will also give them the tools and skills to find solutions to resolve those debilitating ‘office politics’ issues. Your staff will feel more empowered, and will take greater pride, care, and attention in their work. This will result in a greater skill retention, with staff loyalties that go beyond just their paycheque. There will be less absenteeism and less skill attrition.