Are You Prepared for the Great Resignation?

by | Aug 5, 2021 | Growth

turnover tsunami leave quit

The Great Resignation, combined with the Silver Tsunami, will challenge all of us who are responsible for building and maintaining our organizations!

Earlier this year, I shared my thoughts on an urgent situation facing industrial business leaders: the silver tsunami. As older employees begin planning for retirement, industrial business leaders must consider the great resignation when planning the future of their workforces.

Since that article was published, there have been a few changes in American industry:

  • The economy has opened more, even though the Delta variant of COVID-19 is running rampant among unvaccinated individuals
  • Many businesses have announced back-to-work dates
  • Analysts are closely following and report on employment changes

I recently read an article on “Chief Executive” titled “The Turnover Tsunami Is Real” by Johnny C. Taylor. Mr. Taylor is president and chief executive officer of SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, which has over 300,000 members in 165 countries.

Here are the significant points of Mr. Taylor’s article:

  • 30% annual turnover might just be the new normal! The three main reasons for this are:
    • People are rethinking their careers as a result of the last 18 months
    • Remote work makes it easier for people to change jobs
    • In some critical roles, the real unemployment rate is near zero
  • The solution consists of a three-step plan:
    • Retention tools
    • Recruitment plan
    • Work strategy

Let’s take a closer look at those three steps.

Retention Tools to Overcome the Great Resignation

Money, bonuses, and stock options will NOT work. You can’t keep up with big companies, so don’t bother. Fair pay and benefits plus the following three actions will give you a chance:

  • Take care of your people. Your empathy must be genuine, freely available, and continuous
  • Develop them
  • Take a risk and give them more responsibility

Recruitment Plan to Derisk the Great Resignation

To optimize your recruitment efforts, try these strategies:

  • Create a pipeline for the “typical” employees and your rock stars. You don’t have months to find a qualified replacement when someone leaves.
  • Engage your head of human resources and their team. If they find someone who would be great for you, think about either creating a position or keeping in touch with them just in case you need a new hire.
  • Hire for attitude and train for skill. By this I mean have an onboarding process, training plans, and materials available for all jobs. It will take a while, so start now.

Work Strategy

Think about additional ways to get the work done. Employees are the means to achieve the desired outcomes, but they may not be the only means. You could also consider:

  • Outsourcing
  • Temporary employees
  • Automation so you are less dependent on people
  • Temporary reassignments

A Successful Real-world Case Study

In 2020, GM committed to designing and producing many critically needed ventilators. They did an outstanding job by moving employees from the same job in another part of the company to the new area or quickly training people in a new job and keeping them there for a few months. The people appreciated the trust and responsibility the company shared with the employees and felt proud that they were doing an important job.

Without your employees, most of you would be out of business. Someone has to load machines and service your customers. Someone has to communicate with the board, the shareholders, the supply chain, the local and federal government, and your customers. These jobs include retaining and hiring new employees and getting and keeping customers, cash, and other assets.

Since that article was published, there have been a few changes in American industry:

  • The economy has opened more, even though the Delta variant of COVID-19 is running rampant among unvaccinated individuals
  • Many businesses have announced back-to-work dates
  • Analysts are closely following and report on employment changes

I recently read two articles on “Chief Executive” titled “The Turnover Tsunami Is Real” by Johnny C. Taylor. Mr. Taylor is president and chief executive officer of SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, which has over 300,000 members in 165 countries, and the other “Leading My Company Through The Great Resignation” by Morag Lucey, CEO of Televerde.  Both discuss why millions of American workers are quoting their jobs every month.

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About Middlesex Consulting

Middlesex Consulting helps our B2B product manufacturing clients grow their service revenue and profitability by applying the methodologies and techniques associated with Customer Value Creation and Customer Experience professions to assist its clients in designing and commercializing new services and the associated business transformations. Contact Sam here.

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