Here are four ways to counteract the Great Resignation

Aloha! Today I’m talking about “The Great Resignation” where people are choosing to retire early, quit their jobs or make drastic changes to their work life. As an employer, it’s important to be proactive with retention rather than waiting for a crisis to come crashing down your door.  

As a coach, I get to work with some amazing leaders who are doing incredible things in the world. One trend I’ve noticed over the past two years is many have a burning desire to do work and life differently AND on purpose.

According to a recent study, 75.5 million people in the U.S. have quit their jobs in 2021, and that’s compared to the 154 million people who are still actively working. While we can attribute some of this massive movement to factors such as the COVID pandemic, there is no single indicator as to how long this shift will continue.  That’s right…shift!

So what does this mean to you, the senior leader who is responsible for retaining, attracting and inspiring employees? The first thing we can do is simply listen. Create opportunities for people to express how they feel and discuss any unmet needs.  Do what you can, and in addition, get proactive and become a leverage coach by doing these four things:

“There’s a burning desire for people to do work and life differently AND on purpose.”

1. Help leaders reconnect their purpose with their work.  Oftentimes we get bogged down in the weeds of the work and forget why we fell in love with WHAT we do. 

2. Help teams engage in hard conversations that get to the heart of tough matters.  Too often, teams get complacent with the status quo because they don’t want to “step on toes” or “ruffle feathers”. 

3. Be an accelerator to learning and development. Many organizations are incorporating coaching as part of Individual Development Plans (IDPs) to help leaders grow a variety of skills to help achieve goals, address blind spots, and rise from setbacks. 

4. Help leaders engage and grow deeper relationships beyond the superficial.  People want connection more now than ever.  But more importantly, they find it more difficult to leave a company if they feel strongly connected to others.

Here’s my bottom line: Shifting requires action. We can’t control everything, but we can help people find meaning in their work, grow our teams to have real conversations that overcome issues, invest in individual development, and foster a place where relationships matter. Do one or all of these and we can transform the work experience to something really great.

I hope this has been helpful and given you fresh inspiration. If you have any questions about this video, please send me a message at info@capeeshconsulting.com.  

Salamat Po and take really good care of you!