Almost 50 million people quit their jobs in 2021 as part of the Great Resignation and according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics the trend is continuing in 2022 with upwards of 4.2 million people quitting their jobs in August 2022. However, many people who quit their jobs did not leave the workforce, in fact, a lot of them sought new careers with other companies or in other industries.
As the Great Resignation evolves into the Great Reshuffle the impact on business cannot be understated. As people seek new career opportunities, employers will fight over skilled employees. Companies will continue to suffer ongoing brain drain as their skilled workers leave and they struggle to replace them with comparable talent. This brain drain can cause considerable disruption including delays in projects and loss of corporate knowledge.
There are ways to combat the repercussions of employee turnover.
Companies should not silo employees. Yes, there are Subject Matter Experts (SME) in every field, and yes, it’s beneficial to utilize their knowledge. But, if that SME suddenly is no longer a member of your organization, all their knowledge leaves with them. It’s better to work together in teams so no one person is responsible for an entire area of knowledge. This way you can avoid a situation where the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing.
Cross training is important in both large and small organizations. In small organizations, cross training might take the form of learning completely new tasks, while in larger organizations, cross training might be doing the same tasks but for different clients or sectors. At A3, we seek to minimize the potential pitfalls of the Great Reshuffle by incorporating cross training in everything we do. If one person leaves, others on the team can quickly pick up the slack and business continuity is not affected.
Turnover can be a stressful situation for employees as well. The added responsibilities of filling in the gaps and training new employees can be demanding. Often just changing your attitude can affect your entire mindset. Being excited, curious, and available for cross training and exhibiting a love of learning can help alleviate anxiety and stress from employee attrition. In addition, even if you are not directly affected by any internal turnover, other members of your team/organization maybe, be open and proactive to assist wherever needed. Your teammates will thank you.
The Great Reshuffle is affecting vendor and client relationships as well. In a recent survey, 85% of sellers say they lost or delayed a deal in the last year because a key client stakeholder had changed jobs. To minimize the effects of turnover your clients or vendors experience, try to cultivate multiple relationships within each organization so you are not relying on only one contact to maintain your business connection. When turnover does happen, it’s important to reach out to your new contact to establish a working rapport as soon as possible. Doing so will ensure business continuity.
Whether internal or external, employee turnover is never ideal. However, taking steps now can put you and your business in a better position as we all go through the Great Reshuffle together.
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