The Great Resignation – How Relook at Hiring

The Great Resignation

You have probably heard of the term “The Great Resignation” by now.  It is defined as, “The Great Resignation describes the higher-than-normal quit rate of American workers that began in the spring of 2021 and continued into the fall as vaccination eased the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the unemployment rate decreased, and job openings increased.”

Do you ever wish you could stop the world for a week?  Well, that is what Covid did for us and gave us an extra week or two.  During this time, many of us found we were suddenly off the hamster wheel of life, things were simpler and we realized we could get by with less and be happy.

This realization is a good thing in so many ways. The opportunity to step back from life and reevaluate from a different perspective, is a gift.  People are deciding to live on less and therefore work less.  Many are getting out of the corporate world and starting their own businesses.  Others are finding unique ways to make ends meet and keep their stress down.

The side effect of the covid is that hiring and retaining employees has gotten harder than ever before.  Companies can no longer do what they once did to attract and retain employees.  We have to look at the whole process differently and once again, “pivot” to a new strategy.

Here are some ideas to think about when hiring in your organization.

Look at your hiring process and streamline it!

I looked at ours, and laughed as I had candidates jumping through too many hoops. If I am being honest, it was to test their dedication.  Come get the paperwork, job shadow, then interview a second time,etc…  No one has time for that anymore!  Efficiency is your friend.

1. Make sure the application is simple and can be done online.  Do you really need their last 10 years of work history or where they lived?  
2. Make the application fun – show your culture!  Keep the language fun and not stuffy.
3. Make sure the applications, once filled out, are going straight into a dedicated person’s inbox.  Respond within hours to their application!  Pick up the phone or set up a 15 minute chat to talk within 24 hours.
4. Make the interview virtual!  Now that this is acceptable, it saves so much time for your company and the candidate.
5. Make your decision fast by having the decision makers at the interview.  If the candidate is someone you want to hire, tell them that on the spot.  Tell them to look for an offer letter that day or what the process is moving forward.
6. Be clear on what the applicant can expect with the hiring process.  That shows that your company is organized and has a plan.

The candidate is interviewing your company as much as you are interviewing them.

• Make sure you talk passionately about what your company brings to people in the organization and beyond.
  • Video testimonies of current employees can go a long way.
  • Benefits – Relook at what you are offering.  The younger generation value flexibility and purpose more than anything.
    • Self-care benefits are something to look into.  Yoga classes, gym membership, monthly stipend for house cleaner, etc…
  • Think about offering health benefits day one so a candidate isn’t without benefits for 90 days.
• Be open to job share or flexibility of hours
  • There is a great pool of candidates that would love to work from 10am-2pm.  Just think of the parents that want to be there to send their kids off and be there when they get home, but would love to have some other purpose and extra money for the family.  Would you be open to that?
  • Job Share: Two people are covering for each other.  One takes every Friday off and the other takes every Monday off.  When it is their day off, the “job share partner” covers for them if anything comes up.
  • Four 10’s – this is a HUGE benefit and doesn’t cost anything. Many companies in Europe saw a huge increase in productivity and profit when they switched to this model.  I don’t think many would leave a job that works 4/10’s for a job that works 5 days a week.  

The bottom line is that we need to relook at what we are doing currently and ask if there’s a way to do it differently.  You can always test a few ideas and if they work – GREAT!  Recruiting is still going to be a challenge, but using some new strategies will hopefully help bring in the talent your company is looking for.