The Great Resignation 2022: 5 Ways to Beat it

Take the hospitality sector, for example. Restaurants in many countries are having to close for certain shifts or even shut on certain days simply because they don’t have the staff to cover those shifts. 

For most industries, the Great Resignation represents a major challenge to the retention of workers and the acquisition of new talent. If those two things are left unaddressed, they can have serious consequences for the competitiveness of a business.

That’s why, in this blog, we’ll take a look at five tips for how your organization can beat the Great Resignation 2022 and remain competitive. Before we get into that, let’s first take a quick look at the current state of staffing. 

What’s the current state of the Great Resignation 2022

Despite hopes that the Great Resignation would begin to subside in 2022, an increasing number of Americans quit their jobs in February and the gap between available positions and the unemployed grew even wider, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed that 4.35 million workers left the workforce in February, an increase of 94,000 from the previous month - representing a slightly higher level as a percentage of the workforce, up 2.9 percent from 2.8 percent.

At the same time, there were 11.27 million job openings during the month, down just slightly from January. 

However, despite that, with the total level of those counted as unemployed contracting further to 6.27 million, that left a record 5 million more openings than available workers. There were 1.8 jobs for every person unemployed.

5 Ways to Beat the Great Resignation 2022

Ever since demand for contingent workers grew during the Great Recession in 2007, the use of the contingent workforce has been growing year on year. In fact, MBO Partners predicts that close to six in 10 (58 percent) of Americans will work as independent professionals by the year 2027. 

The contingent workforce represents a great opportunity for organizations that utilize it, giving them fast access to top talent at competitive rates. To maximize ROI, however, the contingent workforce must be managed effectively. 

When hiring new employees becomes difficult, it’s only natural to turn your focus towards staff retention. The better you are able to keep your existing employees around, the less you’ll have to look towards new acquisitions. 

Improving employee retention can be complex, but it includes strategies such as creating a supportive work environment, providing training and development, encouraging communication, offering benefits and perks, building internal recognition programs and offering fair compensation. 

A happy and engaged workforce starts from a company’s managers. In fact, according to this study from Gallup, it takes a pay increase of around 20 percent to lure most employees away from a manager who engages them. 

The study from Gallup states: “Great managers reduce turnover more effectively than any other role in your organization.” That’s why it’s important for your business to focus on the retention and development of your managers. 

The vast majority of employees want to grow in some capacity, whether that’s learning new skills or gaining new promotions. That means building a path for employee growth is a crucial step in reducing turnover within your organization. 

Growth and development opportunities within the workplace are going to ensure your employees are happier with their position, and that means a smaller chance that they’ll want to leave your organization. By creating growth opportunities for employees you’ll be able to build a happy and engaged workforce.

Moving one step further from our last point, personalized development for your employees can increase workforce satisfaction even further. Take the time to tailor your employees’ development, asking them questions like “what do you want to get better at?” or “how can we address the challenges you are facing?”

Personalized development could include:

• Asking workers what they want or need to improve their job
• Providing employees with mentorship and coaching opportunities
• Providing training opportunities for new skills that employees want to learn.
• Providing individual feedback for how they can improve in their roles, along with recognition of what they are doing well. 

Interested in learning more about how you can beat the Great Resignation 2022, and how a well-managed contingent workforce program can help you do just that? Get in touch with Contrax today. Our specialists help improve talent acquisition and contingent workforce management for a vast range of businesses.