Can your business withstand the Resignation Epidemic?

The media told us for months that at the end of furlough there would be a huge increase in unemployment. The market would be flooded with job seekers and there wouldn’t be many jobs around.

How wrong could they be?

The market is flooded with vacancies, yet the number of people looking for jobs is at its lowest for years.

Data shows that the number of people NOT looking for work has increased by 586,000 since March 2020. It seems the pandemic gave many workers the chance to evaluate their lives. For some, they were approaching retirement and decided not to return to work, for others they decided they wanted to do something different. Evidence also shows that many staff are still considering their options, with many talking about changing jobs in the new year. For everyone one of the 586,000 no longer in the job market, they take with them many years of experience and knowledge. This loss can be devastating for businesses.

As an employer, you will know that replacing staff is expensive. It’s not just the recruitment costs, its also the time it takes to get someone new up to speed.

So what can you do to to ensure your business survives the resignation epidemic? Below are some points to consider

Is there a record of how to do each role?

Can you cross train to ensure there is at least one other person who knows how to do each role?

Are your salaries competitive? If you havent raised salaries for a few years, there is a strong possibility that your salaries are low. Its easy for employers to say “I cant afford to give pay rises” but can you afford to lose staff as well as the recruitment costs that come with that?

Could you offer some staff development? This could be online learning – there are many courses that can be done online from home or the workplace. Investing in your staff helps increase retention. If you are investing in a professional course, remember to ask staff to complete a training agreement that ties them to your company for at least 12 months from the end of the course. If they leave before, they need to pay the training fees back.

If you would like to talk through any of the above ideas, please dont hesitate to get in touch.