In one of my blogs, written in 2020, “Indian Workforce Management - Challenges and Opportunities” (https://sharathgkashyap.blogspot.com/2020/06/ Also can refer in Archive Section – June 2020) one of the key challenges foreseen for organizations in the new working norm was talent retention and attrition.
Now in 2021, we are witnessing a major
shift of people across spectrum. Most of the industries have got impacted and
implementing counter measures to tackle it. Nevertheless, what lead to this
situation, which we can call it as Great Exodus of 2021, will it be remembered
in future like other similar historical events?
2020 also saw larger number of
appeals and requests from job seekers. Open the social networking sites and it
was very common to find “comment for better reach”, it was a scene which we
never witnessed till then, people supporting each other to find jobs and flow
of empathy.
While such posts have waned now,
in contrast, 2021 is seeing job posts been made viral with “comment for better
reach “. There are large number of job openings and employers are sharing it all
over asking people to join them.
So what led to this drastic
change, which is also making headlines in many Medias?
Remember, large number of changes
among people in any organization, can also lead to fundamental changes in its
culture, market perception, knowledge bank which can impact in long run.
Here is a snapshot of possible
reasons leading to this high attrition, collated from different sources across
different segments of industry.
Backlog of Resignations, exploding now: Its normal every year for people to exit and every company had its own % of attrition. In 2020 there was a dip in % of exits due to various reasons. People who wanted to quit had held back their resignations and now resigning. Thus in 2021, the previous year’s pending cases + the current year exit % has created double impact.
Peer Influence and References: one of the biggest influencers for individuals is their friends and colleagues. When they see their peers resigning for better reasons, it’s natural to get influenced and also they can get referred by their friends in new companies. Even those passive job seekers are getting pulled away.
How I was treated Vs Other Company treated them: did employees feel connected to the organization? Did they perceive they were treated with fairness? How was company promoted in the world of business network? What are the differential factors of the people management between their company and competitors? What are the benefits and perks given, all such factors of 2020 are bearing fruits now and may stimulus the thought process.
Change in Priority of People: Covid has influenced people in various ways. We can see change in priorities in their life. It’s not only job anymore. While some have moved spiritual way, few have opted to change their work domain and many relocated to their native villages / towns to be with family. Nevertheless there is big set of people who are also inclined towards making more money and opting for such opportunities. All this changed perception, post pandemic is fueling exits.
War for Talent: working from any part of the country as given the flexibility for companies to attract talent, virtually. Companies are doing everything to ensure they have best resources since the order booking of their projects and business are full and need to ensure on time delivery of projects and services. This spike in demand has benefited the candidates to shop multiple offers and counter offers. If a candidate is having three offers that means in two companies there will be increase in offer decline % as candidate can finally opt one.
If all, why not me: it’s also a psychological impact, like mass hysteria when everyone surrounding is trying something new, why not me. This emotion is also leading the passive / inactive employees to try on what is there in market.
