Despite all the talk about the potential of entering a recession, all of us who work in Talent Acquisition know that the jobs market remains incredibly competitive. The US reported a 528,000 increase in permanent employment in July with unemployment at 3.5%. And in the UK, latest data shows that employment rose by 296,000 with unemployment holding steady at 3.8%, a near 50 year low. We’re still seeing turnover that is significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels and evidence that suggests that the majority of those workers leaving jobs are leaving their previous industries completely. It seems very likely that inflation will drive a period of stagnation, if not a full recession, and unemployment is likely to rise in many countries but I expect companies will continue to struggle to retain their existing skilled workers and hire new external talent.
Covid has had a profound impact on the way that we work so will we now see a profound impact on HR practices?
Few would disagree with my assertion that we need a new approach to internal hiring. We need new technologies that give organizations a holistic view of their talent and skills and technologies that proactively help to match internal talent to new internal opportunities. We need to change our corporate cultures so that managers are encouraged or rewarded to develop and progress their existing talent. And we need to allow talent acquisition teams to proactively approach internal talent for roles in the same way that we would do for external talent.
We also need new strategies to better retain talent – to progress careers internally within our organisations, to recognise, develop, re-skill and up-skill. Josh Bersin advocates a systemic model for HR that focusses on reskilling, redesigning, recruiting and retaining. It’s a very insightful piece that is well worth a read.
. . . many studies now prove that almost a third of the workforce will change employers this year and more than 40% of these job-hoppers will change industry. So regardless of these layoffs, you’re seeing in over-inflated tech companies, virtually every company is struggling to hire, retain, and grow their people. Josh Bersin.
And the article linked below from Harvard Business Review promotes a ‘reimagining of retention’ – a shift in culture from promotion to progression, enabling career experiments and rewarding managers for progressing rather than hoarding talent.
These changes in culture and working practices will not be easy to achieve and will necessitate a significant shift in the focus of our HR teams and the investment that we place in our existing talent. The change is coming but, as always, some will be late to the party.
Reimagining retention is not a quick-fix solution to the challenge many organizations and managers are currently facing, but the sooner they start, the sooner their people will see the opportunities to squiggle and stay instead of looking to leave in order to grow.
With the latest ONS labour market data revealing that the UK once again reported record breaking vacancies numbers in the three months leading up to May, and with competition for talent fiercer than ever, businesses must place more emphasis on internal hiring strategies.
With the skills gap continuing to widen and available talent levels dwindling, new and innovative external hiring strategies are constantly being turned to as a means of beating the competition for the best staff. While this is certainly important, I’d argue that far too many firms are focusing the majority of their attention on outward candidate attraction and ignoring their current resources – which will only exacerbate the problem. With the ONS also reporting last month that open jobs had surpassed the number of people unemployed, staff are arguably ripe for the picking of competitors. Identifying where internal mobility opportunities lie in order to move staff across the business and boost retention rates will help alleviate some of the pressures on resourcing teams.
It’s important to also stress that reducing employee turnover should be a strategic focus for the boardroom, not just the HR leadership team. Employee turnover involves significant wage inflation as external hires will nearly always come at a premium unless companies are doing a good job of hiring for potential over job-readiness. And with employee turnover there will nearly always be a lag before a new person is in a role, leaving teams under-resourced and productivity declining. So, naturally, employers need to do a far better job of developing and retaining existing talent to both aid retention and help deliver against growing workloads – and encouraging a greater level of internal mobility is key to this aim.
While there is no quick fix for the UK’s skills shortage, opening positions up internally as well as implementing upskilling or reskilling programmes for current staff will boost retention rates in the long term.A lack of career opportunity is regularly cited as the reason that people leave their current employer so ensuring companies are looking at their internal employee population will have a swift impact on skills deficits.
What is certain is that, as it stands, employers aren’t doing all they can to maximise internal hiring opportunities and a new approach to internal hiring is needed, one that includes new technologies that give organisations a holistic view of the skills within the business and can proactively help to match existing talent to new internal opportunities. We need to change our corporate cultures so that managers are encouraged or rewarded to develop and progress their existing talent, not just look externally. And we need to allow talent acquisition teams to proactively approach internal talent for roles in the same way that we would do for external talent.
The UK employment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points on the quarter to 75.6% but is still below pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic levels. The number of full-time employees increased over the quarter to a record high however, this was partially offset by a decrease in the number of part-time employees. The number of self-employed workers fell during the coronavirus pandemic and has remained low, although they have increased over the quarter.
I’ve always talked openly about experiencing imposter syndrome all through my career and it appears that I’m not alone! According to this article in the FT, roughly 70% of us have experienced imposter syndrome at some point in our careers. The other point that surprised me was that I had always assumed that women generally are more likely to experience imposter syndrome, than men. However, most recent studies confirm that there is no significant difference between genders.
I’ve always tried to channel my imposter syndrome in a positive way – but I’ve not always felt that I’ve been successful with this. From reading through this article, it confirms that there is upside if you can channel your imposter syndrome in the right way. An upcoming paper from MIT Sloan School of Management professor Basima Tewfik, suggests that those who experience imposter syndrome are more likely to have an advantage over other colleagues through their team work, interpersonal and other social skills.
So, a different perspective from the normally more negative approach related to imposter syndrome. As ever, always interested to hear what you think!
Most of us — roughly 70 per cent, research suggests — have at one time or another suffered from what is known as “imposter syndrome”.
Very interesting article written by the Chief People Officer (Christy Pambianchi) from Intel which is being discussed at the World Economic Forum right now. It is remarkable (and very encouraging) to think that nine out of ten employees would take a pay cut for more meaningful work (although how much of a cut is not detailed!).
It is certainly true that the workforces of today seem to be much more purpose-driven than ever before and the much heralded ESG revolution is real. Some great advice is given in the article, including the need to re-assess the purposeof your company and capitalise on the fact that employees whose company values are activated and aligned with them personally are far more loyal, engaged, and willing to advocate for their employer. Moreover, if you give your people a stake in purpose-building you can expect them to feel three times more fulfilled….. that is a strong business case to get hem involved.
Christy believes that with the higher calling of combatting climate change, there is a need to connect people, technology and purpose in all that we do, to engage a purpose-driven workforce to develop and in the process solve the challenges we face in the future. Personally I couldn’t agree more.
It looks like Intel have a strong strategy in place that is purpose-driven, and I would urge all organisations to think about how they can become more purpose-driven. It is certainly a way in which to attract and retain the best talent in a very competitive talent market.
Nine out of ten employees would take a pay cut for more meaningful work
Increasing evidence points to the heightened “human” skills needed for great recruiters to close prospective employees looking for a new employer with strong purpose. Empathy being at the forefront.
With an energized focus on addressing mental health and other societal challenges, purpose-driven companies will likely continue to grow.
I agree with Whitney Johnson who has written this great article in the Harvard Business Review. People are not “resigning”……they are “aspiring”!
Whilst it is of course true that the pandemic has forced many of us to re-align priorities in life, be they family-related or otherwise, one clear impact is that people are deciding to do things that are different – that are more closely aligned to what they want to do longer term and what they need to do, to be content and happy. They are “aspiring” and not “resigning”.
A note of caution though. If you are one of these “aspirers” then please be sure to think carefully and ask yourselves;
– Is what you are aspiring to do and be, achievable? How can you test to see if it is?
– At what cost? Is what you aspire to do worth the price?
– Does what you aspire to be doing truly align with your values as a person?
As Whitney points out, whilst the ‘Great Aspiration” is leading to lots of churn and associated challenges, with it comes enormous opportunities. For those organizations that are purpose-led, focused on well-being of their staff, offer development opportunities to aspire to and who have a compelling and well thought out strategy to succeed, this new talent pool of “aspirers” is a real gold-mine. At AMS, we hope to take full advantage of this opportunity for not only ourselves but all of our clients!
With 1 in 9 jobs vacant, open vacancies outstripping unemployment and employee turnover at exceptional levels, many managers and HR teams will be utilising counter-offers to retain valuable talent that is considering an external move. Counteroffers will typically mean pay increases, one-time bonuses or promotions. Given the challenges of hiring external talent and the inevitable lag between a leaver and a new joiner, are counteroffers a valuable tool to retain talent or a potentially costly gamble?
This article from HBR explores the potential pitfalls – the risk that a counteroffer will fail to address the underlying reason for an employee resigning, that the line manager may appear to be undermined or that team morale may be impacted if the team learns that the threat of resignation can be used to negotiate better terms. Most insightful is the assertion that ‘50% of candidates who accept a counteroffer are back in the marketplace looking again in two months’. So as well as the potential pitfalls of counteroffering it seems that it’s a 50/50 bet whether the retained employee will remain.
We have all heard the adage that employees don’t leave companies they leave managers. If this is the case should we assume that the manager has failed at the point that an employee threatens to resign? Presumably had the manager better developed and valued the employee then they wouldn’t be considering leaving in the first case? I think there may be some truth in that statement although we should recognise that managers can’t be wholly accountable for developing and retaining employees, companies and HR specialists certainly have a role to play.
As I wrote in a previous article (we need a new approach to internal hiring), internal hiring methodologies are woefully inadequate if we wish to proactively retain, develop and progress existing talent. In that article I shared research that showed that only 40% of those leaving jobs claimed that it was easy to find internal opportunities and only 17% felt that their organization encouraged them to move internally. So should we blame employees when they are tempted by external opportunities given that they’re far more likely to be approached for an external opportunity than an internal one? In a job market as hot as it is today we shouldn’t be in the least bit surprised.
In the current market and with inflation and the cost of living soaring it’s no wonder workers are tempted by higher salaries, particularly given that an external job offer is likely to offer a salary increase significantly higher than an annual pay increase for a retained employee. So should we utilise counter-offers as a retention tool? I would argue that we should do so sparingly and with due consideration to the risks highlighted by the HBR article. And understanding that half of all employees that accept counteroffers subsequently leave, I would strongly suggest that Hiring Managers, when utilising counter-offers, begin searching proactively for a long-term replacement as soon as possible.
In the meantime let’s focus our efforts on how we better value, develop and progress internal talent to negate the need to counteroffer.
“If they accept the counteroffer, it’s very likely they will resign again in the future. Research shows that 50% of candidates who accept a counteroffer are back in the marketplace looking again in two months. The novelty of this solution can wear off and they can be a flight risk. And then you are back in the same spot looking for talent again.”
This is an interesting read, tackling different aspects of hybrid working. We talk a lot about the positive aspects of flexibility, mental well-being and work-life balance, but equally we should look at the areas that might be negatively impacted, ensuring that we have adequate strategies in place to address and minimise the impacts.
For workplaces already challenged to diversify and retain employees, adopting ill-conceived hybrid work models could instead speed departures, decrease inclusion, and harm performance
New research in the UK has been released by the Chartered Management Institute indicating that male managers are blocking the efforts of companies to achieve gender balance. Off the back of the sexist comments that were levelled at the Aviva CEO last week at their AGM, this reinforces that we collectively have much to do to continue to strive for gender equity across corporate UK.
It is clear that organisations need to continue to work with their Managers to ensure that gender equity and inclusion continues to be given the focus it requires. So, what practically should businesses be investing in?
Surveying the female population of the workforce to understand the challenges that exist that prevent or deter females from progressing their careers
Introduction of return to work programmes as a way of proactively supporting women back to the workplace
Introduction of reverse mentoring and sponsorship programmes to enable leaders to better understand the challenges faced by women and taking an active role in supporting female talent
Continuing to use education and learning for the entire workforce on subjects such as bias, allyship and conscious inclusion, supporting Managers to build a positive, inclusive culture for all.
What do you think? What more should organisations be doing to prioritise gender equity? Please share your comments here.
Male managers are blocking efforts to improve the gender balance at UK companies, according to research by the Chartered Management Institute that raises fresh concerns about entrenched sexist views in the workplace.
“People don’t leave jobs, they leave managers” – new research demonstrates that this has never been truer, with over half of UK workers surveyed recently stating that they were seeking new opportunities due to their current manager.
Whilst the benefits of hybrid and flexible working are understood for both workers (74% of employees agreed) and businesses (69%), the lack of face to face interactions has caused some disruption to relationships between managers and their teams. With a lack of face to face meetings, increased working from home and a reported over-reliance on emails, managers need to adapt their style to suit the new ways of working. Less than half of those surveyed were comfortable discussing personal issues with their manager.
Great manager traits called out were treating people well (47%), listening to workers (47%) and showing respect to all members of staff (47%).
Face-to-face interactions and other natural moments to develop a rapport are fewer, so managers should look to enhance their toolkit with data and insights to better understand and anticipate employee needs.
