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A recent article in CEOWorld by Vicky Oliver, “Expect Widespread Post-Pandemic Job Hopping,” cites a survey by Prudential finding that 1 in 4 workers plans to look for a new job.
The bad news is that employers already struggling to fill empty seats as the economy ramps back up will be losing a quarter of their staff in a tight market (on average and depending on industry or sector and the individual employer’s own practices and policies).
The good news is that savvy, opportunistic employers can look forward to a new pool of qualified applicants to fill their own empty seats. As it has been with everything else, when it comes to employment Covid is a two-edged sword that giveth and taketh away.
Amidst all the well-known factors creating the current labor shortage (WFH, fear of Covid, their employers’ response to the pandemic, stress, anxiety, burnout, rethinking their career path, etc.), she offers 5 “overhauls” to reduce the flight risk of your valued employees:
1) Listen to your workers
2) Focus on the employee experience
3) Make work fun
4) Show authentic appreciation to workers
5) Put play into work
This list appears simplistic, but in the CEOWorld article, she elaborates on each of these with practical advice on how to come out ahead of the pack as applicants begin to reappear in the marketplace. And concludes on an upbeat note:
“If high employee turnover occurs as predicted, all may not be to the complete detriment of your organization. It can present an opportunity to recruit innovative thinkers, reshuffle teams, reassess organizational policies, and realign goals. The challenge, though, is to retain the best workers on your team.”
Vicky Oliver is a leading career development expert and the multi-bestselling author of five books, including “301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions” and “Bad Bosses, Crazy Coworkers & Other Office Idiots.” She also is a speaker and an opinion columnist for CEOWorld magazine.