All shook up: adjusting to a talent market that has yet to settle down

Two years ago, ‘Zoom fatigue’, ‘wfh’ or ‘new normal’ weren’t part of our language.

Nor was another phrase that emerged very loudly in 2021, and has continued to reverberate: ‘the great resignation’. This one clearly hit a nerve, and entered the conversation from CEO down, either because it was really happening or, more likely, because it chimed with the way many employees were feeling.

The main data point cited in support of the great resignation narrative was the US quits rate. This reached an all-time high of 3% in September 2021. Of course, resignation rates were not evenly spread across management levels, industries, or geographies, nor was a 3% quit rate all that exceptional in itself.

Power shift

In most cases, this ‘great resignation’ was happening against a labour market that had already put the power in the hands of sought-after employee with the right skills and experience.

“What’s unique here is people in professional work now have choice,” said Grace Lordan, associate professor in behavioural science at the London School of Economics in an interview with the BBC. “Previously, with the likes of the Industrial Revolution, most people weren’t skilled enough to get the high-income jobs. Now, knowledge workers are in such high demand that there’s a skill shortage.”

As far back as  1997, Steven Hankin of McKinsey & Company had already pointed out how a ‘war for talent’ was underway.

But certainly, the most recent events had led to a  more fundamental questioning of work itself and how it fitted into one’s life. The pandemic prompted many to realise they perhaps wanted something more from their job and life.

Cutting the office connection

Another new factor was the impact of hybrid working, the dramatic severing of the close relation between the job you do and the place you do it. This freedom also opens up more opportunities when geography is no longer a barrier, both to hire and be hired.

Many predict that this is a permanent shift, that there is no going back. Not so much a ‘great resignation’ but a ‘great reshuffle’.

Companies and their leaders are having to negotiate this changed talent landscape with new tools, attitudes, structures and creativity. Otherwise, they might lose the talent we all know is required to succeed in an economy facing rapid technology-driven change. 

Staying competitive

For employers looking to fill hard-to-fill roles or retain talent, the first lever is usually the remuneration package. This is a given factor, non-negotiable. If you don’t stay competitive, it’s over the moment a competitor raises the bar.

Investing in training and upskilling existing talent is a lever well worth pulling to make your organization attractive. Not only does it prove that you value the employee and their career path, it is clearly also necessary in a fast-moving world where change is measured in months not years. The employee grows, and so does the company.

Inclusive attractions

Undoubtedly, having a corporate culture where diversity and inclusion is a lived everyday experience for everyone and where pathways of advancement are clear and unimpeded is another ‘must have’.  

In order to draw (and keep) top talent, inclusive workplaces have a quantifiable advantage. Research from McKinsey in 2020 found that 39% of all respondents say they have turned down or decided not to pursue a job because of a perceived lack of inclusion.

What’s more, if you are talking to Next-Gen talent, they are significantly more likely to choose an inclusive workplace or to quit a workplace that isn’t inclusive.

Dung Hoang, Principal at Odgers Berndtson Germany, adds: “Significantly, employees have for some time valued flexibility in their working arrangements. The move to hybrid and reconfiguring of back-to-the-office patterns offers a chance to create more attractive ways to work that fir with individuals’ needs.”

Transition to something new

Do these ‘great resignation’ trends represent a permanent shift to endless job swapping?

Probably not. “It’s a transition,” says Lordan. “Over time, workers will know which big company offers what in terms of hybrid. But currently, businesses are still figuring out policies and if they need to adapt their working models to the demands of the job market.”

Adapt quicker

We would suggest that this time of transition is an opportunity to attract great talent from less forward-thinking competitors and other organizations, perhaps from other sectors that are not adapting as fast.

With knowledge and experience across multiple sectors and roles, plus global reach, Odgers Berndtson is uniquely capable of identifying and accessing that talent.

“Ensuring these leaders are right from your plans is clearly critical, and we believe a scientific suite of tools like our LeaderFit platform will assess their strengths, performance risks, and core values to help determine an executive’s ability to deliver results against a strategy, build a high performing team and manage key relationships. Critically, LeaderFit links leadership to business outcomes and can be easily tailored to your organization’s business strategy and culture requirements”, states Christiane Pietsch, Partner at Odgers Berndtson Germany.

The power of good leadership

Great resignation or not, the past two years have reinforced the power of talent, coupled with great leadership, to overcome often unimagined adversity. There will be no let-up in challenge as we face a world characterized by disruption. The war for talent will not be ending anytime soon.

Speak to us about how our experience and approach can help you find and develop the right talent to lead your organization.