Over the past year and a half, organizations across the country have seen a larger than normal exodus of workers.  What makes this different, is that they aren’t always leaving for another better paying job.  The pandemic caused many to rethink how they are living their lives. And one of those aspects is what they do for a living.

Many employees when faced with the uncertainty of a global pandemic asked themselves:

• Am I in a job that pays sufficiently?
• Is there an outlet for my passions at work?
• Is the work culture nurturing or one that challenges my mental well-being?
• Are my needs for autonomy and work-life balance respected?
• Do I have enough time to pursue my external interests and hobbies?
• Do I have an extended network of support around me to call upon in times of need?

Millennials are currently the largest generation present in the workforce, and they won’t settle for a less than expected life/work balance.

Leaders need to address these needs in order to retain their current employees and attract new ones.

A recent article on SmartBrief.com outlined some important ways leaders can address the needs of their workforce:

Understand Your Employees’ Passions

Leaders and managers need to know what drives their employees. What motivates them? What are their career goals?  By aligning their work and their employee development opportunities with their passions, the employee will be much more likely to succeed and stay with the organization.

Financial Reward Vs. Fulfillment

What fulfills your employees?  It’s likely more than a good paycheck.  While organizations must pay competitively to retain talent, they must also be fulfilling the needs of each individual employee.  Find out what motivates your employees and make sure the ratio of pay to fulfillment is enough to retain them.

Embrace Hybrid Work

It’s been said time and time again…hybrid is the new preferred work model by employees.  Those organizations who try to go back to the way things were will likely face an employee exodus of some level.  When done right, productivity levels can improve and so will the employee experience.

Hold Yourself Accountable to the Culture You Set Forth

Culture and leadership must align.  All managers must reinforce the culture set forward by the organization. Be honest about your culture – any claims you make should hold true in the workplace. SmartBrief gives a great example on how mismanagement can affect culture: “If an individual on your team consistently misses deadlines or shifts his or her work off to colleagues and you tolerate the behavior, you’re demonstrating disrespect for other members of the team. Culture and leadership behavior must align.”

During this highly transitional time for both employees and employers, it’s so important to stay in tune with what your employees are seeking in the workplace and in their careers. ASE offers many resources to support our members in this area:

• Supervisory Training
• Remote Work Resources
• Compensation Consulting
• Benchmark Data
• Employee Development
• Engagement Surveys

I encourage you to reach out to me for assistance in any of these areas.   Email me at [email protected].