30 Aug The Great Resignation Has Arrived
The pandemic is the gift that keeps on giving for business owners. In 2020 we dealt with shelter in place orders, mask debates and of course the virus itself. This year has brought us supply chain issues, vaccine debates and the Delta variant. Now are we facing “The Great Resignation?”
Anthony Klotz, an Associate Professor of the Mays Business School at Texas A&M, predicted in 2019 that “The Great Resignation” was coming. Well Mr. Klotz, sadly you were right.
If you are unfamiliar with the term, “The Great Resignation” describes a mass voluntary exit from the workforce; people just quitting their jobs and walking away. The leading cause, according to a recent survey by LinkedIn, is the time spent at home. People really liked working from home and enjoyed more of a work/life balance. Other factors include burnout and fear over lost profits related to the pandemic.
In the second quarter of 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor reported a total of 11.5 million employees turned in their notice. All signs report that that number is not likely to slow down anytime soon.
What does that mean for business owners? Now is the time to rethink how you run your business.
What does that mean for business owners? Now is the time to rethink how you run your business. Start by asking your team how they are doing or what they need to make their job easier. Did working from home hurt your business? Perhaps you need to consider that as a permit option. Training new staff is more expensive than keeping your current team. That is just a fact.
We are unique in that we already had a large portion of our team working from a home office before we even knew what COVID-19 was; allowing them to work their own set hours. We have Skype meetings once a week and keep track of their work in other ways. But some jobs require the person to be in the office, so we give that staff every other Friday off to be at home with their families. We have also seen an increase in revenue, hitting record sales numbers.
Is there more we can do? Always, which is why my leadership team is looking into other ways we can take care of our team. It is the team that makes the business, which is why we always say “People Over Profits.”
I am an optimistic person. While seeing scores of people walk away from their jobs is scary, there is another side to the story. I recently posted a job opening for a key role in our company and was impressed with the amount of talent and number of people who applied for the job. There are still great people looking to join your organization.
I also believe some of the people walking away are starting their own businesses. That is job creation for our nation and future clients for our company.
And when we finally get through all the various stages of this pandemic, just think how strong and resilient our workforce will be.
Scott Miller is the CEO of Centerpost Media and host of the Create, Build and Manage Radio Show and Podcast. You can find Scott on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter via “@scottmillerceo.” Centerpost Media is a marketing agency with a vision to help every business they encounter with their media needs by providing outstanding quality, service and value. Centerpost Media is the parent company to BizTV, BizTalkRadio, BizTalkPodcasts and Bizvod.