ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Many call the employment situation of the past three-year The Great Resignation. To Seth Mattison, author and employment expert, however, its more productive to think about “The Great Re …” for its causes.
“Pre-pandemic research is useless. Show me something that’s taken place in 2022, or even better, 2022,” he said as a general session speaker at CSP’s Outlook Leadership Conference.
Mattison broke those causes down into three segments:
- The Great Reshuffle: Employees who left their jobs for better roles better pay at another company.
- The Great Reinventing: Those seeking flexibility and chose to leave a legacy job for more independence, whether it be multiple part-time positions or gig roles.
- The Great Reassessing: These were folks who retired to escape the rate race or reconsidered if their job was necessary. “Some realized, the cost of daycare is nearly my entire income,” Mattison said, “why don’t I stay home.”
Mattison also offered five recommendations for retailers to consider as they aim to fill employment openings:
- Create first-class first impressions. Painting a strong image of your company, stores and offices visually and verbally, gives potential employees a reason to want to stay.
- Don’t forget friends and family. Give current employees a reason to recommend people they know and would like to work with. Good people like to associate with other good people.
- Compress the time of the hiring process into securing a commitment. Employers should narrow down the information and tests they truly need to decide if an applicant fits the bill. Rather, invest time in moving the person from applicant to first-day employee.
- Power up pinch-hitters. Here Mattison suggests embracing part-time employment and even gig workers.
- Develop and care. Once those applicants become employees make sure you continue to invest in and develop them to grow their commitment in the company and build a bench for promotions and growth.
“Career development, learning and growing—this is the No. 1 reason people left their jobs in the past year,” Mattison said, adding that people are less influenced by just making more money. “Learning is the new earning because learning helps you create future value.”