Addressing the root causes of the “Great Resignation”

Peakon, a Workday companyis a Business Reporter client.

With millions of workers rethinking what work means to them and how they want to be valued by their employers, the Great Resignation trend could just be getting started – beyond the initial waves of record-setting turnover reported in some industries and regions.

The latest findings from Peakon, a Workday company, based on analysis of more than 60,000 leavers across 250 organisations worldwide, has identified that 27 per cent of current employees have similar scoring behaviours to employees who have left their job over the past year.

Drawn from millions of employee responses, this data reveals that more than a quarter of all employees around the world in different industries are showing clear, measurable warning signs normally associated with people who have already quit.

Our research indicates that many people are harbouring a pent-up desire to leave their current role. Why? Employees have been willing to stay in their current roles for nearly twice as long during the pandemic, despite scoring behaviours that indicate they were planning to leave. Globally, the expected average industry turnover rate decreased by 5.9 per cent in the first half of 2021, compared to the same period in the previous year.

This drop in expected employee turnover occurred across all industries, with the consumer and transportation sectors seeing some of the biggest decreases, alongside others such as manufacturing, professional services, non-profit and technology.

For most people, the ongoing economic uncertainty and lack of job opportunities at the start of 2021 meant that leaving their current role was not an option, but as vaccination efforts have started to yield positive results in some regions, this reluctance may be waning.

The “Great Resignation” is far from a foregone conclusion – especially for organisations that take rapid and effective action. As the data in this report reveals, there are specific scoring behaviours that can not only predict but help to prevent voluntary employee turnover.

Before the pandemic, potential leavers could be identified around six months before their actual departure, with turnover intention dropping significantly during that time. During the pandemic, however, it has been possible to identify potential leavers up to 11 months ahead of time, as they showed a more gradual decline in engagement scores.

When strategic decisions and actions at all levels of the organisation are aligned with ever-changing employee expectations, it’s possible to look past “The Great Resignation” and start planning for “The Great Regeneration.”

Download our new Heartbeat report, “The Great Regeneration: Turning the Tide on Employee Resignations,” to learn more about why employees are leaving, and how organisations can identify the signs that someone is planning to leave, before it’s too late.

Originally published on Business Reporter