The statistics are alarming:
- A record-setting 1 million job openings in the US
- 5 million workers quit just in quarter 2 of this year
- 41% of the global workforce would consider leaving their current employer within the next year
- 54% Gen Z’s are considering quitting
A Professional Awakening
For so many, the pandemic has been like people who survived a near-death experience. It has caused employees to reevaluate their professional careers, not only what they want, but also what they aren’t willing to tolerate anymore. This professional awakening has caught a lot of leaders and companies flatfooted. However, too many leaders are using The Great Resignation Era as a crutch. A significant percentage of people who have quit over the last 15 months is a result of poor company culture, whose leaders are solely focused on productivity and bottom-line profits.
I have seen first-hand, companies with the strongest company culture, long before the pandemic, are significantly less affected by the so-called labor shortage. And the organizations that churned and burned their team members, where a great workplace culture was only lip service, are the ones being hit the hardest by the employee turnover.
The Biggest Mistake Companies are Making Right Now
You can’t hire your way out of a bad culture.
Too many companies are trying to solve this staff shortage issue by hiring people as fast as they can just to fill positions and keeping employees with bad attitudes. Both are huge mistakes. “A” players hate working with “B & C” players. Unengaged employees are like squatters taking up space and sucking the energy out of your organization.
The #1 priority for businesses today needs to be focusing on keeping their top talent by improving their internal culture. Stop trying to find great employees, instead focus on becoming the type of business great employees find.
10 Ways to Build the Culture Employees Will Love
- Love your employees and show it
- Do not compromise who you hire or keep
- Prioritize employees’ mental health
- Measure employee engagement (surveys) quarterly
- Improve the quality of your employees’ lives
- Stop policing them from screwing up and start inspiring them to reach their fullest potential
- If your team is virtual, increase your one-on-one meetings
- Constantly share vision, direction, and sense of purpose
- Demonstrate you genuinely care for your employees
- Systemize leaders catching employees doing something right
Days of lighting fires under people are over. Days of lighting fires inside people are here.
