The 'Great Resignation' sucks, but as a senior leader or business manager, what can you do?  The key question in the 'war for talent' used to be how you could answer "why should I work for you?"  Now amidst the disruption of the 'great resignation', the big people challenge is answering "Why should I bother staying?"

A recent report by PWC [see link below] delves deep into the mindset of 'millennials' (for them, employees aged 31 and under) and maybe provides some clues to the root causes of the talent exodus. None of it bodes well.  Attracting young recruits is not the issue; but keeping them for long looks impossible. The headlines, summarised in brief: 

• Loyalty is for the birds. Over a quarter now expect to have six employers or more, compared with just 10% in 2008. 38% of millennials who are currently working said they were actively looking for a different role and 43% said they were open to offers. Only 18% expect to stay with their current employer for the long term.

• You can't buy loyalty with cash. Development and work/life balance are more important than financial rewards, with cash reward rated only third. 🧐

• They're 24/7 Connected, but not to you. It's difficult to build meaningful relationships and the critical "glue" when remote and hybrid working is the policy 'du-jour' and 41% say they prefer to communicate electronically at work than face to face or even over the telephone. 

• They want promotion, and now. Career progression is the top priority for millennials who expect to rise rapidly through the organisation. 52% said this was the main attraction in an employer.

• Doing good isn’t enough anymore. Strong employer brands are waning in importance. In 2008, 88% were looking for employers with CSR values. Fast forward three years and just over half are attracted to employers because of their CSR position. 

If you’re looking to attract and RETAIN new talent, it’s a sobering read.

My own take on the solution to the Great Resignation is that all of us, as employees, thrive on a different kind of ‘glue’. It is a sense of belonging that makes our work more meaningful, engaging and (hopefully, at times) inspiring.  Those who have worked with me before will know of my ‘addiction’ to Glue and bemusement at the scant attention organisations pay to it. Creating glue isn’t about a tactical set of hurriedly adopted hybrid working policies, annual pay tweaks, mission statement comms, and an improved canteen; it’s about building leaders who genuinely love what they do taking people along with them. People cohere around people, not around a strategy, or product offer. Post-pandemic, firms need to take a long hard look, but not at WHAT they do, or WHY they do what they do, but WHO they are, and how they make working with others, inclusive, involving, collaborative and sticky.  WHO you work with, WHO you are led by and WHO you serve is critical to creating the right glue.

So, do you know anyone out there who is creating great ‘glue’? Let me know and give them a shout out!  

The excellent PWC report is attached here. 
https://lnkd.in/e_EZnadZ