Gracey Cantalupo is the Chief Marketing Officer at MentorcliQ.
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Fresh in time for fall, there are a lot of spooky articles out there warning about “The Great Resignation” and how it will impact your organization. If you are not familiar with The Great Resignation, I will catch you up quickly.
What Is The Great Resignation?
A recent Gallup survey found that over 48% of American workers are “actively job searching or watching for opportunities.” The report noted that “it’s not an industry, role or pay issue. It’s a workplace issue.” Perks like remote work and higher pay can help, but as Gallup noted, there’s more to it than that. I believe workers are leaving jobs not for the money but because they need engagement and development and they want their companies to prioritize diversity and inclusivity. A recent CNBC/SurveyMonkey survey found that nearly 80% of workers want to work for a company that values diversity, equity and inclusion.
Why Is This Important?
Losing great employees is frustrating, and it is also expensive. According to Gallup, replacing an employee can cost as much as two times the employee’s salary.
What Can I Do?
First, let’s think about this from the employee’s perspective. When good employees quit, they generally try to keep things positive so they do not burn bridges. So many employers do not get the information they need to prevent more employees from leaving the organization. The Great Resignation Letter below outlines why I believe employees are leaving organizations and what you can do to keep your talent.
MORE FOR YOU
The Great Resignation Letter
Dear Boss,
As we discussed, I am resigning from my position. I appreciate your willingness to listen to and share my feedback with the organization. While I am grateful for the opportunities here, the pandemic has served as an opportunity for introspection about what really matters to me and as a result, what matters to me at work has changed as well. This move is not about leveraging my expertise and experiences for more money; I need more than money to stay engaged and energized at work.
Here are the five things that I believe employees like me need to make us more efficient at our jobs, help us thrive in our careers and ultimately make organizations more profitable:
• We should receive guidance when we start a new role. We should learn new skills from other employees, and we should receive leadership development and mentoring so we can sharpen our skills and learn new ones.
• We should have flexibility in when and where we work. Additionally, we should feel connected to our colleagues even as we work across different locations and time zones.
• We should see more diversity in our employee base and even more importantly, among our leadership. To help make us all feel like we belong and are a valued part of the organization, you should build a more inclusive workplace culture.
• We should see social change from the top down, and our leaders should be change agents and allies. This should include making public statements and taking action, both inside and outside the company, regarding issues like systemic racism.
• We need to understand our career paths when we begin a new role so we know what is possible and where we can go. We should not feel like we are in dead-end jobs.
I found a company that does all of this by creating a culture of mentoring. This starts on day one and is integrated seamlessly into my core job. I hope your company takes this feedback and implements these changes. It could help you attract and retain employees and maintain or improve profitability for the company.
Sincerely,
Your former employee
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