The Great Resignation
How Data-Driven Employee Engagement Can Change the Game
Anthony Klotz, an organizational psychologist at Texas A&M University, coined the phrase “The Great Resignation” in the earlier part of 2021. The unprecedented number of voluntary resignations prompted this new terminology – also known as “The Big Quit.”
The pandemic undoubtedly played a vital role in this phenomenon. However, examining the underlying causes that, when combined with the pandemic, created the perfect storm for double digit rates of resignations is critical for moving forward.
Government assistance provided many low-income workers the support to stay home and rethink or retool their career choices; for example, the hotel and restaurant industry has been particularly hard hit.
However, there is another significant underlying cause: corporate employee engagement programs that do not get to the heart of the matter and camouflage the real employee pain points. These placed corporations in a position of being blind to the reality of how employees felt about their employment. Why is this?
Most Employee Engagement Surveys Don't Actually Measure Engagement
They measure opinions but can’t identify the emotional profile of their workforce, the reasons for their engagement struggles, and the immediate, measurable opportunities for improvement.
The result? When the pandemic emerged, an opportunity to reflect on current work, careers and employers also emerged. And, employees decided in favour of work-life balance, meaningful work and employers who interacted with them as whole human beings.
We couldn’t agree more with Harvard Business Review when they say, “Employers must take a data-driven approach to improving retention!” A true measurement of employee engagement also predicts retention rates and provides leaders with a risk assessment. By profiling emotional states, backed by science around what drives both negative and positive states, leaders can adopt actions that mitigate this risk.
20% of your workforce is Frustrated? One critical action is to ensure you provide more meaningful feedback on their performance at work and turn Frustrated employees into Energized employees!
15% are Stagnated? Ensure their work aligns to the mission or purpose of your organization so they are able to contribute in meaningful ways.
You get the idea. With a way to both profile accurately the emotional composition of your workforce and the science-based engagement measurement model that pinpoints the actions you need to take to shift from the negative states to full engagement, you will not become a victim of The Great Resignation.
Science-based and data-driven insight will provide you the information you need to make great decisions about how to retain and even attract key talent through a Passionately Engaged work experience, based on meaning and progress. Your teams, the organization and YOU!
