The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in several changes in the corporate world across the globe. Both employers and employees discovered that most jobs can be done just as well from home and that going to the office was not really necessary. This awareness has led to employees demanding better work-life balance, with many ready to quit their jobs for more flexibility. Other reasons why employees are quitting include inadequate compensation and burnout.
Employers can learn several lessons from this big exodus, which is expected to be more pronounced in India. For starters, employers need to re-evaluate their hiring practices and figure out ways to deal with the high attrition. Here are the top-five learnings to be gleaned from this situation:
1. Mid-level employees more likely to lead the exodus
Data shows that the increase in resignations has largely been driven by mid-level employees. High workload and burnout have been the prime reasons for this. As for employers, they have realized that it is riskier to hire people with less experience and that training them wastes a lot of time and effort, especially if it has to be done remotely. This has created a greater demand for mid-level employees, who are shifting to industries and roles that are better aligned with their life situations and goals. The lesson to be learnt here is that employers need to assess prospective employees more carefully to figure out whether they are a right fit for the company.
2. Work-from-home model is here to stay
It is a no-brainer that a majority of employees would want to continue work-from-home. The pandemic has shown the world that most functions can be performed quite well remotely — even those jobs that were traditionally considered impossible to do from home. If companies do not want to lose talent, they will have to agree to accept that the work-from-home model is here to stay — that there is no fully going back to how things used to be.
3. Flexible timing to become the norm
While it is more or less being accepted that employees will want to work from home, employers will also have to wrap their heads around the flexi-timing model. The traditional “log-in-log-out” way of working is falling out of favour. If they are working from home, employees will want to work when it is convenient for them to do so. It could be in the daytime, nighttime, early morning, or late afternoon. The learning here is that employees need to be given specific daily or weekly targets and afforded flexibility within that timeframe.
4. Panic hiring a strict no-no
It is natural for employees to rush to hire when attrition rates are high. The problem is that panic hiring can cause additional challenges for both the employer and the employee. Hiring an unsuitable candidate means not getting the desired productivity. This creates stress, and sooner or later, the employee will either leave on his/her own or be asked to go. The lesson to be learnt here is that it is better to leave a position vacant till you find the right person rather than hire the wrong one.
5. Being empathetic to employees
If companies want their employees to stick around, they have to learn to be more understanding of their situations and circumstances on both the work and home front. Most Indian companies are notorious for overworking their staff, cutting pay at the drop of a hat, not giving leaves to employees, and so forth. At a time when resignations are increasing, employers must emphasize empathy towards their employees and create HR policies that will entice new talent.
