I had an interesting conversation with a younger employee recently. She was talking about the massive workload and hours that she had been working and how exhausted her and her entire team were. Over the past 18 months she had weathered the storm of the pandemic, lockdowns, virtual working, increased workloads and stress. She had reached her limit and was questioning what to do.
She knew that the Christmas holidays were coming soon and that would give her the break that she needed to recharge her batteries. Then she mentioned what many leaders are completely unaware of. She said that she had been looking on the recruitment websites and someone with her experience in her role could be making up to 20% more that she currently was!
In her mind she will not determine whether or not she will stay based on the size of the Christmas bonus or raise that she expects to be given. And this is not a one-off example. Across numerous industries and roles, many people are exhausted and looking for a break. With the market turning to a shortage of quality talent, this has created an increase in the amount of money that is being offered to get people to switch.
Unfortunately, the leaders are completely unaware of this dynamic. Many executives have had to weather the storm and find ways to make it through the pandemic and the uncertainty. Many companies have been able to not only manage through this challenge, but most of them are seeing a big boom in sales which for many will translate to profits.
The trick? Many of these leaders are old school and they believe that their people will just stay. In the next 2-3 months they will be shocked when many of their talented people accept job offers for 10-20% more, have a break to go on holiday and then start working with their competitors.
What can you do? Leaders need to start showing their appreciation for the massive hours and workload that their people have put in over the past 18 months. They also need to recognise and reward them to demonstrate that they are valuable. I know of some organisations that are planning a big Christmas this year with regional events, and plan of giving staff some bonuses or weekend getaway rewards to show their appreciation. So what are you planning?
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