The Great Resignation Calls For Human Capital

As of March 2022, unemployment rates are back to how it was pre-covid at around 3.6% (3.5% in 2019 which was the lowest it was since 1969).

So how are we in this Great Resignation in spite of the unemployment rate back to normal?

The disruption of COVID-19 has driven companies and people to pivot their work habits for better or worse. Aforementioned in my previous post, everyone was forced to reflect on their lives and how to thrive instead of survive. People have become more empowered to take charge of their personal and professional lives. The flexibility of remote or hybrid work has increased the autonomy of skilled workers to choose a company that works with them which means companies are being challenged to stand out by staying competitive so their employees won’t feel the paradox of choice.

To thrive in this competitive market, companies are pushed to benchmark and track KPIs to understand what the labor market values to design a change management strategy for answering the four key questions:

• WHY change?
• Change to WHAT?
• HOW will we make it happen?
• WHO is it impacted?

What is Change Management? 

As Prosci stated, change management is a framework for managing the people side of change. This framework sets up organizations for success that are going through changes and needs support from employees to make the transition a seamless one.

No longer is a stable job and good pay enough for employees to stay. Deloitte’s Human Capital Trends 2021 Report stated four trends we need to keep in mind that are causing employees to resign:

• Gig economy
• Generation different expectations
• Well-being
• Professional Development

If companies don’t adopt or adapt to these trends, they are doomed. Times keep changing and skilled workers will inevitably move to another company that offers benefits that keep up with their new needs. It’s now up to Human Capital to help transform companies into future-proof ones. Most people think Human Resources is the go-to department to remedy this problem, but they’re only half right.

What is Human Capital? 

Human Capital management is needed in the mix now more than ever. The two are different in that Human Resource is the way employees are managed (i.e. recruiting, payroll, compliance, maintaining culture, track training) while Human Capital refers to the business value employees bring to the organization. It is how a company uses people’s talents effectively while making work more enjoyable (i.e. creating and communicating vision, values, and mission, strategic planning).

Is your current company serving you? It’s time to re-evaluate your company’s culture to decide if it’s still giving you the fulfillment you need. Look for signs of unhealthy cultures through engagement surveys or customer feedback. The Future-Proof Workplace highlights key ideas and questions to consider in future-proofing a workplace and your career- some of which are:

• Crystalize your personal values and embody them at work. Decide which personal values overlap company values and model them with your peers. Create a peer culture that will be an example for others.
• Purpose is powerful. It appeals to our inner need as humans to contribute to the greater good. It is a leadership journey, not a destination. Is your purpose future-focused and adaptable?
• Prepare for needing both legacy skills and future skills.
• How does your workspace contribute positively to the culture you aspire to? Does your workspace create optimal productivity?

With the new wave of the endemic and Return-To-Office taking place, these are critical questions to consider to thrive in this job market and is calling for Human Capital’s help to make sense of all this.

A prime example would be the Return-To-Office hybrid work model. Companies are streamlining processes for COVID-19 Protocols, implementing hotel desks and a system for contact tracing. Employees aren’t going to feel enticed to come back into the office unless it’s beneficial to them. Know what’s in it for them to come back into the office and how it compares to the environment at the comfort of their home. It’s important to work with individuals through this change for the buy-in and for them to understand the short and long-term value of this.

You are a product of your environment.
So choose the environment that will bet develop you toward your objective.

– W. Clement Stone

Future of businesses has flipped to people > profit. Change is inevitable so if you haven’t thought about future-proofing your workplace, then you have a lot of catching up to do. Stay curious, stay relevant, stay proactive, and keep on learning. Never forget your worth and the value to contribute to the greater good.