Dealing with the “Great Resignation” Dilemma Part I
Are you aware that a smaller, yet surprisingly powerful epidemic is sweeping through the ranks of organizations just like yours? For lack of a better description, this current economic dilemma is simply called the “Great Resignation,” and it represents another devastating blow to businesses already struggling from the fallout of COVID-19.
If you’re uncertain about whether or not this crisis—which is also being labeled the “big quit”—is indeed factual or just another fiscal scare-tactic, let’s take a few minutes to examine some data. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic, 4.3 million Americans quit their jobs in July 2021. Yes, that is just July’s numbers (https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm). A CNBC report revealed similar statistics for the following month: “Workers left their jobs at a record pace in August, with bar and restaurant employees as well as retail staff quitting in droves” (https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/12/a-record-4point3-million-workers-quit-their-jobs-in-august-led-by-food-and-retail-industries.html). This economic plague even has its own Wiki page, which defines the Great Resignation as “the ongoing trend of employees voluntarily leaving their jobs from spring 2021 to the present” (emphasis added; you can read more about this topic at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Resignation).
What is most significant about this particular dilemma is that you and your leadership team are not likely to lose your younger, less-experienced employees nor senior members of your company who are nearing retirement anyway. Instead, according to a September 2021 Harvard Business Review article, this voluntary abandonment of your business could involve many mid-career team members: “Employees between 30 and 45 years old have had the greatest increase in resignation rates, with an average increase of more than 20% between 2020 and 2021” (explore more of Ian Cook’s post “Who is Driving the Great Resignation?” at https://hbr.org/2021/09/who-is-driving-the-great-resignation). Should this trend continue, leaders in every industry will struggle to obtain competent replacements for team members who typically should be decades from official retirement and also tend to help train up newer, unseasoned employees.
While this data may seem daunting, the LEADon® team believes there are specific strategies leaders can employ to stem the tide of individuals who might be considering severing ties with their organizations. In fact, in this first of our two-part series, we’re going to suggest the simplest step you and your leadership team can take to prevent unwanted departures: develop a “Corporate Family®” approach to doing business.
Due to our fundamental philosophy of developing and maintaining healthy, functional family systems, LEADon® has been part of incredible success stories where leaders in multiple industries have implemented this “familial” approach to leading their organizations. As we explain in Corporate Family Matters: Creating and Developing Organizational Dynasties (2010), this approach works because “by definition, a family is a group that has commonality . . . in a sense, every business is like a family—and this is your ‘Corporate Family’” (p. 11).
When you and your leadership team create an environment where everyone feels like they are part of a family unit, something extraordinary occurs. People feel valued, and they in turn value being members of this type of supportive system. In addition, members of a healthy family typically don’t “quit “what they love and those they enjoy being around.
The team at LEADon® has spent decades observing the positive results this Corporate Family® philosophy has on productivity and profitability, and we’ve developed numerous resources to explain this strategic approach to doing business. Along with reading Corporate Family Matters, we recommend you and your leadership team take two of our online courses, LEADing Your Corporate Family® and LEADers and Managers in Your Corporate Family® . You can find these resources at www.LEADonUniversity.com. And feel free to contact LEADon® directly at 858-592-0700 so we can answer questions or assist you with other leadership needs.
