The Great Resignation has caused record-breaking number of workers to leave their jobs and even more are expected to give notice in the coming months. As the economy continues to recover from the effects of the pandemic, many people are seeking new opportunities that offer more flexibility and happiness. This is forcing companies to re-evaluate their goals and treatment of their employees, and requiring leaders to step up and deliver on their social responsibility and company culture.
The people most at risk of resigning may include those who have not been onboarded, fully integrated into the company, or engaged in learning. To mitigate the fallout of this potential HR nightmare, focus on training new employees, fostering communities of interest for informal learning, and providing reskill and upskill opportunities to advance careers and reduce turnover. Unsure where to start? We've laid out some key areas to consider and how a learning management system can help.
Understand the "Why" Behind the Mass Exodus
In order to mitigate issues surrounding this wave of resignation, it's critical to understand why employees are leaving their jobs. If you notice any of these issues in your workplace, take corrective action now to save your organization from high onboarding costs.
- Preference for Hybrid and Remote Work Models: Employees now demand more flexibility in how they work. Although many workers are reluctant to give up their remote work due to the ongoing pandemic, there are plenty who prefer hybrid work models. In Mercer's survey, 87% of U.S. employers indicated that they would embrace greater flexibility once the pandemic ends, with most planning to adopt a hybrid model. If your organization doesn't offer this flexibility, you may see employees go elsewhere to find it.
- Lack of Engagement: When employees aren't feeling engaged with their work, productivity slows, goals are missed, and eventually, they may leave to look for other opportunities. According to Havard Business Review, U.S. companies lose $450 - $550 billion per year due to disengaged workers. On the flip side, companies with high engagement experience 21% higher profitability.
- Missing Growth Opportunities: When there is no clear path for career growth, employees will seek more fulfilling opportunities to feel valued and grow their skills. Findings from Work Institute's 2020 Retention Report indicate poor career development opportunities ranked as the number one cause of resignations for the tenth year in a row. This is not a new problem, and leadership must address it to reduce turnover.
- Concerns For Mental Health: Perhaps the most pressing reason employees leave is the strain on their mental and emotional wellbeing. The majority of workers (80%) would consider quitting their current job for a new one that focused more on employees' mental health.
Mitigate Resignation Risks with Your LMS
Fortunately, the Great Resignation doesn't have to be part of your story. Instead, you can stop turnover before it starts and encourage more employees to stay by implementing a dynamic learning strategy.
Ignite Engagement Through Onboarding, OJT and Continuous Learning
You can inspire higher rates of employee engagement with your LMS right away. From onboarding your new hires to on-the-job training to continuous learning initiatives throughout their employment, create an end-to-end learning experience for your employees to keep them engaged.
Leverage your LMS content library to encourage an active culture of learning, and personalize each employee's journey to feature relevant content for their specific needs. Or let them self serve! Of course, it's a plus if you have courses within your library that offer interaction or gamified learning. And remember, keep online camaraderie alive with social learning and collaboration, virtual meetups and interactive LMS features like leaderboards, polls and newsfeeds.
Be Mindful of Mental Health
A busy work schedule, the stress of day-to-day life and the ongoing pandemic can severely heighten anxiety levels or increase feelings of burnout. The best leaders must recognize and care for their people and demonstrate that in actionable ways.
Ask your managers to meet one-on-one with their team members to check in on their wellbeing. Offer further support by mandating "offline times," be generous with flex days or time off, and provide educational resources through your LMS designed to address mental health and wellness. There are a variety of ready-to-go resources that provide employees with tools to reduce stress, improve emotional intelligence, physical health, focus, sleep habits and more. And this can all be accessed or deployed through your LMS.
Promote Learner Growth with Reskilling and Upskilling
Whether you're taking the initiative to upskill your current workforce or you're filling a shortage of workers, your LMS should be your go-to when it comes to fostering a culture of growth. Show your current employees your dedication to their development by investing in training that advances their career goals. If you're dealing with resignations or are still in the process of hiring for critical roles, you can rapidly reskill and upskill your current workforce to fill these gaps.
Additionally, if you're keeping an eye on the future, it's wise to train your employees and leaders for the needs of tomorrow in the event that an important role becomes vacant. Again, your LMS can help through initiatives like prescribed learning paths that assist with succession planning.
Expand Training for the Remote or Hybrid Workforce
The truth is that remote and hybrid work are unlikely to go away. If anything, the number of options and challenges for how to handle them will increase with time. This makes it mission-critical — now more than ever — for executives, leaders and managers of organizations focused on scaling quickly to understand how to embrace remote and hybrid work. Virtual hiring, onboarding, meetings and so on are no longer just stop-gap measures but must now be a critical consideration for future efforts and optimizations.
Ongoing leadership training on how to conduct virtual interviews, manage team members across a variety of work environments, and ensure employees feel engaged will be more important than ever. Likewise, it's time to evaluate whether the virtual employee experience is effective as is or if there are areas of opportunity and improvement.
Your LMS can streamline and enhance this critical training both in-office and across your remote workforce, ensuring your company is agile and prepared for what comes next.
Be Proactive, Not Reactive
Time and time again, employees have stated—79% of them in this case—that a strong learning culture is one of the main reasons they stick around. No matter how much money you pay an employee, no matter how fast their promotion track moves, they will eventually seek out another position if they are not given the appropriate training, tools, and resources to grow professionally. Ensure your organization is set up for success by utilizing a tool like Absorb LMS to minimize turnover while keeping employees engaged, productive and informed.
To learn more about how Absorb LMS speaks to current business issues, contact a representative today.
