Retaining Talent in the Great Resignation
A mass exodus followed the plague.
Sounds dramatic. Biblical, even. But it’s not wrong. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4 million Americans quit their jobs in July, and a record-breaking 10.9 million jobs opened that same month.
If it feels like everyone is busy but no one is working, you’re onto something. The pandemic has reconfigured work in every industry. It’s time to yourself: does my branding make me replaceable?
Mid-career employees are leading the charge.
According to the Harvard Business Review, 30-45-year-olds have had the greatest increase in resignation rates, jumping 20% from 2020 to 2021.
Older millennials are less likely than their Gen X predecessors to be tethered by physical locations and family ties. They’re more likely, though, to have reached a certain level in their career that buoys their confidence. When they’re tired of feeling like they don’t matter, and the work is no longer rewarding, they have zero qualms about packing up their desk and taking their talents elsewhere.
Mid-career employees have more to bring to the table, and if they won’t get it from you, ten more employers are looking for the same thing. With benefits.
They just might go for it. That is, unless they start
FREELANCING
Ah yes, the Wild West of working. Whether they wanted to or not, many once “valued” employees had to start freelancing in the last few years. If you’re not scared yet, you should be. You think mass unemployment is your ally? Freelancers were born in it, molded by it.
Freelancers can offer cheaper prices for specialized skills. Freelancers don’t mind getting paid via Venmo or Gusto, and the nature of their work is more touch-and-go than most.
Tons of talent hasn’t even been lost to better companies. It’s been lost to self-employment. Want to learn how to become a brand ambassador? Start freelancing, and it may happen. Many freelancers bolster their business by becoming a brand ambassador, something you often can’t do working for a company.
That’s the thing. You don’t want to just work for “a company,” and potential hires don’t, either. So, how do you nurture a sense of loyalty? Nurture your brand.
Talent-as-customer
You build your brand with the audience in mind. But what if you inverted that strategy to attract quality talent, too?
Truth is, your brand goes deeper than just your identity. It’s about forming emotional connections, and in this case, it’s all about your culture. Are you a boss or a task master? Do you attract brilliant minds or butts-in-seats? Can you give your employees what they could not get elsewhere?
You can’t build on shaky ground. If your employees have no reason to stick around, why should your customers? And why would anyone want to work for you if your best employees are leaving?
Your brand is as integral to internal operations as it is to external operations. If you start branding from the inside out, you’ll attract and retain the customers and employees that will drive growth.
If you’re not sure where to start, have questions, or just want to schedule some time to talk, we would love to hear how we might be able to help.
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RUSSO is a strategic branding agency that uses consumer insight to change the conversation; forming emotional connections with the target audience. To learn more about Razor Branding visit brandrusso.com, or CLICK HERE to schedule a meeting with one of our Business Development Managers.
