Mass exodus on the cards – or just media hype?

Articles appearing in the mainstream business press and various business websites are claiming that large numbers of employees, restrained and disengaged by the events of 2008/2009, are going to do some walking and head for greener pastures. They’ll do it after they’ve trawled Seek, scanned a few job ads in the paper and visited a few of those recruiting people still suffering from the great drought of 2009. It seems that a whole stream of employees will be giving their bosses the wry smile and pushing the dreaded envelope across the table in their direction. Many employers will be skeptical of the prospect of a mass exodus of employees but some surveys from the past few months suggest the situation is serious.

The ‘Chandler Macleod Post GFC Candidate Study’ suggests that 95% of employees post GFC are looking for work

The Hudson 20:20 Series report Talent Tightrope: Managing the Workplace through the Downturn, which involved 3,000 employees across Australia and New Zealand, came up with these statistics:

• 44 percent of employees indicated that employee morale had plummeted
• 32 percent of employees are genuinely concerned about losing their jobs
• 42 percent of employees said they feel their job is less secure than the same time last year
• 47 percent of employees are seeking a new role
• 56 percent of employees would consider roles they previously would not have looked at

Mark Steyn, CEO of Hudson A/NZ stated that “If employees are disgruntled or unhappy with their current roles, the moment a better opportunity presents itself they will leave. It is this danger of a mass exodus that employers must be aware of and take urgent steps to avoid.”

But wait, there’s more...

Another survey by recruitment firm Aequalis Consulting gleaned the following from 280 job seekers...

• only 22 percent are not planning to move jobs when economic recovery happens

Another survey by global recruitment consultancy Robert Half has found...

• 77 percent of professional workers expect a pay increase once the market recovers

The Corporate Leadership Council believes...

• 25 percent of high potential employees plan to quit their jobs when the upturn happens

So there you have it. Bad news for employers who can’t afford to lose good people, good news for employers wanting to recruit new talent and possibly even better news for recruitment agencies after an ‘annus horribilis’.

What does this mean for employers?

• The potential for skyrocketing recruitment and training costs.
• A need to acquire deep insight to what employees are thinking and planning right now in order to find ways to re-engage them.
• Now is the time to consider new employer brand building activities to reinvigorate positive perceptions of the employment experience and potential.

What are the priorities for employers?

Conduct an online employee survey

• discover what’s going on in employees’ minds with an online employee survey, the sooner the better

Improve internal communication

• communicate more effectively with employees to keep them informed of where the organisation is heading and its future prospects

Create a cut-through awareness and recruitment campaign

• now is the time to be ‘out there’ on candidates’ radar before the rush for talent begins and the market becomes once more highly competitive

Introduce a competent careers section on your website

• careers sections on websites will be under increasing scrutiny and must create a positive impression in the minds of candidates and graduates

Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia with affiliates in Melbourne, Gold Coast, London, Singapore and Mumbai.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au