As an unprecedented amount of workers are leaving their jobs, it’s become clear that the workplace dynamic has been altered. Employees are rethinking their place in the workforce and leaving their jobs in search of more money, flexibility and an overall sense of value.

This trend isn’t stopping anytime soon. According to a recent survey by job search site Joblist, there are more resignations on the horizon with nearly three-quarters of employees thinking about quitting their jobs.

It is no secret that all of this was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic that rapidly changed the landscape for business leadership and human resource departments. Even after the vaccine has allowed us to return to a semblance of “normal,” it is clear that the way we work will never be the same.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also announced recently that 4.3 million Americans, or 2.9 percent of the entire workforce, quit their jobs in August. Those high numbers have experts referring to this time period as “The Great Resignation.”

How can employers keep up with the shift and what steps can they take to retain their talent? It is more important now than ever for leadership and human resources officials to adopt a flexible mindset, and have the ability to pivot as times continue to evolve, whether that is in how they manage teams remotely, onboard new employees, implement new strategies or maintain company culture.

Here are aspects of talent management, employee recognition, and human resources that have shifted since the pandemic began and advice from industry insiders on how you can adjust accordingly to ensure your team — whether they number 10 or 10,000 — succeeds in the future.

Maintaining employee morale

According to a study conducted in late April 2020 by the Society for Human Resources (SHRM), 65 percent of employers say maintaining employee morale has been a challenge.

In addition to covering basic physical needs, such as safety and security, management consulting firm Mckinsey & Company found that employees, more than ever, are asking for their employers to prioritize their emotional needs too. Throughout the survey, the themes of trusting relationships with leaders, social cohesion with colleagues and leaders, and a feeling over individual purpose in the workplace were noted to have had a distinct impact on employee well-being and work effectiveness.

McKinsey offers practical steps leaders can take to support employees including: giving employees air time through town halls and other open discussions, finding creative ways to use technology to give workers more responsibility and build trust, and prioritizing timely actions to accelerate necessary and creative changes in the workplace.

Prioritizing these types of actions will improve these issues and address the needs of your workforce.

Managing Remote Teams

SHRM also noted that 71 percent of employers are struggling to adjust to remote work.

With a remote workforce comes new technology and process demands, which can make leaders and human resource department’s work more challenging while also affording employees and managers certain advantages.

According to remotecompany.com, the start to successfully managing a team virtually begins with setting clear expectations for employees.

While each employee has individual responsibilities, the entire team can benefit from a set of guidelines that help them stay on the same page.This can create positive energy and feedback, and a sense of job satisfaction.

Maintaining Company Culture Means Letting Employees Thrive in Their Own Localities

Culture is defined by the company values emitted from a workplace. This starts with understanding how your company’s culture was defined prior to the pandemic, and then looking at ways to redefine it based on how your team is operating currently, according to an article by Darren Murph, GitLab’s Head of Remote, in HR Exchange.

As cliche as it sounds — as leaders — it’s important to model the behavior you wish to see in the workplace, Murph says.

In a remote setting, a company’s values should be properly articulated, but it is also important to remember that in remote culture, an organization should be empowering its workers to fill their social time outside of work in their local neighborhoods as well.

“Too many leaders are looking to replace onsite lunches with virtual lunches and happy hours, instead of empowering workers to look to their communities to further define who they are as people,” he noted.

Implementing New Tech

The shift to remote work has created a need for more intuitive systems that can be accessed from any location to help employers and employees stay on track.

Likewise, the technology available for measuring a company’s culture through its employees — such as surveys and questionnaires — are often limited and have significant shortcomings, according to Harvard Business Review.

New technologies, such as BluXinga, built with the current state in mind will help managers and employees engage with all traditional personnel activities — from performance reviews to employee recognition — in a single platform. BluXinga created an innovative new application to address this issue. The company’s app is designed to empower employees and management to increase performance, job satisfaction, and achieve company targets.

The technology does this by creating a dynamic platform for instant input and recognition of achievements and fostering communication and collaboration among team members.

Parting Thoughts:

As people are still experiencing high levels of disruption in their homes and communities, as well as in their jobs, it’s important that company leaders continue to step up in critical areas to maintain and grow company culture and boost employee morale. Implementing these suggestions can help improve the overall employee experience.

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