More than half of all employees surveyed by Ipsos earlier this year said they plan to look for a new job in 2021. More than HALF – an increase of 35% from 2020.

This year, we have seen record-high employee turnover rates as most businesses struggle to fill needed positions. This wave of voluntary employee departures is a result of people reevaluating their careers, priorities and lifestyles due to the pandemic.

Welcome to the revolution.

What is really causing employees to change jobs or not want to go back to work? Employees are still most likely to leave for better pay and benefits. It’s important to continue to examine the market and know what your competitors pay to ensure you are able to retain and attract employees.

Work-life balance is becoming a growing reason for employees departing, especially among employees with children who are looking for jobs with more flexibility. The pandemic allowed parents to experience everyday moments they had historically missed while being away at work. For the first time, some realized what they were truly missing and have reevaluated how they spend their time away from home.

As an employer, are you prepared to face this kind of turnover – or make the changes needed to counter this revolution? To maintain a stable workforce, it is important for employers to make changes and look for warning signs of employees ready to leave. 

  1. Major Life Changes

Did someone just complete their MBA or start a family? Big life changes can sometimes drive turnover or a reprioritization of their work-life balance. As the pandemic wanes, we have seen people wanting to make a change simply because they want to move closer to other family members. The limitations placed on travel during the pandemic heightened the isolation people felt when they couldn’t easily and regularly visit family. It’s a situation they don’t want to find themselves in again and are willing to make big moves to ensure that it doesn’t happen in the future.

  1. Missed Promotions

There may have been promises made prior to the pandemic that were put on hold, but those employees haven’t forgotten. Team members who are disappointed about being passed over for promotions may be looking outside for opportunities to advance. It is important to connect with employees who are interested in advancing and offering them preparation and training for when the next opening occurs.

  1. Department Turnover

It’s important to look at your turnover data by department, division and manager. We were once called to examine the turnover of a nursing department at a hospital. Human resources thought the turnover was occurring because of a problematic employee. However, we found team members weren’t nearly as frustrated with this particular employee as they were with the department’s manager. They saw inaction and an inability to correct employee issues, which led us to discover people were leaving as a result of poor management decisions.

  1. Quiet Employees

These employees often fail to promptly answer calls or emails and miss deadlines. They may have already checked out and are looking for other opportunities. Quiet employees can be struggling with a variety of things, but if you don’t pay any attention to them, you may lose them before you know what is really happening.

  1. Higher Absenteeism

Employees who are frequently taking time off in the middle of the day can be an indication they might be doing interviews. Don’t wait until they quit. Understand who you believe may be most at risk and start working on preventative measures right away.

In our next blog, I will discuss measures organizations can take to help attract and keep talent. At the Vantage Group, we help clients understand the benefits of employees and leaders who work together to gain clarity, insight and accountability. We have the tools and resources to develop your organization’s talent into industry leaders who can ignite their leadership teams, grow their businesses and improve their lives.

Contact us today to find out more about how we can help you with your talent development.