Uncertainty and upheaval often have wide-ranging effects on society, leading to many changes and creating new opportunities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the world turned upside down for many individuals and businesses. Enterprises across many sectors were forced to make abrupt changes, shut down, or even restrict access to goods, services, and jobs. As a result, many employees were laid off or furloughed or worked from home for extended periods, many for the first time in their careers.
This upheaval has created a situation where many people are reconsidering what is most important to them, especially given the extensive upheaval in the economy and the lives of hundreds of millions of people. That period of introspection and reflection has caused employees to rethink their jobs and career paths, leading to what has been called the Great Resignation. Evidence shows the national quit rate in Australia rose to 9.5% from Feb 2021 to Feb 2022 – a record high since 2012.
What is the Great Resignation?
It is widely thought that the Great Resignation, which happened as workers quit their jobs en masse, is a direct result of the pandemic. While the outbreak and subsequent restrictions and lockdowns made us aware of the advantages of remote work and enhanced work-life balance, the truth is the Great Resignation has been heading towards us for a long time.
Many factors have contributed to the Great Resignation, such as job dissatisfaction, burnout, low wages, job instability, and a desire for work-life balance. For years, employees have been pushed to work long hours, with constant deadlines and mismanaged schedules, being viewed as inanimate resources with little consideration for their life outside of work. This is a failure of resource management and one that negatively impacts team morale, job satisfaction, and employee retention.
Effects on the IT industry
The demand for IT professionals’ skills has recently skyrocketed, resulting in more professional, financial, and personal opportunities for them. As a result, IT professionals are more comfortable than ever about changing jobs, especially those who favour remote working. Many tech experts change jobs simply due to a lack of career progression or upskilling opportunities, citing they are kept too busy in their current position to upgrade their skills in any meaningful way that could benefit their current employer.
How can your business avoid the Great Resignation?
The technology business has always been difficult to hire and keep quality employees, and the Great Resignation has only made it worse. Employees presently enjoy the advantage, as there is more demand for quality IT workers than there is supply. Employers, however, can take steps to keep their current employees and even attract new ones.
Offer competitive wages
It is a much less costly exercise to pay an existing employee a higher wage than to go through the challenge of recruiting and training new employees. The best employees should be enticed and retained through competitive remuneration packages. Employees should be compensated sufficiently well that money is not a consideration when deciding whether to work for your company.
Provide opportunities for career progression
There are a multitude of reasons why information technology professionals leave their jobs, but one of the primary ones is a lack of professional development. It is thus critical for employees to develop along career paths within your organisation by constantly discussing them with them. Employees will remain with companies where they feel valued and have the chance to advance their careers.
By upskilling and retraining current employees to take on more technical positions, corporations can address skill gaps in their technology teams. It has two benefits: it allows companies to address skill gaps in their technology teams while also giving employees the learning, development, and career advancement that they frequently feel are missing in their job options.
Support a hybrid work environment
Employees value being able to work flexibly, either in the office or at home. Businesses that reject hybrid work may have a hard time finding job candidates or retaining employees. Hybrid workplaces allow employees to achieve a better work-life balance, which has benefits for both the employer and the employee.
Careful resource management
IT staff are often in high demand as businesses undertake digital transformations to keep up with the ever-changing IT landscape. This can lead to IT teams being overworked and simply keeping things running, rather than having the capacity to plan and strategise for future projects or upgrades. Careful management of your IT resources may mean outsourcing some aspects to a third party, such as managed security providers, who can undertake the 24/7/365 tasks that reduce your IT employees’ ability to keep abreast of their current tasks. This can reduce stress and burnout of internal employees, who are less likely to look elsewhere for a new role with fewer remands.
Hire the right experts with IT resourcing experts
It can be a challenge for companies to find the right IT personnel due to the rising demand for competent workers and a limited labour pool. To remain competitive, businesses should have an effective recruitment process in place that draws in top talent, weeds out unqualified candidates, and reduces hiring expenses.
With decades of experience in the IT business, Virtu understands how crucial it is to have the right people on your team. We have the experience and knowledge to help with IT resourcing for your company so you always have the right people and tools to succeed. Contact the IT resourcing experts at Virtu today.
3 Comments
Kayden
Companies need to understand that their employees are human beings that have a life beyond work. As long as companies don’t appreciate and do their best to protect their employees, to help them, well then, employees will respond in the same manner.
Martin
If a company doesn’t support a hybrid work environment then I wouldn’t want to work there. Of course this doesn’t apply to any field as there are industries where a hybrid work schedule wouldn’t work. But in most cases, this should be a must. Companies should have learned an important lesson from the pandemic and that’s that people can work from home and in most cases they do a better job from their homes.
Ryan
People have finally started waking up and realizing that their life is so much more than their job. They also realized they don’t need to waste 1-3 hours daily on commuting. They could be spending that precious time with their children or loved ones. The IT industry has seen (probably) the biggest changes during this time. IT companies that value their employees need to up their game and offer the best working conditions available or risk losing their talent.