How HRM can turn the Great Resignation into the Great Retention

What is Human Resource Management (HRM)

Human Resource Management is the process of managing an organization’s employees in recruiting, selecting, inducting employees, providing orientation, imparting training and development, appraising the performance of employees, motivating employees and maintaining proper relations with employees to create a better work environment for both employer and employee. (Chai)

Figure 1: Functions of Human Resource

According to a famous quotation by Mr. N.R. Narayana Murthy, the Chairman Emeritus, Infosys, Human Resource Management is "You must treat your employees with respect and dignity because in the most automated factory in the world, you need the power of human mind. That is what brings in innovation. If you want high quality minds to work for you, then you must protect the respect and dignity" (Human Resource). No product or service could be produced without human being. Human being is the main resource / asset which makes an impact of anything. Expectation and desire of every organization is to hire skilled people to make a difference or make their organization competent and best. (Chai)

When we discuss about five M’s of Management (Men, Money, Machines, Methods and Materials), “men” is the most difficult and important part to manage as each man is different and unique in their own way. Although it is the most difficult part to manage, in Human Resource Management employee management is emphasized as employees are an asset to the organization. Human Resource practices are to manage the employees to achieve the organizational goals and reenforce organizational culture. (Chai)

Figure 2: 5M's of Management

The reason to say that “men” is the most important part of an organization is, although an organization has skilled employees required to perform a specific task to produce any good or services, if the employees are not happy and satisfied organization is unable to achieve their goals. When the employees are happy and satisfied it leads to the efficiency and helps employees to retain in the organization as they trust on their employer. Employees are the key players in an organization (JR Automation, 2016)

What is Great Resignation?

The success of any organization depends on two essential pillars: labor retention and employee satisfaction. Being employee retention and turnover the two sides of a coin, both concepts are always together. Therefore, employee retention aims to minimize the adverse effects on the organizational performance created by leaving of its competitive employees. This can also be achieved through following competency-based interviews, clearly explaining the organizational vision and mission, creating a good morale and attitude about the job role and the sense of belonging to the organization and providing necessary training in time in their recruitments.

The Great Resignation, a term introduced in May 2021, which explains the number of employees leaving their jobs since the beginning of COVID 19 pandemic which describes the record number of people leaving their jobs since the beginning of the pandemic. One in five workers have quit their jobs in 2022, according to one of the largest surveys of the global workforce. Job satisfaction, flexibility,  specialisms to go a long way, wage stagnation, amid rising cost of living,  limited opportunities for career advancement, hostile work environments, lack of benefits, inflexible remote-work policies, and long-lasting job dissatisfaction could be taken as the reasons for great resignations (Ellerbeck, 2022).   https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/06/the-great-resignation-is-not-over/

Great Resignation in Sri Lanka

Experienced and skilled employees are the main asset an organization could have. Therefore, retaining them in the workplace for a long time would provide many financial and non-financial benefits to the respective organizations. Many studies and observations have found that employee turnover as a great issue in Sri Lanka due to the economic crisis of the country. Thus, they have identified different sets of factors based on their study areas.

 1. Job Satisfaction

 When employees are satisfied with the job that they do, it leads to employees ‘productivity, effectiveness and performance which helps for an organization to results in lower turnover and retention. From the other hand, when the employees are dissatisfied about their job affects performance negatively and causes them to leave the job. Factors which lead to job satisfaction are working condition, remuneration, commute problems, work stress, unable to balance work and professional life, administration, policies, poor supervision, advancement, achievement, etc. Many organizations make the mistake of not paying attention to these aspects. But lack of recognition and administrative support, low opportunities for advancement and achievement, etc., demotivates employees (Recognize, 2022).

Figure 3: Causes of Job Satisfaction

According to Joshua Bourne, PhychD, there are ten factors which could help the job satisfaction of the employees (Bourne, 2020).

 

1.1       Communication

Communication is an important factor in personal and professional level which makes employees to retain and satisfied. When the employees are allowed to be open, collaborative, trustworthy and confrontational when needed, employees are satisfied about their job as it makes a trust on the employer.

1.2       Organization Culture

Organization culture is something which keeps organization stick together. Cooperate culture is defined as beliefs and behaviors that determine the relationship between employees and management in an organization. The way employees act in an organization plays a major role in measuring the success or failure of an organization. Organizational culture is a combination of values, goals, roles, processes, communications practices and attitudes. Changing the organizational culture is something really a large-scale task and it is highly essential for an organization to recognized when a change culture is necessary. Establishing a long-term strong culture is something motivating others to hand up with the change which leads Increased job satisfaction, Less stress, better performance, Employee retention and etc.

1.3       Security

Once after establishing an organization culture, it makes employees to gain job satisfaction as they have a feeling of security due to the long-term goals that the organization bears.

1.4        Leadership

Enhancing the organizational goals and motivating and influencing employees to achieve the common goals though leadership leads to the job satisfaction. When leaders make an example for their followers and work together with them, employees feel free to have a good bond with the leaders which leads job satisfaction by making sure communication and instruction of tasks is adequate and easily understood. When employees feel comfortable about their workplace and leaders it gives the assurance to the employees that the leaders could guide them through tasks which motivate and increase their satisfaction.

1.5       Opportunities

Employees can gain more satisfaction with their job when more challenging opportunities arise. This can lead to participation in interesting and diverse projects and get employees away from the usual role what they play at workplace.

1.6       Career Development

If employees are more satisfied with their job, they know that they can climb the career path easily where they can grow personally and professionally. This encourages employees to stay happier and retain in their work place. Identifying each employee and having an individualized plan for them gives an assurance to the employees.

1.7       Working Conditions

When the work place is a resilient workplace, Job satisfaction can be increased. This means a place with respect for diverse ideas and opinions, honest and constructive feedback, mentoring opportunities, and freedom from harassment.

1.8       Pay and Benefits

Pay and benefits are the most important part of job satisfaction. At least the pay and benefits should be according to how employees view themselves in their roles. When the employees are not paid and benefited enough, it leads to dissatisfaction and that affects the efficiency of the organization. When the employees are paid enough, they get motivated.

1.9        Rewards and Recognition

Beyond monetary gain and being paid fairly for the work they do, job satisfaction for employees means that promotional policies are unambiguous and in line with their expectations. Satisfaction at a job is not exclusively linked to pay, but to the perceived fairness of how one is recognized at work for achievements. With plenty of salary tools and research online at their fingertips, employees are easily able to determine if their compensation is lower than it should be. A lot of companies are also publicly displaying their benefits on their websites to entice new hires. Make sure that what you’re providing to your current employees is enough to retain them. Otherwise, it’ll be easy for them to jump ship.

 

Conclusion

High employee satisfaction is the key to reduce employee turnover. Especially in every organization  being people-focused is more important than assets. Those who are satisfied with their job and company feel aligned with their professional life, are happy to go to work, and have no reason to leave.

References

Bourne, J. (2020, December 03). Positive Phycology.com. Retrieved from What Is Job Satisfaction and Why Is It Important?: https://positivepsychology.com/job-satisfaction/

Chai, W. (n.d.). TechTarget. Retrieved from Human resource management (HRM): https://www.techtarget.com/searchhrsoftware/definition/human-resource-management-HRM

Ellerbeck, S. (2022, June 24). World Economic Forum. Retrieved from The Great Resignation is not over: A fifth of workers plan to quit in 2022: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/06/the-great-resignation-is-not-over/

Human Resource. (n.d.). Retrieved from What is Human Resource Management? - HRM Definitions - Functions - Objectives - Evolution of HRM from Personnel Management: https://www.whatishumanresource.com/human-resource-management

JR Automation. (2016, January 1). Retrieved from WHAT ARE THE 5 M'S IN LEAN AUTOMATION?: https://www.jrautomation.com/news/details/2016/01/01/lean-manufacturing-5-ms

Recognize. (2022, January 31). Retrieved from 7 Factors Influencing Employee: https://recognizeapp.com/cms/articles/factors-influencing-employee-turnover-intention