What happened to the great resignation? Is it still going to happen?

​ Employers are relieved while limited signs point to mass resignations. However, recruiting conditions are tougher than ever and those who aren’t taking action are missing out on winning top talent.

According to the ABS Job Vacancies report, job vacancies have spiked. SEEK Sales and Service Director, Stephen Tuffley stated that in the first 10 days of 2022, more jobs had been posted in this period than at the same time in the last three years. However, this increase in job vacancies is not a result of mass resignations.

The 5,000 businesses surveyed to gather this data stated that vacancies existed due to ‘business expansion’ and ‘increased workload’, suggesting that businesses have ramped up their operations since having recovered from the pandemic. In November 2021, 30% of businesses expected to increase their employee numbers, according to the National Skills Commission. This is an increase from under 5% in April 2020.

And while it’s great news that businesses expect to increase employee numbers, there are a couple of things that employers need to consider when it comes to their workforce.

If the ‘Great Resignation’ doesn’t happen, what should employers be concerned about?

Employee priorities have shifted

While evidence suggests nothing has happened yet, there is reason to assume the better term for the Great Resignation may instead be the ‘Great Reshuffle’, or the ‘employees evaluating their priorities movement’.

The underlying reason why everyone was concerned about the ‘Great Resignation’ still exists. To give you a short recap, the reason why people are changing jobs is to search for a role which they enjoy or is meaningful to them. Job seekers are changing jobs to chase their career aspirations and lifestyle desires.

The good news is that people are still willing to work, although, the reason why has changed, and it heavily influences our other concern, Australia’s candidate shortage.

The candidate short market

According to the National Skills Commission, the recruitment difficulty rate peaked in November 2021 at an average of 63% for businesses in Australia. The recruitment difficulty rate sat at 38% in February 2021. The comparison of this dramatic increase hints at Australia’s candidate short market.

According to the same report, higher-skilled roles were more difficult to recruit than lower-skilled roles. The biggest reason causing difficulty to hire was due to a limited number of suitable applicants.

Recent ABS data showed that unemployment in Australia dropped to 4.2%. This is the lowest the rate has been since August 2008. Australian businesses are snatching up candidates in an effort to ramp up their businesses and those who are too slow will miss out on top talent.

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Employee priorities’ impact on the candidate shortage

Employee priority shifts and the candidate short market have a cyclical effect on each other.

Job seekers are looking for jobs that are  fulfilling, have higher pay rates, flexible working arrangements and rewards/recognition programs . Pickiness amongst job seekers had reduced the number of applications employers were receiving.

Sadly, job seekers are aware of the candidate shortage that employers are facing and using this to their advantage. We’re seeing many candidates receive multiple job offers with exorbitant salaries as employers fight over talent.

Fortunately, things may start to look up as we go into the second month of the new year. For the first time since February 2021, applications per job ad increased by 1.9% in December 2021, according to SEEK’s data. Tuffley expects more notable changes to occur once employees and employers return to the office after the holiday period.

How to secure talent amidst the great reshuffle

Improve your employee value proposition (EVP)

Consider job seeker priorities seriously but don’t let them have all the power. It is dangerous to offer such a high salary over someone who might not perform how you’d expect.

Instead, consider job seekers’ other priorities; flexible work, rewards and recognition, fulfilling work. The same study by Employment Hero found that poor company culture, lack of appreciation or recognition, lack of career opportunities and no pay raises were reasons why employees left their roles. You will find that focusing on these same factors will  benefit your business further  than just improving employee retention and attraction.

At the end of the day, whether it be the ‘Great Resignation’ or the ‘Great Reshuffle’, the same shift in attitude applies and employers should acquaint themselves with updated retention and attraction strategies. To learn more about how you can improve your employee value proposition (EVP) and secure top talent, check out our advice,  here .

Improve your recruitment process

After needing to quickly revamp their workforce once tourism started up again, hotel group Accor sped up their recruitment process and implemented same-day hiring. This improved the candidate experience and, as a result, their workforce grew from 7,500 employees to 16,000 within approximately 6 months.

There are several things you can do to improve your process to increase your chances of winning talent. Some include:

• Considering your sources
• Tailoring your job description
• Keeping business goals and objectives in mind
• Don’t forget the candidate experience
• Consider outsourcing your recruitment capabilities

For more ideas on improving your recruitment process, check out our blog  here . Otherwise, read more talent management tips and tricks through our  blogs .