Do you know that 41 percent of respondents to a Microsoft 2021 Work Trend Index survey reported that they are planning on quitting their jobs within the next year? Such a high indication for quitting is also known as “The Great Resignation” by organisational psychologist Dr Anthony Klotz.

The Great Resignation: Why are people quitting their jobs in such large numbers?

Before each company could even decide what they could do to better retain their talents, it is important to deep dive into possible reasons for this mass exodus.

1) They do not want to return to the office full time

Research data by LinkedIn revealed that 59 percent of Singapore professionals prefer a flexible hybrid working arrangement rather than full remote working or returning to the office full time. Microsoft’s research data also backed the above finding, in that 46 percent of respondents indicated that they are likely to relocate due to remote working. During the pandemic, people realised that a hybrid working arrangement allowed them to be closer to their family or achieve a better work-life balance; so, the very idea of having to return to the office full time is triggering people to leave their jobs.

2)People are burnout by their jobs and are reconsidering their career options

According to Microsoft’s survey, 37 percent of the global workforce reported that their companies are asking too much from their employees and that 1 in 5 felt that their employer did not care about their work-life balance. 54 percent are overworked and 39 percent are exhausted. While technology has enabled us to work from home and communicate through the various online platforms, Microsoft said that these alarming statistics “prove the intensity of the workday and that what is expected of workers during this time has increased significantly.” over the past 2 years. The boundaries between work and life have significantly blurred and it is no wonder that many would like to leave their jobs.

Moreover, according to a recent Linkedin poll of more than 25,000 respondents, 74 percent also stated that the pandemic has made them reconsider their career choices due to a myriad of reasons. Reasons can range from feeling unsupported to reevaluating life priorities due to the pandemic and that life is simply too short to do a job they do not enjoy or work for an unsupportive company.

3) Many people are taking the pandemic as an opportunity to increase their income and advance their careers

Many high-performing staff are most concerned about their career advancement in their current jobs, with 75 percent of respondents stating that the pandemic has made them question their skillset. This group of high-performing individuals may then start to look for other career advancement opportunities outside the company if they feel that the company is unable to help them move to the next level. Besides, with the improvement in the labour market as a result of economies reopening due to higher vaccination rates, many companies are restarting their hiring process and actively recruiting new talents. This is especially true in industries such as tech and life sciences where there could be a 15 to 20 percent wage increase for new hires.

A data-driven approach to increase talent retention

Here are 3 steps that any company can take to use data to enhance employee retention, according to Harvard Business Review.

1) Quantify the problem

Calculate the retention rate using the formula: No. of Separations per Year/ Average Total number of Employees=Turnover Rate. Use similar formulae to identify where your turnover is coming from i.e. voluntary resignation vis-a-vis layoffs. Then, determine the impact of resignation on key business metrics. Track how increased turnover affects the changes in other relevant metrics to understand the full costs of resignations. This would allow for more targeted intervention. E.g. A small increase in turnover in drivers could end up costing the company millions of dollars in hiring and training resources.

2) Identify the root causes

Conduct a detailed data analysis of what is really causing your staff to leave. Explore metrics such as remuneration, the time between promotion, pay increase amount, performance, training opportunities, and tenure to trace the blind spots within your company. Segment your employees by categories such as function or other demographics to understand how work experience and retention rates vary across different employee groups. Such detailed analysis would help your company identify which employees are likely to be retained with specific interventions.

3) Develop Tailored Retention Programmes

Create highly customised programmes aimed at targeting specific issues at your workplace. For example, if the time between promotions is a major factor for high resignation rates, your company should review and adjust the career progression policies accordingly. If there’s a lack of effective data infrastructure in your organisation to roll out the above steps, higher-level intervention for investing in an organised, user-friendly system for tracking and analysing metrics would be necessary.

What do you think of the above methods for improving talent retention? How would you implement the above data-driven approach in your organisation?