What is the great attrition?

A recent poll by Go1 found that two in five employees are planning to leave their job within a year. The pandemic prompted many of us to rethink our priorities and showed us that remote working was a viable option.

 

It shook things up on many levels, driving vast numbers to resign from their roles – choosing to switch organisation, change sector, work different job patterns, or even retire early.

 

There are some key motivators for people resigning. These include: earning more money (also driven by the cost-of-living crisis); getting a better work/life balance; changing career; wanting a more meaningful career; a lack of recognition and feeling under valued.

 

 

Recruitment challenges facing the charity sector

 

Early findings from the current CharityComms salary survey have shown that 45% of charity communications professionals are planning a career move over the next year, and 8% of those will be looking outside the charity sector.

 

The sector as a whole has also been hit hard by a candidate shortage. When CharityJob analysed 40,000 job postings it found that each vacancy received on average 24 applications in July 2021, a massive drop from 100 in May 2020. Other factors impacting charity recruitment specifically include the risk of employee burnout and the fact that charities often offer lower salaries than the private sector (around 7% less per hour).

 

 

What’s the impact?

 

The impact of the great attrition is far reaching.

 

• Recruitment costs money. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development estimates it costs around £2,000 to recruit a senior manager. That’s a cost that most charities could do without. And with the current candidate shortage there’s a greater risk that charities will need to re-advertise, bumping the cost up further
• When someone leaves your team, you’ll lose the expertise and knowledge they’ve built up over their time with you. Even if you recruit a candidate with great experience for the role, it will take time for them to build internal relationships and learn the ins and outs of the way you work
• When a vacancy is unfilled it can put pressure on remaining team members. They may have to take on extra work, which could lead to being overstretched and resentful. A gap in expertise, particularly for smaller charities, could also impact services, stall projects, or cause a lull in fundraising
• It can be unsettling when colleagues leave a team. High turnover can bring down morale and affect your organisation’s culture, which in turn can damage your reputation as an employer. Your company culture could be one of the biggest attractions for employees and candidates, so it’s worth protecting

 

Ways to keep and attract your team

 

To attract and retain the best people, your organisation will need to listen, adapt and then sell itself as a great employer.

 

 

Look at each resignation individually

 

It’s important that you look at each resignation individually to understand exactly why someone is choosing to leave your organisation. There might be issues within your charity that are making people move and that could be easily fixed. Or you could identify patterns, at an organisational or team level, that can be remedied in the longer term.

 

 

Push your mission

 

There are lots of ways to retain staff during the great attrition and emphasising your purpose is key. Sixty-three per cent of employees want their employer to provide more opportunities for purpose in their day-to-day life.

 

As charities, that’s a quick fix. We’re founded on purposeful missions, and just need to make sure they’re tangible for employees right across your organisation.

 

 

Tighten up your recruitment process

 

A poor recruitment process can instantly put great candidates off. Review your current process and ask for candidate feedback. There’s plenty you can do to improve the candidate experience including giving timely feedback and interviewing effectively. Be mindful of how much interview time you’re asking of candidates, and remember that one structured interview has greater accuracy than three unstructured interviews.

 

 

Focus on diversity and inclusion

 

Having a diverse and inclusive organisation can make it a more attractive place to work. Increasing diversity can expand your talent pool, build creativity within teams and influence better decision making. It can also lead to greater job satisfaction, which in turn, will lead to happier employees who’ll want work with you for the long term. 

 

 

Develop your team

 

The Go1 survey, found that 17% of employees planning to leave their job were doing so because of a lack of available career prospects. Promoting internally and investing in your team’s learning and development will help to motivate and engage them, which ultimately means they’re likely to stick with you for longer.