The Great Resignation

Lots has been written and said about the post pandemic social phenomena: The Great Resignation. On average, 4 million people quit their jobs every month in 2021.  A poll released in September by the Society for Human Resource Management found that over 40% of U.S. workers are actively searching for a new job. In regular times, high employee turnover would be an expression of a healthy economy, but nothing about these times is “regular”. Even though we have experienced one of the worst economic recession in years, we feel the counterintuitive effect of talent shortage in every field. From Main Street, to Wall Street, to Tech,  all industries are affected by the “Great Resignation” and the difficulty of finding talent.

After the COVID trauma we collectively experienced, our mindset toward our work/life has significantly changed.

• Some of us realized that priorities have been modified, and family life and mental health should be given more weight
• Some of us fell in love with the new work-life flow and are not ready to give up the flexibility and the fluidity of the new state of our schedules. Going back to a rigid 9-5 (+ long commutes) if our employer unilaterally changes the rules of the game to the old ways, is out of the question
• Some of us would like to focus on learning new skills and develop our toolboxes, allowing us to get ready for new challenges outside of our comfort zones
• Some of us are looking for more purpose in our day-to-day contributions to make the world a better and more inclusive place
• All of us realized that life is short and time is our most precious resource! We’ve internalized the need to be thoughtful and intentional in how we spend our days

In our pre-pandemic days, the start-up culture was superficially defined by beer on tap, dog friendly offices, and, of course…the ping pong table. In the Great Resignation days, the approach to employee engagement has changed. We miss our happy hours, cooking classes, and lunches in the park, but the foundation and meaning of these connections have evolved.

Here at Singular, we’ve taken a proactive approach, optimizing professional development opportunities internally in order to provide our team members with the ability to find answers to their post-pandemic journey with us.

Internal mobility acceleration:

While we have always been people-first, we implemented an approach that encourages and supports internal mobility. Yes, it is hard to give up your best performer to another team when an opportunity opens up…we still have tight deadlines and deliverables. But, if we are committed to putting our people’s needs above all, developing their careers becomes our top priority. When looking to fill a new req, we switched the paradigm of our searches, and we looked at home for our high potential, high performers, and offered them roles where they can grow and develop. We looked for potential and intrinsic motivation rather than proven job experience.

Flexible work-life integration:

We implemented a localized flexible approach to a globally spread out team. We understood that there is not a “one size fits all” to the global reality, Therefore we found hybrid localized solutions that fit the needs of our teams, wherever they are. Understanding that flexibility and adaptability are the new names of the game, we prioritized the employee experience over rigid corporate rules in order to design our post-pandemic  ”back to the office plan”, taking into account regional and personal preferences. Our Americas and EMEA teams left the major metropolitan areas and are now spread out throughout their countries- and we made it work! Our Israel, India and APAC teams preferred a hybrid work mode- and we made it work!

Managers augmented role:

Throughout the pandemic we saw our internal dependencies transforming. Our strong ties (relationships within our team and close dependencies) got stronger, while our weak ties (colleagues across the globe and “watercooler” developed interactions) got even weaker or  totally disappeared. Our first line managers turned into the principal connection agents to the bigger team. Honest conversations aimed at feeling the interests and expectations of the team became our managers’ priority, taking their check-ins very seriously and getting a clear picture of the career development expectations. When a potential career opportunity opened up, we were ready!

The results? 30% of Singular’s team members have been promoted to new roles throughout the year!

Not just promotions…from Junior to Senior … but major significant career development changes that increased our team members’ employability for life, AND, most importantly, their own personal satisfaction within their professional roles.

During this time of the Great Resignation, we have used these tools to improve the employee experience and connect in the moments that matter.