Employers urged to revise how they attract new recruits as 'Great Resignation' sets in

 

Employers in Jamaica are being urged to change the way they seek to attract new recruits as more people leave their jobs to become entrepreneurs.

 

The Jamaica Productivity Centre says the global trend, dubbed the Great Resignation, has taken hold in Jamaica.

 

The chief technical director at the agency, Tamar Nelson, said more people are willing to leave stable jobs to start a business.

 

"What we are seeing is like intergenerational employees working together at any given time and they have different motivations for why they work. And what we're seeing in the millennials and the Gen Z's is that they want to feel a part of, they want to contribute, they have this entrepreneurial drive," she explained. 

 

Mrs Nelson said the COVID-19 pandemic has opened the proverbial flood gates with the introduction of flexible work time and employees recognising that they can achieve more working remotely.

 

Data from the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, released recently, showed that employee turnover rate globally is 57 per cent, of which 25 per cent is voluntary.

 

Mrs Nelson said employers locally need to pay attention as they could soon be faced with more resignations. 

 

"So, what we are encouraging is a more intrapreneurial type of approach to how we do work. So, giving persons projects where they can lead and they can decide on different aspects would definitely help to retain them in that position because they have that drive, that need." 

 

"Persons are leaving not because of money," she noted. "They want to collaborate, they want to feel valued, they want to be respected...they want to have a shared vision; they want to feel a part of something, to contribute to something." 

 

Mrs Nelson shared statistics from global consulting firm McKinsey & Company that 40 per cent of employees are considering leaving their jobs in the next three to six months but 64 per cent of them do not have another job arranged. 

 

"With this resignation, you'd believe that it would be easy for employers to fill positions. But what we are seeing is that there is a great attrition, but there is not as great an uptake," she pointed out. 

 

Mrs Nelson was a guest on TVJ's Smile Jamaica programme on Thursday.