The Great Resignation: How to Build a People Strategy

The great resignation is the global wave of employees quitting or reconsidering their jobs post-pandemic, and the best defence is a strong, people-first retention strategy.

"Now more than ever, people are expecting their employers and leaders to empathise with their unique challenges. But business leaders may be out of touch with what their employees need."

The 2021 Work Trend Index

Workplace change during the pandemic, including furlough and increased remote working, has shifted employee attitudes and encouraged many to review their job, priorities, and personal situations. The adage "life's too short" has perhaps never been as prevalent among the workforce as it is now. Named the great resignation, this collective reassessment is encouraging workers to review their employer and consider chasing their dreams instead.

So what can you do to engage and retain your top talent? It's not just about employee engagement—it's bigger than that. It's about the employee experience, and you're unlikely to put up much of a fight against the great resignation without an effective people strategy.

How the UK Workforce Has Been Affected

There's been a yoyo effect on employment and unemployment during the pandemic. September to November 2020 recorded the highest number of redundancies on record in the UK, and unemployment spiked in 2020 due to furlough schemes, with those aged 16-24, women, ethnic minorities, and disabled workers experiencing the sharpest drop in employment.

The Reality of the Great Resignation

The 2021 Work Trend Index study highlights how much the pandemic has shifted worker mindsets. Over 40% said they were considering leaving their employer in 2021, and 73% said they want flexible remote working options to continue. But adding complexity, 67% said they also want more in-person time with their teams. Increased flexibility and hybrid working will likely remain a core focus for the future workplace.

This insight is exactly what you need, since a people strategy is vital to understanding what makes employees tick and retaining them when they seek change.

What Is a People Strategy?

A people strategy focuses on the workforce and the relationship you have with your people. It should align with business goals and consider how to optimise the people and skills in the business while retaining, developing, and engaging them. It also ideally addresses deeper workforce issues, including diversity and inclusion.

By creating an effective people strategy, you put people at the centre of your business and recognise them as an integral part of your growth and success. If you don't focus on your people now, the great resignation could hit you hard as employees move to employers who understand them better.

Your people strategy should be based on your current talent and the people you want to hire, prompting you to think about both attraction and retention. Companies that fail to address their people strategy may be hit hardest by the great resignation.

A People-First Approach to Fight the Great Resignation

There's little point spending hours perfecting your business strategy if you don't invest the same energy into your people strategy. A well-planned people strategy should align with and extend your business strategy. Your culture and leadership style must be human-centric, and a solid people strategy ensures this by focusing on what matters most for retention.

The Importance of the Digital Employee Experience Post-Pandemic

Several factors influence the employee experience, including the technology and tools you provide, your commitment to employee health, wellbeing, and development, and the physical work environment. Get these areas right, and you're already challenging the great resignation.

The digital employee experience focuses on how employees interact with their digital workplace—including support, tools, and effectiveness—throughout their employment. It matters more to some employees than others, but it's a critical component of engagement and should factor into your people strategy.

According to Salesforce, the digital employee experience is so relevant that 71% of employees look for a company offering the same technology standard they use at home. Their research also shows high-performing companies are four times more likely to treat employee experience improvement as a critical priority.

5 Steps to Design Your People Strategy for the Great Resignation

1. Use People Analytics

No one said a credible people strategy would take ten minutes to create. To fight the great resignation, you need in-depth information about your workforce. Start with people analytics, combining quantitative data (sick days, diversity, turnover) with qualitative data such as manager feedback or interview insights.

2. Analyse the Information

Review the data you've collected and look for patterns, problems, and concerns tied to the approaching crisis. You'll never identify every possibility, but you can predict future issues based on current trends—much like a SWOT analysis where you seek issues and solutions before they occur.

3. Understand Your People

No company has time to grant every employee's needs, but you must understand what your people want in the post-pandemic workplace to tackle the root causes of the great resignation. Staying aligned with your people is essential; otherwise, the employee experience will never improve.

A study by WorkNest HR, covering senior managers and employees, highlights the gap between employer and employee perceptions. Only half of employees felt engagement improved due to the pandemic, yet most managers believed it had. Worryingly, 42% of managers expected trust to increase in 2022, while 38% of employees predicted it would decrease.

4. Gather Employee Feedback

Employee feedback is essential for a successful people strategy. Aim for a good cross-section of the workforce to gain diverse input. Feedback might come from employee surveys or pulse surveys, or even a happiness barometer.

Whatever the method, including your people and giving them a say shows them their feedback matters.

5. Manage the People Strategy

Once you've completed the data analysis and gathered feedback, you need to actively manage the strategy. Communicate survey results and proposed action plans to your people—consider creating a visual people strategy to share with employees and future hires.

Don't let it gather dust. Live and breathe the people strategy so it's embedded in your culture, then review and adjust it over time to keep it current.

To meet your business objectives, you must build a people strategy centred on your people. Fail to listen to them, develop them, or deliver the experience they seek, and you risk falling victim to the great resignation. Commit to your people plan, enhance skills, and stay ready to adapt—because after the pandemic, you never quite know what challenge comes next.

Sorwe offers all the solutions your company needs to design an effective digital employee experience. Contact us to discuss what's right for your business.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Great Resignation?

The Great Resignation refers to the wave of employees reassessing their jobs, priorities, and employers during and after the pandemic, leading many to resign in search of better opportunities.

What is a people strategy?

A people strategy is a plan that aligns workforce management with business goals, focusing on retaining, developing, and engaging employees while addressing issues like diversity and inclusion.

How can companies fight the Great Resignation?

Companies can counter the Great Resignation by building a people-first culture, using people analytics, gathering employee feedback, and improving the digital employee experience.

Why is the digital employee experience important?

A strong digital employee experience ensures workers have the tools and technology they need to succeed, which boosts engagement and reduces the risk of turnover.

What are the key steps to design a people strategy?

The five key steps are using people analytics, analysing the data, understanding employee needs, gathering feedback, and actively managing and communicating the strategy over time.