In 2022 more the 4 million people left their jobs each month in the U.S. This ongoing mass exodus was coined “The Great Resignation” in 2021 by Anthony Klotz, an associate professor of management at University College of London. The Great Resignation was brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and the way it changed how people think about how, when, where and why they go to work. Klotz recently told CNBC Make It that he expects quitting and company turnover to slow down in 2023 — hopefully good news for businesses nationwide struggling to staff their companies.
While surely impacted by The Great Resignation, the PHCP-PVF industry, was no stranger to labor shortages; we’ve been dealing with that for a couple of decades. A recent LinkedIn video posted by Bill Condron, CEO of New Hampshire-based distributor The Granite Group made some great points about dealing with quitting and turnover.
Condron admitted it’s never easy to lose great talent. “It’s never fun to lose great talent,” he said. “People leave companies for a lot of different reasons: Personal reasons, professional development reasons or for opportunities that you can’t match at the time. Any company losing someone who’s looking to better themselves or their career should wish them well if you can’t offer them that opportunity at the time.”
Condron added that The Granite Group has experienced people leaving for various reasons and choosing to return back, bringing with them new perspectives and ideas. “When people come back to us after leaving for a new experience it really solidifies the work we are doing here and the great people we work with,” he said. “Plus, they bring back with them a new point of view that can be really powerful for the team.”
When a talented person leaves your company it’s an opportunity to promote from within, moving up a green company leader to a new role. It’s can also be an opportunity to fill the position with an industry newcomer. We should take any chance we can to bring someone in and show off why this industry is so great.
Losing a talented person is also an opportunity to gain feedback and implement new practices to better retain your people. Many PHCP-PVF companies are doing a wonderful job at retention, but there’s always room for improvement. Think about conducting exit interviews to hear ways you may be able to improve.
As Condron said, oftentimes people chose to leave companies for reasons that have more to do with them than you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t look at it as a chance to improve, build up another employee or benefit from a new perspective.
