Employee and employer relationships have dramatically changed over the years due to education changes and the ability to work remotely. But in the last 18 months, there has been an even more significant shift in this relationship. In 2021, 47.8 million people voluntarily left their jobs, a 30% increase from 2020 [1]. This implication of an ongoing resignation crisis is appalling for companies, especially those in the hospitality sector and supply chains.
Hyperautomation and the Great Resignation
During the pandemic, employees started a massive shift in their careers and what is important to them. Employers have been struggling to keep their current workforce and attract new workers. In January, with 11.3 million job openings, you can see a massive shift in the supply and demand of the job market [2]. The job market is now favouring the employees instead of the employer.
Employers have made two significant mistakes thinking they could fix the Great Resignation. The first mistake was thinking all current and future employees wanted more money and subsequently increasing salaries and monetary incentives. The second mistake was looking at automation or robots to augment workers or fix the vacancies gap. Instead of fixing anything, employers are missing the critical piece: making their current employees happy and satisfied, so they want to stay. It is expected that 40% of American employees are will leaving to leave their current job within the next 3-6 months without a job lined up [3]. But even the 60% of employees willing to stay are keeping their options open [4].
Additionally, work from home options removes the barriers of only looking for opportunities in their current city, and opens a lot more possibilities and careers. This workforce shifts prompts leaders to change their thinking from replacing workers to making efforts on keeping their current work staff satisfied and happy.
What are the costs?
Suppose leaders change their thinking on keeping current employees happy. They could decrease the 12% to 20% of employees who voluntarily leave their workforce each year. Reducing the churn rate also reduces the cost of losing their most valuable employees and their knowledge. It costs a company at least six to nine months of an employee's salary to replace one person [5]. It will also take them 6-9 to nine months of training to fully bring a new person up to speed. It usually takes at least six months for a new employee to become fully productive within their new role. Suppose a company loses 12% to 20% of the workforce each year, which equals over $1 million a year in replacing employees depending on the organization's size. This number does not account for the loss of productivity, unsatisfied customers, and quality costs. Now we are looking at millions of dollars in expenses, lost revenue, and stalled company growth.
So what are employees looking for?
After reevaluating their lives over the past two years, employees are looking for more than money. They are looking for better opportunities to upskill to improve their ability to advance further in their careers. Upskilling and career advancement are in the top 10 of the staffs’ lists when it comes to either staying at their current job or finding a new employer that offers this benefit. Employees express dissatisfaction that mundane everyday tasks are boring and restrain them from being more productive, valued, and learning new skills to work on more strategic plans.
With that being said, employers are missing on how to reap the benefits of automation to help their current employees. It is not about looking to replace the workers! It is about freeing up the time that may allow them to develop through upskilling, which is a critical enabler for staff to further develop their career path at the company, versus going to another one.
How can Hyperautomation help?
Hyperautomation can improve the employees' daily work lives. Utilizing Hyperautomation removes the mundane tasks and frees up employees' time. It helps optimize business processes with process redesign, intelligent automation, and the staffs’ input and buy-in. With upskilling, employees start to feel more valued and empowered. Increasing the existing employees' values and upskilling allows organizations to:
- Reduce costs
- Increase revenue
- Complete impactful transformations
- Gain happier employees
- Reduce employee turnover
- Grow and evolve with your organization
- Scale and grow at a faster, steadier rate
Hyperautomation provides an environment that benefits all levels of the organization. Businesses will see an increase in collaboration that leads to a forward-thinking organization instead of always catching up and putting out the fires.
Are you ready to bring Hyperautomation to your organization to reduce employee turnover rate to help increase employee satisfaction, improve operational excellence, and save costs?
