Attracting and Retaining Executive Talent After the Great Resignation

Last updated Aug 28, 2022

  • Talent acquisition in the aftermath of the Great resignation is one of the biggest challenges for organizations today.
  • For executive recruitment, this could only mean one thing – companies are competing with a full array of work experiences that will entice top executive talent to consider the role.
  • To successfully attract executive candidates, companies must up the ante when it comes to their compensation and benefits package.
  • But to win over candidates, they must recognize that they should adopt new strategies.

The Great Resignation Era: What is it?

When the global economy started to open up again once the worst of the pandemic had passed, most organizations believed that employees would be anxious to return to work.

On the contrary, a mass exodus of employees left their jobs to look for better work opportunities instead.

With over 4.3 million workers resigning from their jobs in the US, a phenomenon called the Great Resignation has consistently made headlines over the past year. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, this marked the highest staff turnover rate since 2000.

Ironically, the same industries that created an increased demand during the pandemic are experiencing the highest resignation rates.

What’s the root cause of the Great Resignation?

The desire for change has made a significant paradigm shift in working models over the past two years.

Employees have started to rethink their motivations and life goals after the pandemic and made workplace decisions that will prioritize their personal responsibilities and mental health.

With global supply chain disruptions and employee shortages, the importance of workers in every industry has been highlighted. It empowered many of them to feel more in control in choosing their career paths. This has been true, especially for Gen Z and Millennials, who have led the massive resignation.

For most companies, the cost of voluntary resignation increased, with the labor shortage increasing the hiring and training costs.

Previously, the rise of voluntary attrition often signals competition for talent, in which employees leave their job to find a better one. However, with the Great Resignation, employees are leaving the workforce entirely, and some are leaving to take on very different roles.

According to Fortune, Nearly 50% of workers stated that they plan to look for a new job and are already doing so. Click To Tweet

These statistics show the aftereffects of the Great Resignation in 2022:

  • Nearly 50% of workers stated that they plan to look for a new job and are already doing so.
  • 56% of workers agree that a higher salary will entice them to change jobs, while 41% would consider switching jobs for just a 5% increase.
  • 57% of CEOs find talent acquisition among their most challenging issues.

Related: Do Employees Really Want to Return to the Office? A Guide for Building a Return-to-the-Office Strategy

What are the implications of the Great Resignation to executive recruitment?

Following the Great Resignation, the demand is at an all-time high since there’s a lack of available candidates in the market.

Talent acquisition in the aftermath of the Great resignation is one of the biggest challenges for organizations today.

For executive recruitment, this could only mean one thing – companies are competing with a full array of work experiences that will entice top executive talent to consider the role.

To successfully attract executive candidates, companies must up the ante when it comes to their compensation and benefits package.

But to win over candidates, they must recognize that they should adopt new strategies.

Rather than focusing on short-term obstacles from the Great Resignation, companies vying for executive talent need to view it as an opportunity to provide positive, long-term change regarding executive recruitment.

Talent acquisition in the aftermath of the Great resignation is one of the biggest challenges for organizations today. Click To Tweet

Related: How to Attract and Retain Executive Talent in 2022

Here are several ways companies can fuel executive hiring opportunities in the aftermath of the Great Resignation:

Strengthening the talent pool with quality and value

In today’s candidate-driven market, potential executive talent has never been more explicit about what they want and don’t. These top candidates know their worth and are willing to wait until they get it. Factors such as DE&I, role flexibility, compensation, employer brand, and culture will be one of the factors of their evaluation criteria.

Unlocking the right strategy to strengthen the talent pool with quality and value will improve the company’s overall operational efficiency and drive profit margins in the long term.

·   Better applicant discovery

Organizations must work on alleviating talent discovery challenges with disorganized talent pools, lack of visibility into past applicants, and limited underrepresented candidate search capabilities through a robust applicant tracking system (ATS).

·   Expanded talent avenues

Gain access to the latest market trends, such as the increasing preference for remote work and finding underrepresented executive talent for roles that were not visible due to a candidate’s location.

·   Robust recruitment automation

Organizations need to make a conscious effort to go beyond the traditional recruitment automation practices.

Unlocking the right strategy to strengthen the talent pool with quality and value will improve the company's overall operational efficiency and drive profit margins in the long term. Click To Tweet

Gaining actionable insights for long-term improvement

In the aftermath of the Great Resignation in 2021, companies now have the chance to rethink their executive recruitment strategies and analyze the root cause of why some of their hiring practices became ineffective. Organizations must strive to support their hiring teams with robust data and insights that will improve the candidate experience of future job seekers.

·   Making end-to-end personalization

To really gain a favorable response from a potential executive candidate, organizations should make a meaningful difference to their candidate experience by making personalization an end-to-end experience. Equip the hiring team with the capability to deliver a robust personalization strategy.

·   Prioritizing the quality of executive candidates as a success metric

Evaluate the success of the organization’s recruitment strategy by creating a balanced metric between immediate gains in time or cost and the quality of the executive hire. Companies can look at employee success and growth within the organization from the time they join.

Signs You Should Invest in an Executive Search Firm After the Great Resignation

An organization’s management team is expert in what they do best. However, a huge chunk of an organization’s success will depend on finding skilled and talented executives to fulfill essential leadership roles in the organization.

There’s a high chance that organizations do not have enough time to dedicate a thorough executive search firm. So how do you know if it’s the right time to partner with an executive search firm? Here are several telltale signs:

SIGN 1: You have a high executive turnover rate.

If you keep finding executives for the same position, there’s a high chance that you have never found the right person for the role. Partnering with an executive search firm will help you check all the boxes to ensure you’re getting the most qualified person for the job.

SIGN 2: You’re having problems filling in an executive position.

It’s not uncommon for an organization to have an open executive position wherein they haven’t found a qualified candidate. You might have been exhausting your network and interviewing a number of candidates. However, the volume does not matter. It’s finding the right executive candidate. Executive search firms understand how to attract and find the right executives for hard-to-fill roles.

SIGN 3: You lack the time and resources to vet executive candidates thoroughly.

Hiring the right executive takes a lot of time and resources. Once an opening has been posted, there’s more work ahead – from looking over resumes to contacting and interviewing potential candidates. Deciding on the right executive candidate can be overwhelming if you’re busy operating your business. With an executive search firm, specialists in executive recruitment can handle the nitty gritty of the search process to help you find the right candidate that won’t waste your time.

With an executive search firm, specialists in executive recruitment can handle the nitty gritty of the search process to help you find the right candidate that won’t waste your time. Click To Tweet

Are you looking for the right executive talent in 2022? CDA is here to help! 

Curran Daly and Associates is one of Asia’s top executive search firms. We will help your organization find exceptional leaders who can navigate your firm into the future.

Our holistic and targeted approach to executive search service will help you find industry-leading candidates for the following roles: CEOs and other C-level executives (COO, CTO, CFO, CIO, CMO), Vice President, Directors, and different managerial roles.

Partner with us and tell us more about your recruitment needs.

References:

Jiang, S. (2022). Council Post: How Recruiters Can Capitalize On The ‘Great Resignation’. Retrieved 8 August 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2021/10/26/how-recruiters-can-capitalize-on-the-great-resignation/?sh=28436ca11df6

Shumaker, R. (20220. Recruiting strategies in the great resignation era. Retrieved 8 August 2022, from https://marketing.sfgate.com/blog/recruiting-strategies-in-the-great-resignation-era

The Great Resignation: 4 Key Changes Recruiting Teams Need to Make Immediately. (2022). Retrieved 8 August 2022, from https://www.sensehq.com/blog/the-great-resignation-4-key-changes-recruiting-teams-need-to-make-immediately

By: Curran Daly + Associates

0 Comments

Share This