Retain Vs. Replace

The number of employees who are looking for new jobs has been trending upward. It’s been called the Great Resignation. People are jumping ship in greater numbers or are seriously considering looking for a new job.

This puts employers in somewhat of a bind. With the talent shortage as severe as it is, companies face a dilemma when confronted with an employee resignation—do they make a counteroffer in an attempt to retain the person, or focus on finding a replacement?

Retention

Some employers are opting for the retention route, offering employees raises of up to 25 percent to keep them. And working to retain employees does have certain advantages. The worker has acquired the knowledge, skills, and experience that your company needs to remain productive. Moreover, retaining the employee relieves the company of the need to go through a time-consuming and expensive hiring process to find a new person, and then orient that person and get them up to speed.

Short Term, Long Term  

In the short term, it may benefit the company to make a counteroffer and attempt to retain an employee. However, in the long term, it may lead to more problems. If an employee is leaving simply because of money, giving the person a raise may solve the problem. Often, however, people leave a company for reasons other than just money.

They go because of conflicts with coworkers or supervisors. Or it could be that they are simply looking for career advancement that is not available at the company or looking for new challenges in their job.

If this is the case, the causes that led to the person’s dissatisfaction are still there, and down the road, that dissatisfaction is more than likely to reassert itself. And so the company is faced with the same situation all over again, this time with an employee who may be regretting his decision to stay. 

Prevention

The best option for companies is prevention. Companies need to make sure that they are offering competitive salaries to begin with and offering their employees opportunities for career growth and development as well as challenges in their current jobs. Companies need to focus on giving and receiving feedback to keep their finger on the pulse of employee sentiment and make changes when needed. This way companies won’t have to be faced with disgruntled employees who are looking elsewhere.

If your company is looking for qualified, reliable people, G.A. Rogers can provide them. We thoroughly screen all of our job candidates to ensure they have the skills and experience you need, and that they will be a good fit for your company. Give us a call today.