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HOW EMPLOYERS CAN NAVIGATE AROUND “THE GREAT RESIGNATION”

It’s a job candidate’s market, as employees request higher pay, flexibility and work-life balance.

For employers, the pandemic’s economic crisis caused plenty of revisions in employment policies and procedures. Most organizations found innovative ways to retain talent while keeping their employees safe and productive. However, not every employer successfully kept the economic fallout at bay. Many had to face impactful changes to their workforce. As of January, an estimated 4.5 million Americans quit their positions and sought employment in a new role or another industry. 

The Achievers Workforce Institute reported in 2021, 52 percent of employees did not intend to stay in their current roles and were seeking new employment. In addition, 64 percent of employees polled thought about leaving. And a shocking 77 percent of those employed in their current position for less than a year said they were open to seeking employment elsewhere.

Recruiting and Retaining Talent In Law Firms

Employers lost workers and had trouble replacing them as other companies offered more incentives. As employees continue to request higher pay, flexibility, and work-life balance, it is undoubtedly a candidates’ market.

In its 2021 State of the Legal Industry Report, Thomson Reuters Institute and the Center for Ethics and the Legal Profession at Georgetown University stated law firms could lose up to 25 percent of their legal talent annually.

According to the report, here are some of the actions employers can take to improve a firm’s position for retention or recruiting:

  • provide resources for lawyer and professional staff support through wellness and mental health programs;
  • take a flexible approach to remote work, part-time work, and flextime arrangements; and
  • develop policies and procedures to assure equity and fairness in an assignment, evaluation, compensation, and promotion decisions;
  • make appropriate investments in technology to keep the firm on the cutting edge of technology; and
  • find additional ways to foster social engagement and camaraderie within the firm.

Finally, it is time for law firms to think beyond financial incentives. To effectively recruit and retain law firm talent today, you must continue to elevate the employee experience.

What Can Employers Do?

Listening to direct input from employees is one of the simplest ways to retain talent. If an action plan develops with employee concerns in mind, its success is more likely. Showing appreciation  to a demoralized workforce is crucial.  Seventy-nine percent of people leaving their jobs say they feel unappreciated.

The truth is the solution to keeping your best talent is not scientific. Employers willing to offer growth and opportunity within a high-performance work culture will incentivize employees to stay.

The solution is to bolster retention while ramping up your recruiting efforts immediately. Does your firm have recruiting marketing strategy? If not, now is the best time to create one.

Harvard Business Research suggests that employers take note of the following when retaining and recruiting employees:

The Best Employers Elevate Their Employee’s Purpose

Prove to employees that there’s more to your organization by defining your purpose.  Don’t just talk about purpose. Use it to shape what you do and how you do it.

Provide Opportunities for Advancement 

Give employees new opportunities to advance. Employees want to stay if you give them a reason to stay. Most importantly, each time you provide a chance for advancement, you provide incentives to the other team members to do their best work.

Prioritize culture and connection

Take the time to connect and build relationships. Research revealed that the social connections within an organization during the pandemic positively impacted productivity.

At Strategic Recruitment Solutions, your success is our success. Our reputation for superior client satisfaction results from a tireless commitment to exceeding our clients’ objectives. We are the recruiting firm for top employers in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and the Gulf Region.

Our recruiters will partner with you in searching for highly talented legal, management and technology hires. Furthermore, our recruiters will lend their industry knowledge, experience, tools, and technology to enhance your recruiting strategy. We have been matching top companies with top talent in the Gulf Region for over a decade. Call us today at 888-366-6508. We can help you find the best candidate to join your legal or IT team.

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COUNTEROFFERS AND COVID

Counter offers are not as good as they seem.

Counteroffers – good or bad? The rate of revenue collected in the IT and Legal sectors have taken a nosedive this year. This is another economic effect of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID). Many law school graduates still remain in a state of limbo as top law firms have seen pay cuts, layoffs, and furloughs. 

With the promise of a vaccine near, there are some bright spots that point to economic recovery. One boost has come from law firms with strong labor and employment practices as their clients navigate cutting jobs and addressing workplace safety issues. There is a trend towards growth as the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the legal industry added 1,900 jobs in July.

During these uncertain times, employees attempting to move on to new jobs may be subject to “generous” counteroffers from their current employers. However, as the adage goes, appearances can be deceiving.

Especially in light of the pandemic, most employers with any interest in pulling themselves out of the current downturn in revenue will try to retain you with a moderately attractive counteroffer. This tactic may be to buy themselves time.

The counteroffer is more so for the employer’s interests than it is for you. If your employer valued you and you were satisfied with your wage and the work environment, you would not have looked elsewhere for employment. Remember, a counteroffer is not a solid promise.

Consider these five reasons why you should reject a counteroffer:

1. Your increase may have been a future raise.

If a raise is offered as part of your counteroffer, take into consideration that all firms have budgets with wage guidelines. The increase included in your counteroffer may represent your future raise granted early. Translated this means you will have to wait longer to see another increase.

2. Counteroffers may create a toll on your work relationships.

If you accept your employer’s counteroffer and remain at your current position you may face alienation from the company’s culture. On a ground level, your coworkers may see you as disloyal and no longer a part of the team. In their eyes, you tried to leave them.

3. The same issues may resurface.

If the reason you decided to move on from your employment was any issue other than money, then your dissatisfaction may return after the glow of your pay raise fades. Also, if the corporate culture changes promised in your counteroffer do not last, you will soon be back to job hunting.

4. You may have stunted your ability to be promoted.

No matter what, if you accept a counteroffer, your credibility and reputation within the organization will fundamentally change. Your manager will always question your loyalty as you will be seen as a dissatisfied employee or “the one who wanted to leave.” This may cause you to be passed over for future promotions or important projects.

5. Counteroffers may narrow your job options in the future.

If you make it through a company’s hiring process only to turn around and accept your current employer’s counteroffer, you should not expect the prospective employer to ever consider you for a position again. Also, realize that the legal community is smaller than you think.

When evaluating an employer’s counteroffer it’s important to remove your ego from the equation. Be clear on the issues are that caused you to seek a new job in the first place and evaluate the counteroffer from that perspective. Unless the counteroffer addresses all of the reasons why you considered leaving in the first place, it’s best to move on. Even if the counteroffer does address all your issues, there are always drawbacks to consider.

Strategic Recruitment Solutions has been matching top companies with top talent in the Gulf Region for more than a decade. We specialize in Legal and IT recruiting. Also, our industry-expert recruiters can offer insight and guidance. Call us today at 888-366-6508 to learn how easy partnering with SRS can help you reach your business goals. Best of all, we offer a free resume review. Find out more information here.

 

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YOUR WORKPLACE SATISFACTION HEAVILY DEPENDS ON YOUR AGE

 

 

 

Workplace satisfaction varies by age.

Due to a variety of cultural and historical factors, the level of employee satisfaction in their jobs depends on age, new data shows. Workplace satisfaction is an integral part of retaining and recruiting new employees and growing a business or firm. Employers face some challenges in that the motivating factors for workplace satisfaction seem to differ radically between younger and older generations, but now they have the data to follow through with addressing these needs.

Positive Words

Statistics suggest that employees between the ages of 21 to 30 partially depend on managerial praise and recognition to be fully satisfied. Of this demographic,  30 percent would “strongly” recommend their workplace as a satisfactory environment.  Of this younger age group, 39 percent agree that their manager/supervisor puts forward the maximum effort to recognize their achievements.

Workplace Performance

While younger workers want positive words, older workers want their performance measured. Parallel to this, data suggests that the older the worker, the more satisfied. There is a correlation between an increase in age and in incremental satisfaction. Senior citizens are the most satisfied workers, reporting a 95 percent satisfaction rate. Of employees between the age of 61-70, 47 percent would “strongly” recommend their workplace to others.

Two Perspectives

There are two different perspectives on satisfaction due to age in the workplace. For a business to be successful, there is a need to address both age groups. Not only will this have the effect of creating a more productive working environment, but it will also help retain workers.

Strategic Recruitment Solutions has been matching top companies with top talent in the Gulf Region for more than a decade. We specialize in Legal and IT recruiting. Also, our industry-expert recruiters can offer insight and guidance. Call us today at 888-366-6508 to learn how easy partnering with SRS can help you reach your business goals. Best of all, we offer a free resume review. Find out more information here.

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SUMMERTIME – SHOULD YOUR JOB SEARCH TAKE A VACATION?

summertime-jobsearch-srs

Summertime is usually when the majority of job seekers take a break from their search.  There is a common misconception among job seekers that the summer months are the slow season in reference to new hires. Many job seekers assume they can halt their search because:

1. Summertime is a lax time for employers with less restrictive hours and deadlines. The truth is most businesses retain regular business hours during the summer months. Unless a business is seasonal, the show must go on. Important business deadlines such as quarterly reports and tax filings do not take a summer break.

2. During the Summer months, the workflow tends to happen at a much slower pace than in any other seasons.  This is partially true, depending on the industry. However, most businesses use this “down time” to catch up on neglected projects and to prepare for the future.

3. During the Summertime most supervisors and hiring, managers are taking vacations or are not focused on the hiring process.

It is a myth that people don’t get hired over the summer. While it is true that summer months are when many people take vacations, this does not mean that hiring comes to a complete halt.  Summer is a great time to rev up your search, especially since everyone else assumes there is a hiring slowdown.

The Truth About Summertime

A recent study revealed that 79% of employers that hire for the summer would consider those employees for permanent positions. In fact, the Summer months may be the most advantageous for your job search. Here’s why:

Generally, because there is a slower pace in June, July, and August, this allows more time for the hiring process. Candidates who do not put their searches on hiatus, therefore, have an advantage. Employers will have more time to spend on the interview and selection process and will not be as rushed to fill positions immediately. Likewise, because fewer candidates will apply, the speed of the selection process may increase.

Many companies utilize the summer months to plan and prepare for the Fall. This is a traditional time to prepare for annual trade shows, the holiday season and end of year audits. Instead of being a lax time of year, Summertime presents opportunities. What will companies do in preparation for the heavy workload the Fall season brings? Increase their staff.

Expand Your Connections

The summer is the perfect season for networking.  Work schedules will be more flexible during the summer months and may allow more time for fun events such as a company barbecue or other outdoor party.  This is a great time to expand your connections with co-workers and to seek new opportunities. For new graduates who are just beginning their careers, networking is essential.

Resist the temptation to hang out by the pool all summer. Instead, spend some time focusing on your job search. Summer offers you the perfect opportunity to polish your resume, create and execute a job search plan, and network.

At Strategic Recruitment Solutions, we are here to help you forge your new career path.  We have been instrumental in helping job seekers find their dream jobs for more than a decade. We work closely with most of the law firms and technology companies in the Louisiana Gulf Coast region and the Nation and can provide access to positions that may not be advertised on job boards or a company’s website. Search our current opportunities or submit your resume to get started!