“All of the factors led tomy decision to leave HPG, and I think a lot of people have had similar thoughts and experiences fueled by the andemic.” KimBakalyar, CAS, formerly the chief compliance officer and director of vendor relations at Los Angeles-based distributor PromoShop and PPAI’s 2022 Woman of Achievement, retired earlier this summer. While the trends at play in the industry did not influence that decision, they did reinforce it. “If anything,” she says, “the pandemic made me more certain that it was the right time for me to take a step back and give myself permission to slow down a little.” However, Bakalyar would not be alone if the pandemic had been a factor in her retirement. Data from investment management company Vanguard suggests that in 2020-2021, the pandemic prompted an additional 1.6 million retirements among workers 55 and older. Industry companies report interest in open positions at the firms but are moving to accommodate the increase inmobility among the workforce at large. “In 2022, our employee retention has improved with our attrition rate falling by almost 50%,” says Leonid Rozkin, CEO of Dallas-based service platform provider OrderMyGear (PPAI 704581). “We have seen a decrease in the number of external applicants applying for our open positions and believe it is because of the current employment state of the economy. We are always hiring and find it important to hire and promote fromwithin, when possible, to create opportunities for career growth and personal development. “We’ve also adjusted our talent sourcing to connect directly with the community and potential candidates in smaller, often face-to-face settings like college job fairs.” Chris Anderson, CEO of HPG, says, “The changes first manifested a fewmonths into the COVID-19 pandemic. We have witnessed a continued trend of increasing employee mobility driven partially by the work-from-home phenomenon and partially by high demand for talent in certain areas of our enterprise – such as technology.” There is also a more open attitude toward new opportunities. Ruehlman says, “Interestingly the biggest shift I have seen is in the passive candidate market, meaning people are far more open to hearing about what’s available but not necessarily aggressively searching on their own. Those candidates are generally not willing to jump unless the new opportunity checks all the boxes both professional and personally.” Attrition In its 2022 Great Attrition, Great Attraction 2.0 survey, McKinsey measured the top reasons respondents gave for quitting their job in the April 2021-April 2022 time period. The most commonly given reason was the lack of career development and advancement (41%), followed by inadequate total compensation (36%) and uncaring and uninspiring leaders (34%). PwC reported similar findings. Its Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey, polling more than 52,000 workers in 44 countries and territories, and conducted inMarch, highlighted salary’s role in workers’ decisions. It found that, by and large, pay is the big reason driving the decisions to change jobs – 71% of those surveyed cited it as a main factor. However, it also identified three additional issues that were part of employees’ decisions as to whether they or not they change their working environment. • Meaning: PwC’s poll found that following compensation, finding a job fulfilling (69%), working at a place where one can truly be themselves (66%) and a feeling that the team cares about their well-being (60%) were top drivers in the decision to seek new employment. • Confidence/Competence: Employees want to feel that they can be creative/innovative at their job (60%) and that they can exceed what is expected of them in their role (58%). • Autonomy: Employees want to control when they work (50%) and where they work (47%). These motivations are reflected in promo industry workers’ own decisions. “Ironically the main reason I see for people wanting tomake a change is that companies are Kim Bakalyar, CAS Leonid Rozkin Chris Anderson 71% Salaries are a main factor in 71% of employees’ decisions to change jobs FEATURE | Great Resignation 72 | OCTOBER 2022 |
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