How CEOs can keep their best people through the Great Resignation
The Great Resignation, an exodus of quality workers in record numbers, is demanding that corporate leadership realign their goals.
A primary driver of this exodus is that companies aren’t meeting employees' expectations of how companies and their leaders show up as corporate citizens, internally and externally, to care for employees, as well as all their other stakeholders.
Navigating this social responsibility was not in most CEOs’ job title ten or even three years ago. The corporate world was not seen as a leader in creating a positive local and global impact.
That has changed.
According to the Labor Department 4 million people left the US workplace in April 2021. Why? Post-Covid, many of them are focused on wellbeing. They are seeking out a better work-life balance, with shorter commutes, mental health resources, and overall happiness.
Beyond these ‘hygiene factors,’ more and more people are no longer willing to compromise on finding an employer that aligns with their values,. There are new expectations being asked of leaders and managers. The customer, as well as employees, is now looking to the CEO of their favorite company for guidance regarding values and ethics.
In the past, leadership and management have been measured on output and profit margin. Whatever it took to succeed was acceptable as long as the goal was achieved.
Leadership today looks much different.
Accenture's North America CEO, Jimmy Etheredge, and Senior Managing Director of Accenture’s Global Talent & Operation/Human Potential practice, Christie Smith, see this shift in culture as an opportunity for leaders to step up and live out their values. It's an opportunity to create sustainable work environments, increase employee retention, build loyal customers, and fill the world with a little more kindness.
Values Over Profit
Leadership today begins from a place of social responsibility. As a CEO, it is essential to understand the public is looking to them as a moral compass, a place of credibility, and authenticity.
A brand is built on the values it communicates more than on the dollars it collects.
While the quarterly return is still important, leaders today must be focused on employee wellbeing and sustainability. Smith points out that with one in four employees planning to leave their current jobs in 2021, it's more important than ever to invest in the values of your employees.
The moral voice of corporate America currently holds the public's attention. But if the expectations are not held up, if the values are not lived out, the public will just as quickly turn on the corporation and take its labor – and spending dollars – elsewhere.
4 Things CEOs Can Do to Retain Employees (and Customers)
The lines between the public and private sectors have begun to overlap. The private sector, which once chose to remain silent to not offend, has now leaned into social issues like race, gender equality, and LGBTQI rights.
Rather than take offense, the public is seeking out CEOs who speak up and lead the way. When a stand is not made, customers respond by taking their business elsewhere. Leaders are being measured, not just for their business acumen but for their decency as human beings.
With this culture shift, there are four things that Christie Smith and her team’s work and research reveal CEOs need to be doing right now to be successful:
- Build agile organizations
- Provide digital capabilities and become digitally fluent
- Live up to the values of their organizations
- Provide the three variables: trust, transparency, and empathy
Lead by Example
The first priority of a CEO is to lead by example. If they practice trust, transparency, and empathy regularly and authentically, then these traits will be a natural approach for their teams. Christie Smith is clear how Julie Sweet’s leadership as Accenture’s Global CEO exemplifies this type of leadership.
“I think what makes Julie a modern and extraordinary CEO,” said Smith,” is that she lives these values authentically.” Sweet embodied these traits before she stepped into the Global CEO role, so it was natural and credible for her to extend this approach in this new seat.
But this approach requires ‘going first’ to break out of the all-knowing confidence we have traditionally ascribed to leadership. It requires courage to divulge both strengths and weaknesses, which we all have, regardless of the level of expertise or power we reach.
A small, tangible example of how leaders can show empathy is how Jimmy Etheredge makes sure to create extra space for everyone he meets with, knowing that everyone is exhausted from sitting through video meetings. Employee wellness and ethics are his top priorities. He's leading by example, making sure that others know it's okay not to be okay.
"If you're not being kind to yourself," said Etheredge, "if you're not taking care of yourself, it's very difficult to take care of others."
One of the ways Etheredge is making sure to take care of himself is through his "Take Back Lunch" campaign. For 30 minutes, he logs out of meetings to have a quiet, screen-free space to eat lunch.
Navigating the Great Resignation
For 50 years, much of our economy has been transfixed by the Friedman doctrine that the only social responsibility of a CEO and a company was to deliver a profit to its shareholders. While profitability is vital to success, there is an increasing understanding that not taking other stakeholders (employees, suppliers, community, and the planet) into account is actually a disservice to shareholders in the long term.
Further, the increase in employee absenteeism and a worker shortage, as well as the media darling, the Great Resignation, it’s more important than ever for CEOs to understand what today’s workers expect from the companies they work for.
Creating a work culture built on trust, transparency, and empathy is what makes employees feel safe to show up as their authentic selves. This is the state in which we are all able to contribute our very best, and so directly in the company’s best interest. When employees feel seen and heard, their performance and productivity increases. They feel able to grow, and so will stay, leading to the retention of top talent that is more vital – and more difficult – than ever.
To fully succeed in leadership today, one must be willing to pivot from the old expectations of corporate America and embrace a spectrum of social and environmental needs.
Setting Expectations
Today's culture has higher expectations of leadership and management than previous generations. As a result, a company can have the best product in the world but still will not succeed without a clear set of values and a growing relationship built on trust with the customer.
The companies that ignore this shift, that double down on the bottom line over the wellbeing of individuals, will experience higher turnovers. The 4 million individuals in the US who quit their jobs in April, 650,000 in the retail space alone, have made it clear that people are what matter.
"You know," said Smith, "the ends have always justified the means, and that has all been turned on its head."
For leaders who are eager to take a stand and live authentically, this is good news.
This article was written by Nell Derick Debevoise from Forbes and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.
