Are We Witnessing The Great Resignation or The Great Realisation?

Almost two years on from the opinion piece in 2020, we revisit the changing landscape of employment, recruitment, and the impact it has had on Independent Professionals during this time.

One of the biggest certainties that we can all take from the Covid-19 pandemic is that the shape of working has changed and is unlikely to return to its previous format anytime soon.
If anything, the future of working seems to be continuously evolving as hiring clients and employers continue to find their way in developing and facilitating the ‘new normal’ working environment.

Listening to the most influential Human Resources experts Worldwide, the hiring clients and companies that adapt to the changing landscape are less likely to lose talent, whilst those that enforce a full-time return to the office are at the most risk of losing their best talent and personnel.
 

A Difference in Perspective

In a study completed by McKinsey & Company in the United States, the findings revealed that hiring clients and workers were almost certainly on different pages.
The study asked hiring clients and companies to determine the most defining factors to worker satisfaction. The findings revealed that from a hiring clients’ perspective, worker satisfaction was based on compensation and flexibility.
In contrast, the findings from the study from a worker’s perspective revealed that recognition and a sense of belonging trumped the compensation and flexibility responses.

One of the key learning points we can take from the study is that it will take time for hiring companies to identify the right balance and further time to implement a company wide solution that not only ensures attrition returns to a more normal level whilst also achieving the overall company objectives and deliverables.

People are Redefining Success

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global labour markets in 2020. Globally, millions of people were furloughed or lost their jobs in the short term, and others were forced to quickly adjust to working from home as offices closed.
Naturally with the immediate health concerns, the Covid-19 pandemic also forced many people to reconsider what was truly important to them.

Before March 2020, being busy as a professional was almost immediately recognised as success, whereas now, workers are not seeking a ‘work-life balance’ but instead, a balanced life.

With lockdowns in place, many professionals realised exactly how much they were missing at home or in their family life whilst commuting to the office and working longer hours than they were contracted to do so. The pandemic was almost a great reset in this regard and as a result, flexibility and compensation are undoubtedly still important to professionals, but they can no longer guarantee worker satisfaction.
Other factors are evolving and are now considered as more important and essential to attracting and retaining the best talent for the company.

How Remote is ‘Remote Working’?

One of the biggest trends throughout the pandemic was for workers to work from overseas, whether that was returning to their home country to spend time with family or working from a warmer environment throughout the lockdown periods.

“Contracting has been extremely popular and successful in the IT, Engineering, Finance and Pharmaceutical sectors over the last ten years, but current trends suggest that working as a contractor is going to appeal to many more full-time workers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic”

The above snippet from our opinion piece in 2020 has certainly come to fruition.

Not only are hiring companies struggling to convince workers to return to the office, in many scenarios, they are struggling to get their workers to return to the country where their office is located.
Workers recognised that they were still able to perform their duties from abroad and as a result, are hesitant to return.
This is causing a headache for HR personnel within companies as there are legal and compliance concerns with workers scattered around the globe, not to mention the taxation demands and implications it can have for a company.
As a result of this, many hiring companies are looking to resolve this issue by transferring ‘employees’ in-to contingent work teams as Independent Professionals.

To summarise, more companies than ever before are now open to the concept of engaging with professionals in a more flexible landscape, whether that be through a contract for services or on a consultancy basis which is excellent news for any independent professional that enjoys the flexibility offered and associated with contract employment.

CEO’s may be tempted to take solace in the fact that 60% of employees surveyed said they were not likely to leave within the next three to six months.
Employers, on the other hand, should not consider this 60% “safe” from attrition.
Options for workers are expanding, and with more and more employers offering remote-work options for hard-to-find talent, these workers' intentions may change soon and engaging with all workers is now more important than ever before to ensure that their understanding of one another’s expectations and desires are understood and aligned. Engagement with workers is the best investment a company can make to ensuring they are retaining their best talent whilst also attracting the best talent for future openings.

From an Independent Professional perspective in the Irish market, we have seen a record low of attrition over the past number of years which again demonstrates that contracting is now considered as a lucrative, flexible, and perhaps most importantly, a balanced way of working for the modern professional.

If you are a professional that is interested in hearing more about the benefits of working as an Independent Professional in Ireland, please reach out to our team by emailing info@iconaccounting.ie or by calling 01-8077106.

Likewise, if you are an international employer currently seeking a solution for staff based in Ireland, please reach out to our team who will delighted to assist and advise.