Flexibility
The transition to remote work following the various pandemic lockdowns has changed the habits of workers and their lifestyle. People have understood the importance of balancing private life with work and are now looking for jobs that guarantee greater flexibility and allow them to have more time for themselves.Freepik
Aurora Simonetti , HR Business Partner of Red Hat Italia , shared his thoughts on how to respond to the new needs of workers, focusing on the phenomenon of Great Resignations which also involved Italy: according to data from the Ministry of Labour, there were 1.6 million resignations recorded in the first 9 months of 2022.
The IT sector is the most in turmoil: the digitization of companies, still in progress, has multiplied the request for technical profiles, opening up more opportunities for workers. People have found themselves having many alternatives in hand, thus being able to choose the opportunities that best satisfy them.
Aurora Simonetti, HR Business Partner of Red Hat Italia - Credits: Red Hat Italia
Companies therefore found themselves having to cope not only with a shortage of talent, but also with a high turnover rate when they were unable to keep employees in the company.
Listening to employees to fight Great Resignations
As Simonetti explains, to promote retention, companies must meet workers' expectations, which mostly concern flexibility of hours and workplaces and internal mobility.Employees want to have more freedom in deciding when and where to work, without being forced to return to the office on set days, especially if they are aware that they are bringing the same or better results to companies.
Workers are also looking for more internal mobility and opportunities for growth: companies must invest in training programs both for young people, to let them gain practical experience, and for all employees who want to improve or cultivate their skills of new ones.
Freepik
Another important factor to reduce the phenomenon of Great Resignations is the empowerment of employees, who ask for more decision-making autonomy during projects.
Finally, even the sustainability and social impact of a company play a fundamental role when evaluating a new job position: talents, especially the younger ones, attach great importance to active sustainability and volunteering initiatives in companies.
In an unstable market, in which the needs of talents evolve without stopping, companies must invest in human capital to follow the digital revolution and remain competitive.