In this episode of Transform Your Workplace, guest Ginny Clarke, executive recruiter, and consultant provides listeners with a fresh perspective on buzz-worthy topics such as the Great Reshuffle, quiet quitting, recruiting practices, and top talent retention.
GUEST AT A GLANCE
Ginny Clarke has vast experience in executive recruiting, consulting, financial services, and entrepreneurship. She runs a podcast, Fifth Dimensional Leadership, and is a thought leader and writer committed to creating “the conscious workplace of tomorrow.”
A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST
🔊 Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, sponsored by Xenium HR
🎙️ Host: Brandon Laws
📋 In his own words: “The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders.”
THE WHY
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of May 2022, the quit rate was still 25% higher than pre-pandemic levels. “There’s so much noise in the system,” Ginny explained. “We’re hearing about layoffs, we’re hearing about recession,” which could suggest that people want to go back to work and have a sense of security.
“I think people are starting to stick their heads out again and say, ‘What do I want now? And I know that I want something different.’ The Great Resignation, according to Ginny, wasn’t just a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The number one reason for employee frustration was that they didn’t have career advancement,” she said. The number two reason for widespread attrition? Money. The number three reason was uncaring and uninspiring leaders.
As we return to work in a mostly hybrid environment, employers are trying to figure out what it’s going to take to keep people, and the answer is as multifaceted as employees themselves.
PODCAST EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
Being Intentional About Growth
“Leaders aren’t being trained, expected, or incentivized to work with their teams in that way. We’ve become dehumanized. […] No one is really saying, ‘What did that employee engagement survey say about you as a leader?’ and ‘Wow, we got some issues and I’m gonna dock you 10% on your bonus this year because you really left some people hanging,’ or ‘We’re seeing attrition specifically in your area.’ It’s like, ‘Oh shoot, I have to do that performance evaluation again. I don’t wanna have to do that.’”
Getting Back to the Basics
“Are you managing your people and leading? Those are two different things, by the way. Not all managers are leaders, and not all leaders are managers. Ideally, you can get both in an individual. And I think that it’s these folks, these managers and leaders, who need to be tapped into to know what’s going on with your people.”
A New Perspective
“My issue with the quiet quitting reference is that people are simply doing what they were hired to do, and they’re not trying to go the extra mile. Is that a bad thing? Part of this whole Great Resignation was to get us to think about how we are treating people. And for so long I think we’ve seen that people have just been expected to grind it out and to be on call 24/7. And that’s part of the revolt.”
Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone
“People wanna hire from within, and I get that. At the same time, people say they want diversity, which has to come from the outside by definition. They are mutually exclusive. They’re at odds. It’s kind of ironic that I have both of those responsibilities, but I had to remind people there are gonna be times when you absolutely should take the internal person because they can do more for what your business needs now and in the future. Having said that, to the extent that you have underrepresented individuals who are as capable, there will be times when you need to go with that individual. Competencies should decide that, not what you’re most comfortable with and what’s the easiest.”
Moving the Diversity Needle
“If you have your favorites and you’re not really managing people — you’re just kind of allowing them to do whatever they wanna do because they’re smart, because they’re experts — that’s not an environment that is going to value equity, fairness, trust. Following the processes, the performance evaluations, monitoring employee engagement surveys, following up and investigating things when you hear about bad behavior, holding people accountable for creating a culture that is supportive, that is safe — all that contributes markedly to one’s ability to attract underrepresented backgrounds, right?”
Making Connections
“I think a lot of people aren’t clear in their own minds about who they are, what they know, and what they’re good at. And I want people to spend the time getting to know themselves so that when they’re sitting across the table from someone in an interview, or if that interviewer is sitting across the table from a candidate, they can meet on a human level.”
Finding Your Purpose
“Allow yourself to explore and understand and tap into what makes your heart sing, and just suspend the doubt and the pressure of feeling like you need to do that thing that you went to school to study. Just for a minute, what if you could do anything? What would it be and how would it make you feel?”
LEARN MORE
Find free resources at ginnyclarke.com or connect with Ginny on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.