CONTRIBUTORS
BEATING THE TALENT MIGRATION BUG
By Dalya Ketz , managing director at Gcubed Boutique Recruitment
The global phenomenon dubbed the “ great resignation ” has South Africa firmly in its grasp , but the profile of workers resigning from jobs differs from the rest of the world . So , how does one make South Africa a great place to work and keep your staff ?
Where other countries have experienced a mass resignation of low wage workers , in South Africa , highly skilled , qualified workers are not only resigning from their jobs locally but leaving the country entirely in search of better opportunities abroad .
Such a skills exodus is nothing new for South Africa with an estimated one million people having emigrated between 2015 and 2020 , but it is particularly worrisome as employment opportunities abroad have increased dramatically , particularly for such skilled workers .
What do businesses need to be doing to counter the great resignation and attract and retain skilled talent in a post-Covid era ? To stay competitive in today ’ s labour market , companies have to offer more than just a high salary , especially if they depend on specialised skills .
SKYROCKETING RESIGNATION NUMBERS Even in a job-scarce country like South Africa where workers would be expected to hang onto their jobs , the great resignation is having a profound impact and resignation levels are higher than they ’ ve been for more than a decade . Research from Old Mutual ’ s reward management platform Remchannel , revealed that staff turnover increased by 16 % across all sectors .
Almost 69 % of respondents in the remuneration survey ( largely HR and reward professionals ) confirmed that businesses are struggling to attract new talent and retain existing staff . Although there are other contributing factors for such high staff turnover figures such as retirement , termination of contracts , and downsizing through retrenchments , the October 2021 salary and wage movement survey noted that 60 % of people leaving employment between April and October 2021 did so through resignation .
RESIGNING FOR BETTER OPPORTUNITIES Labour shortages overseas are also enticing skilled South Africans , and where international companies are prepared to assist with relocating their entire families abroad it is almost impossible for local companies to compete . The reasons behind South Africa ’ s mass resignations are varied but many relate to a desire for more flexibility .
There is great dissatisfaction where companies do not offer remote or hybrid working arrangements , even post-lockdown . Stress levels are higher as teams are expected to achieve more with fewer resources due to hiring freezes or difficulties replacing those who previously left the company .
Burnout is also a very real risk , and employees are taking every opportunity to seek a better work-life balance elsewhere .
ACKNOWLEDGING SHIFTING GENERATIONAL PRIORITIES This is especially prevalent with millennials and generation Z , who are not as attracted by high salary packages as their predecessor generations . These younger generations place less emphasis on fat pay cheques , looking instead for meaning and purpose in their work , and using resignation as a springboard to search for organisations that are better aligned to their wants , needs and their personal values .
They ’ re not just searching for employment , they ’ re looking to join a company that is committed to making a difference beyond compulsory CSI lip service and because of this , the attributes that make a company a great place to work must change .
HOW TO MAKE A COMPANY A GREAT PLACE TO WORK To meet the needs of an increasingly self-aware workforce and to restore competitiveness in a candidate-driven market ,
www . refrigerationandaircon . co . za RACA Journal I February 2023 43