Whether you call what we are going through the Great Resignation, Great Reshuffling or Great Reassessment, there is no denying the reality that millions of people have decided to make big changes in their work lives. Recruiters are no exception. In fact, data collected by Workforce Logiq suggest recruiters are 115 percent more likely than other employees to make a career change. This may explain why one analysis of LinkedIn posts done in 2021 found more open positions for recruiters than for always-hard-to-find software engineers.
What about this moment is making so many recruiters look to the job market for greener pastures for themselves? The most obvious answer is supply and demand:
- Employers need talent more than ever.
- Recruiters are conduits of talent.
- Recruiters’ skills and networks are more precious than ever before.
But a bigger, more profound reason lurks under the surface. The truth is that the past few years of pandemic and societal upheaval have been intensely stressful for all employees Recruiters are not immune. In fact, and because of their empathic, relationship-oriented, “people-person” personalities and skill sets, recruiters might be even more vulnerable than the average professional to the stressful impacts of these unsettling times. Add the pressures of a results-oriented, highly competitive career field, and you have a perfect recipe for high turnover—or, even worse, losing talented recruiters from the profession and workforce altogether.
If your organization wants to retain its best recruiters, you need to take a fresh look at the organization’s culture, workplace policies and overall attitude toward supporting people. More than ever, today’s top recruiters demand a culture of support for their mental health and emotional wellness. If a recruiter’s current organization cannot provide this, the recruiter will find one that does.
Let’s take a closer look at what organizations can do to support mental health and wellness, and, by doing so, succeed in today’s battle for top recruiter talent.
Walk the Walk on Flexible Schedules
Smart organization will not drag people back to the office—not even for “only” three days per week—and expect them to be happier than they were when they could be productive from a hiking trail or call in for a Zoom conference while at the beach. Top recruiters have grown accustomed to working from home or from anywhere. Consequently, even big-name companies are facing serious pushback and risking attrition when they try to bring people back for in-person work.
Remote work has become table stakes for attracting top knowledge workers. Make sure, however, that the people doing remote work receive the support they need to be successful. This support includes autonomy, trust and truly flexible schedules.
Managers, coworkers and clients cannot expect a recruiter who is working remotely to be always online and available around the clock. Just as on-site workers get to take breaks throughout the workday and go home after their shift, remote workers need time and space to unplug and decompress. They will reward organizations that provide needed downtime with loyalty.
Create a Culture of Wellness
Supporting employee wellness is not just about paying for gym memberships and scheduling on-site yoga classes. It is about giving people the support they need to truly thrive and be mentally and physically healthy at work and in every other aspect of their lives. Think about how much stress and uncertainty people have been living with for the past two years. Especially in a high-demand role like recruiting, people are exhausted and burned out.
Recruiters are often vulnerable to mental health challenges and emotional burnout from job stress and the general anxiety of the times. Think of how many difficult conversations recruiters have had to sit through and how many sad stories they have heard. Think about how many stressed-out prospective hires recruiters have had to coax to the bargaining table, as well as how many new hires they have lost at the last minute because of all the churn in the job market.
Here are a few things your organization can do to support recruiters (and all employees) achieve and maintain mental health and wellness:
- Make sure counseling is covered adequately as part of your employee benefits and consider making counselors available to employees directly on-site or online.
- Connect people with mentors for career advice and life perspective.
- Give people time off to decompress in addition to their standard vacation and sick leave. Options include mental health days, personal days and summer hours.
- Allow employees to unplug by, for example, scheduling days without meetings and enforcing mandatory no email hours.
- Encourage physical activity. Being physically active can promote mental and emotional wellness. Options here include starting a daily step-counting contest or establishing clubs for walkers, runners and bicyclists. The key is to look for ways to engage coworkers across remote locations.
Follow the MAP to Motivation: Mastery, Autonomy, Purpose
Another aspect of mental and emotional wellness is feeling fulfilled and motivated by work. In Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, researcher Daniel Pink identifies three elements that make people feel more motivated:
- Mastery—People like to feel they are good at what they do. They want to have a strong understanding of and proficiency in their professional craft. They also want to have a complete skill set. The message for organizations that want recruiters and all other employees feel a higher degree of wellness is to keep supporting employees by providing opportunities for professional development, especially opportunities to sharpen skills and acquire new ones.
- Autonomy—People like to feel they are in control of their work. Allowing recruiters to work remotely and giving them flexible schedules helps them feel more autonomous. If nothing else, remote workers will be freed from the stresses and constraints of a traditional office environment.
- Purpose—People like to feel that their work is important and connected to a larger mission. Remind recruiters of the larger mission of your organization by proving answers to questions such as what positive changes the organization makes in the world and how recruiting top talent helps the organization make those changes. Also show recruiters how they are helping people build great careers as part of a successful organization that is creating long-term value.
When people have this MAP in place for their work lives, they are more likely to feel a sense of meaning, contentment and intrinsic motivation.
Last, do not assume top recruiters are going to jump ship. Instead, take the opportunity to rethink the ways in which your organization manages teams and supports talent. Being more thoughtful and proactive about building a culture of wellness, giving people the flexibility and autonomy they need, and helping people feel more purposeful and in control of their professional lives, allows any organization to help its recruiters thrive as professionals and people.
01 June 2022
Category
HR News Article