If you were asked if the best way for you to develop your skills was by changing company, what would you say?
Microsoft “surveyed 20,000 people in 11 countries and analyzed trillions of Microsoft 365 productivity signals, along with LinkedIn labor trends and Glint People Science findings.” (Microsoft Work Trend Index Special Report, 2022)
Results were published in September.
The numbers shown below are positive responses to the question above: “yes, the best way to develop my skills would be by changing companies.”
Gen Z and Millennials 64% each!
Keep in mind that by 2030, in the US, Gen Z employees will make up 30% of their workforce.
Gen Z are also more likely to want to be self-employed at some point, they job hop at a faster rate than other generations, and want to also undertake side projects that have meaning or stretch them in terms of learning, and have the option to supplement their income by doing other types of work (gig economy).
This presents a massive challenge for companies in terms of retention: holding onto talent, tacit knowledge, and subject matter expertise is going to get tougher in an already challenging employment market.
Millennials and Gen Z are already showing that they won’t conform to old models of employment. Not all that surprising when many of them will have experienced their parents or grandparents being laid off from their jobs after possibly decades of loyal service. They may even have experienced being laid off themselves.
So it’s not a mystery as to why younger generations are more creative, and more comfortable with flexing and adapting to the world of work as the world rapidly changes around them.
And now many employers are left with figuring out how they rise to and operate within this very dynamic environment.
If these trend numbers are anything to go by, investing in their employees’ growth and development could be a great place for employers to start.
People will feel valued, and will be equipped to contribute in more valuable ways.
It reminds me of the question “but if I invest in them, what if they leave?” and the response that goes “what if you don’t invest in them and they stay?”
Invest in your human capital, your greatest asset, and they won’t need to look elsewhere:
🔘 Give them growth opportunities through training, coaching, mentoring, regular feedback, and learning on the job
🔘 Work hard every single day to make it an environment where people feel they belong: kind, supportive, safe, inclusive
🔘 Trust them to do their job and give them role appropriate autonomy to make decisions and learn from failures
🔘 Give them clarity and purpose in terms of company strategy, shared priorities and how they are contributing to the greater good.
You might lose some along the way, but you’ll have created a culture that attracts talent in.
Interesting times ahead.
How are you flexing? How will you invest?
