When the going gets tough, the tough get ...relocating?

At the very beginning of 2022, business optimism was exceedingly high with 99% of CEOs in the YPO Global Pulse Survey having a favorable outlook for 2022. Much has changed since then as expectations for better business conditions have deteriorated every month following. Inflation and The Great Resignation have remained two of the biggest challenges and areas of focus for many industries.

We all know what is happening out there with talent. With job openings continuing to remain at near record levels, and employees seemingly unafraid to quit, organizations (particularly HR and recruitment) are busier than ever trying to find and secure key talent. I saw a recent report that said 3 out of 4 managers say hiring is only going to get harder for the remainder of the year. So as the "Great ReShuffle" continues, many companies are even more highly focused on retention. 

This article on Human Resource Executive (The latest trends for retaining talent in today’s uncertain economy), shares some of the details from i4cp’s Trends in the Rapidly Shifting Talent Landscape report, based on a pulse survey of member organizations.  One of the "trends" mentioned relates to the increased focus on talent retention. They shared that 46% of companies are expanding or considering expanding opportunities for internal mobility (moving positions within companies) by looking at internal marketplaces and talent mobility platforms to enhance their “talent flow”. The goal is to enable talent to see what’s available to them and apply their skills and interests to different opportunities within the company, some of which will require a move. In these situations, it stands to reason then that relocation support is going to play into this increased focus on helping companies to adapt quickly to restructuring and redeploying the right talent to the right place.

Here are a couple of interesting stats per Lever and their 2022 Internal Mobility and Employee Retention Report:

• While two in five (40%) of employees plan to stay at their current jobs for less than a year, attrition rates for Gen Z are much higher—with 65% of employees planning to stay for less than a year.
• The report revealed that the biggest motivator for employees planning to stay in their position is salary and/or potential bonuses (46%), followed by good paid time off and flexibility (21%), and internal mobility (13%).
• Of the employees staying at their company, nearly half (41%) will ask for some sort of role change in 2022.
• Employees are so invested in creating a new role that nearly a third (31%) would take a pay cut to change positions, and three in five (61%) would start searching for new jobs if their company didn’t allow them to switch roles.

Given that research has shown the significant value of career development in retaining today’s talent, i4cp expects interest in this area to continue to grow. Internal mobility allows existing employees to grow and stay. While a position change may not always require a change in office location, for some situations it will and that's where global mobility programs can make sure they are ready and able to support the retention cause!