When was the last time you noticed a private sector job post that listed a pension in the compensation (if you’re lucky enough to see compensation mentioned)? The answer is probably not for the last 20 years. The reason is most companies do not offer pensions. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, less than half of all companies even offer a 401K plan; let alone any kind of match. What incentive then, do employees have for remaining at a company for the long haul? Employment is predicated on compensating people in return for their time and talent. Why are we surprised when employees take their time and talent to other organizations who are willing to compensate them more fairly? We certainly expect it of our athletes, executives, and even politicians who leave office to take high-paying lobbying roles.
The historical reason for remaining at a job for an extended period were the retirement benefits. Companies paid employees a pension, provided healthcare for the employee and family, and subsidized life insurance. This is no longer the case for most private sector corporations. Why then are we surprised when highly skilled, talented, employees seek other employment where they are better able to plan for their future and provide for their family. Hardly seems like a difficult concept to understand. Yet one of the first questions HR professionals ask is, “Why did you leave company X?” I know this is shocking, but with over 15 years of experience in Talent Acquisition, I can count on one hand the number of times someone told me they simply “want more money.” Do we really believe money is not a motivator? It might not be the motivator but it is a motivator.
More than money however, the nature of the economy is shifting. We are officially well into the “Gig” economy and migrating into what I refer to as the “Specialist Economy.” This is where we observe niche specialties inside of career fields. Take Talent Acquisition, as one example. We have a lot of people who specialize in managing teams of recruiting professionals. There is another subset of people within this field who are highly specialized “builders” who go into organizations, implement a “zero to one” talent acquisition practice from the ground up, develop scalable, sustainable practices, mature hiring, 2-5x the organization and move on. The same thing happens within multiple lines of businesses at tech startups. Don’t believe me? Ask any HR or recruiting professional if they see Engineers with short stints on their resume.
We need to stop placing so much onus on candidate tenure with organizations and instead focus how the individual can help the company. Have honest conversations. Is this someone who wants to be here in the long-term that will grow with us, or are they dedicated to helping us scale, fulfilling a critical need, over the next 12-18 months. Companies would be well-served in adopting a more progressive strategy. A recent Fox News polls showed that 80% of Millennials and Gen Z workers are ok with leaving a job in less than 6 months. Candidates are clearly thinking about it whether we want to acknowledge it or not. It’s time leaders do the same.