Cause and Effect or Inevitable?

Embedded intelligent tech vs training.   Democratizing what?  

Democratization of AI Could Prevent the Great Resignation

Opinion By TDWI, September 20, 2022

It's no secret that the technology industry has been hit hard by the Great Resignation. However, even with a looming recession, tech skills remain in high demand and competition for talent between big players like Google and Amazon means companies need to find ways to retain these workers.

Instead of putting all their efforts into compensation and signing bonuses, companies can consider a different approach to IT employee retention: training employees in new skills, particularly artificial intelligence (AI). Especially for younger companies and startups that do not have enough capital to fund lofty salaries, AI's democratization in the workplace provides an opportunity for employers to avoid the sting of resignation by improving or expanding the skills of existing employees.

From TDWI    

The Great Resignation: How to Combat the Knowledge Drain Effect

 Not too different from other kinds of knowledge loss, though accelerated.  Tried many efforts to address this, rarely effective ..... '

The Great Resignation: How to Combat the Knowledge Drain Effect

One of the greatest threats is not only the risk of losing good talent and productivity, but also the valuable knowledge that departing employees take with them.

Kelly Griswold, Chief Operating Officer, Onna  In InformationWeek

The Great Resignation. The Great Reshuffle. The Big Quit. By now you’ve definitely heard of this monumental phenomenon that we are living through, if not experienced it first-hand. The pandemic encouraged a period of reflection that has driven many employees across all industries to explore new possibilities when it comes to their work, and as a result, people are leaving their companies in droves. According to the Labor Department, 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs in November 2021 alone -- a record-breaking month to follow previous record months.

For businesses, perhaps the greatest threat of these mass resignations is not only the risk of losing good talent and productivity, but also the valuable corporate knowledge that those departing employees take with them -- knowledge that may have been developed over years and is central to running to day-to-day operations, informing critical business decisions, or guiding future innovation.

While the Great Resignation may stabilize over time, it’s becoming clear that we’re not returning to the days of long-term employee tenure. It’s time for organizations to accept this new workforce dynamic and come to terms with its inevitable effects, including on corporate knowledge. Those who embrace this change -- acting proactively when it comes to retaining and transferring knowledge -- are the ones who will come out on top.

When developing effective strategies for the preservation, protection and sharing of knowledge, we see two key approaches:

1. Create a culture that embraces, encourages, and rewards knowledge sharing

Though some may argue that highly competitive work environments fuel creativity and productivity, they also implicitly encourage information hoarding. Collaborative environments, on the other hand, not only motivate teams to collectively deliver better results, but also reward individuals for surfacing and exchanging valuable knowledge that may have otherwise remained hidden.

Establishing any kind of company culture certainly takes time, but businesses can use this unique moment in history -- what some are calling the “Great Reset” -- to accelerate the culture change process. Most companies are already embracing new ways of creating community in the virtual office, figuring out how to recognize and support people when they aren’t all together, and tapping into collaboration tools to facilitate remote working. These are all great steppingstones toward a collaborative, knowledge-sharing culture, even when colleagues are apart.... ' 

Thoughts on the Great Resignation

Quitting vs Keeping

With So Many People Quitting, Don’t Overlook Those Who Stay

by Debbie Cohen and Kate Roeske-Zummer,  October 01, 2021  in  HBR

Summary.   The marketplace for talent has shifted. You need to think of your employees like customers and put thoughtful attention into retaining them. This is the first step to slow attrition and regain your growth curve. And this does not happen when they feel ignored in the...more

For anyone who doubted, the data is in. The Great Resignation is real and it’s happening. The U.S. Department of Labor reports that during the months of April, May, and June 2021 a total of 11.5 million workers quit their jobs. And it’s not over. According to Gallup research, 48 percent of employees are actively looking to make a change, and according to Personio research, nearly 1:4 will do so in the next six months. Those looking for new opportunities will find ripe opportunities; in June the U.S. hit an all-time high of 10.1 million job openings.

What does this all mean to your organization? You are likely juggling two pressing needs: hiring to backfill people who have left and hiring new people to support business growth. The scarcity is real — too few people for too many jobs. The imbalance of this supply-demand highlights more than ever that productivity is about people. ... '