With the rapid adoption of remote and hybrid work models, businesses around the world have a unique opportunity to reimagine the future of work and rethink what it means to be competitive. At the same time, the demand for digital skills has surged – leading to increased reliance on IT professionals and their arsenal of intellectual expertise.
But, alongside this rising demand for technical talent, there has been a never-before-seen number of people quitting their jobs – a trend known as ‘the great resignation’. Today, smart employees are thinking about more than compensation – they are yearning for projects, work environments and benefits that contribute to a balanced, sustainable lifestyle.
Research From Gartner reveals that more than 60% of employees are reconsidering the impact a workplace, and the monotonous nature of their job, should have on their lives, leading nearly as many organisations to have serious concerns about employee turnover. As many as 95% of human resources (HR) leaders agree that employee retention has become more challenging. This has led to the idea of implementing “super jobs”, which will be beyond any routine or monotonous jobs. These super jobs will be focused on creating and adding value to the business.
In today’s “anytime anywhere” world, hiring the right talent can be difficult, but retaining it is a whole new challenge. People are looking for more value from both their personal and professional lives – so to retain talent, businesses need to offer more purpose-driven employment opportunities that go beyond basic economic incentives, or risk losing them to the competition.
Globally, companies are rethinking traditional retention strategies so they can meet employees’ needs. When redesigning these policies, TCS suggests business leaders should shift their mindsets to recognise that an employee’s experience goes beyond work.
It is crucial that we focus on the “individual as a whole” and not just as an employee in a system. They wear multiple hats, fulfil many roles all while working from different locations and spaces.
We have also taken special measures to drive workplace innovation and transformation that supports tech talent and reduces employee burnout.
We have noticed that the best way to combat ‘the great resignation’ is to do training from within the organisation. This kind of approach opens a whole new world of opportunities, thereby reducing burnout.
Organisations that invest in cross-skilling their employees are the most resilient to attrition as the risk posed by knowledge concentration in a few key individuals is systematically addressed. While this improves the motivation level of employees, a planned resource churn in the project also helps reduce the people-related uncertainty and creates new opportunities and an accelerated career movement for employees.
TCS has doubled down on investment in organic talent, but it is also devoting time and resources towards creating a stimulating environment that gives employees a chance to retrain themselves in skills they prefer, aiding both personal and professional development.
The multinational IT services company has several initiatives and policies that strive to make the workplace more employee-friendly, such as extended parental leave, a dedicated mentoring programme for women, virtual support groups and special leadership skill development workshops.
TCS has also revealed its 25/25 model for remote work, where 75% of its employees will work from home by 2025. Under this model, a projected 25% of the workforce will need to be in the office to achieve 100% productivity, 25% of any project team can be distributed across geographies while 75% may need to be in a single location.
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented changes, but despite the turbulence, we are all working towards building a sustainable, diverse and thriving workplace ecosystem that suits and supports everyone’s preferences.
Langa Dubes is the Executive Director and Country Head of South Africa and Botswana at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
