Attracting and retaining talent is more difficult than ever before. Working from home has raised employee standards, they seek more flexibility and they aren’t settling for less. 

Your employees have options– as of February, there were about 11 million open job positions. 

Is your company having problems attracting and retaining employees in the post-pandemic job world? In a recent Forbes article, BigSpeak EVP Ken Sterling offers helpful approaches to improve your outcomes and halt the Great Exodus.

As previously published on Forbes: 

The end of the first quarter of 2022 was the best ever for many companies. However, we were overlooking the next challenge. What will happen in Q2 when more companies mandate a return to the office? Many work experts predict a mass exodus from inflexible companies that require employees to work at the office three or more days per week. We’re potentially looking at another mass migration of amazing talent, and that could hurt—big time.

If you thought the “Great Resignation” was rough, watch out for the “Great Exodus.” It might be time to rethink your virtual work policy. As of February, there were about 11 million open positions. The number of open jobs has been relatively constant despite the number of people out of work, meaning employees are job-hopping instead of staying put. So what can you do to attract and retain employees to stop a Great Exodus?

Unfortunately, while increased compensation is great for attracting talent, it’s not great for keeping it. According to Eric Termuende, work expert and author of Rethink Work, bonuses and high salaries can get more people in your door—only to have them leave 8-12 months later. So if you want to retain employees for the long term, you need to rethink your work culture. (Full disclosure: Our talent agency represents Termuende for public speaking events on the topic of worker engagement.)

Work Flexibility

Flexibility could be the key to retaining talent in this new age of remote and hybrid work. At my organization, we already had about one-third of the employees remote before the pandemic. Since the pandemic, we decided that our employees could choose where they wanted to work for most positions. Also, depending on the role, employees have flexibility in their work hours.

Many companies have gone this more flexible route, such as Wells Fargo, Ford and the Social Security Administration. A few companies are even experimenting with four-day workweeks. Employees have more choices out there for employment, so offering work flexibility will help retain (and attract) talent. Though to really retain employees, you need to also invest in their well-being.

Investment In Well-Being

Focusing on employee well-being could be the most important investment you make at your company. Companies that follow the carrot-and-stick approach may get people in the door. However, they’ll soon be gone because they don’t feel invested in the company culture. Investing in employee development keeps employees engaged, happy and wanting to stay with your company. Many companies are improving benefits, such as parental leave, mental and physical health benefits and better training and development.

At my company, we invest in well-being by offering a wellness and learning budget. Employees essentially are given funds they can use to take any class, travel to any conference, get a gym membership or even do a yoga retreat. As long as it helps with their well-being or learning, we approve the use of the funds. We found our investment in employee well-being develops more engaged employees and decreases burnout.

If your company is having problems attracting and retaining employees in the post-pandemic job world, try some of these approaches to improve your outcomes and halt the Great Exodus. Compensate well to bring people in the door, offer flexibility to keep them there and then invest in their well-being so they will want to stay and grow with your company over the long term.