It's called "quick quitting" and it is trending among younger workers.
According to Forbes Advisor, employees who leave within the first year do so because of a lack of career development opportunities, job characteristics they don't like, and poor work-life balance.
Aligning Expectations with Reality Starts Early
We can guard against quick quitting by committing to transparency in recruiting.Lay out the typical career track during the interview, including how earnings might grow over time.Be upfront about the potential for leadership or ownership/partnership, and what that path looks like.
And most importantly, look for a cultural fit — give candidates access to your work environment, their potential peers and mentors, and the overall community in which they will be working.Then ensure that their expectations align with the realities of the day-to-day of the job.
How to Retain Early-Career Professionals
Create a Strong Onboarding Process: Ideally, you have an onboarding process that starts well in advance of day one on the job.Communicating key information over a scheduled timeline minimizes uncertainty in those first weeks on the job and gives confidence for the long term.
Communication Is Key: Clear communication between employees and their peers and supervisors is critical to giving new hires a sense that they are well-informed and that their voices will be heard.
Be Upfront About Compensation and Career Track: Today's recruits prioritize compensation — that's nothing new — and they're thinking long term, too.Ideally, you offer compensation that is market-competitive, and you demonstrate how your hires can grow their careers with you.
Communicating both of these commitments before, during, and after your hire will reinforce to early-career recruits that you understand their expectations and are working to meet them.
Prioritize Balance for Better Retention: Younger generations place increased value on work-life balance.If we hope to retain them, we have to commit to flexible schedules, paid time off, and when possible, hybrid work options.Administrative burdens and workloads must also be manageable.As employers, we must commit to a staffing plan that provides support for all employees as a part of our retention planning.
As our lives are more mobile, times have changed, and employees are unlikely to commit to us for their entire careers.However, we can do our part to create an environment where early-career professionals want to stay long enough for us to recoup our investment in recruiting them.
Along with formal onboarding, two-way communication, and a commitment to work-life balance, ongoing employee retention should evolve as the work changes and as employees grow in their careers.
