Should I stay or should I go now?

The question that all candidates – passive, active or otherwise – ask themselves. And particularly right now.

Is this a labour market in which I have the confidence to up and leave my current role or which the devil-you-know appears the better option? Looking at the available evidence, there’s plenty of contradictions.

On the plus side, on the should-I-go side, there remain more than 1.1m vacancies across the UK. Unemployment may have edged up slightly, according to the latest ONS figures, but at 3.8%, this remains historically very low. At the same time, there was a 0.2% increase in the number of those in employment. A report this week from the BCC suggested that 60% of British businesses are looking to hire, unchanged from the end of 2022. 

Let’s look at the counter argument, the should-I-stay option. The number of vacancies touched on above has declined in each of the last nine months. The economy is spluttering by, registering next to no growth – and will deliver the worst performance across the G7 this year, according to the IMF. Inflation remains stubbornly in double-digit territory. And there’s no shortage of high-profile redundancy programmes impacting major organisations. 

If that represents the briefest macro analysis of the push and pull factors influencing whether an individual is considering making a career move, what about those relating to personal and professional drivers? What aspects of our day-to-day employment experience are most likely to see us consider pastures new or, conversely, inspire our loyalty? 

The retention premium will be influenced by a number of factors. Is an individual progressing? How do they respond to the prevailing culture? Do they feel invested in? How do they perceive current reward and remuneration levels? Do they align with the sense of direction and trajectory of their current employer? Do they feel that the flexibility they are enjoying is influenced by the length of their tenure? And will this tenure mean they are in a better, more secure position financially should redundancies loom?

And what are the factors likely to push someone towards the door? Money is likely to be a significant factor. Although average wage increases over the last 12 months reached 5.9%, this still represents a sizeable decrease in real terms, given inflation. Not without reason, people feel it is easier to trouser a healthy salary increase by moving employers, rather than staying put. There’s also the sense of excitement and possibility of a new challenge, a new team, a new brand. (This sense of excitement is even more marked if a new prospective employer is reaching out with a positive message, in contrast to the internal efforts of their current workplace).

Granted it’s something of a generalisation, but do employers risk creating a scenario, given the current ambiguity across labour markets, of seeing those with ambition, drive and a comfort with risk happy to take their chances and leaving?  Whilst those who stay are more likely to be doing so out of fear, caution and an apprehension of what an employment move might bring? 

“Post-pandemic, the labour market became so challenging that it wasn’t just top talent getting tapped on the shoulder, it was all talent. Vacancies shot up, applications came down, candidates had more choice than ever before and resourcing teams had to seriously step up. This year is feeling a little different. Retention continues to improve month on month, in part thanks to what we’re doing internally but there is also an element of people feeling less confident about taking the leap. What resourcing teams mustn’t do is breathe a sigh of relief and rest on their laurels. We know these things are cyclical, so now is the time to maintain momentum around building the brand, seeking new channels to engage with candidates and that all important dialogue with emerging talent”, Adele Swift, Talent Attraction and Recruitment Manager, Toolstation.

Do you risk keeping hold of those people who have no choice other than to stay with you?

Which presents a very tangible reason for using EVP-based messaging for internal audiences just as much as for talent attraction purposes.

And why? A report last week from Ayming suggested that 26% of UK employers were considering making headcount cuts this year. Amazon, Twitter, EY and McKinseys are all making layoffs. And last week brought news of Bain & Co, the management consultancy, delaying post-graduate start dates and incentivising those to whom they have made offers to disappear off for the year. 

“What a difference twelve months makes! The market has moved from its most challenging, with record levels of vacancies, to one with significantly less confidence.

With that in mind, Employer Brand has become even more important and EB teams have had to pivot to not only answer the question ‘what’s in for me’ from external audiences, but also re-energising and re-connecting with internal audiences, answering the question ‘what’s in it for me to remain and evolve’. Your EVP needs to be a basis for internal as well as external engagement, to support ongoing work to engage current employees with the direction of travel and reduce the risk of a gap between the expectation created amongst new hires and the lived experiences they find when they arrive. It’s even more important to take the opportunity that this time has presented to build on the above, in preparation for when the market starts to pick back up. You can’t afford to be behind the curve.” Craig Morgans, Acquisition COE Leader at Direct Line Group.

2023 is likely to be a tough employment market across many sectors. But trying to save money by cutting back on internal people messaging is both apparently logical and transparently illogical. 

“Logically, you would imagine both aspects go hand-in-hand, but certainly our current EVP project briefs and outputs have a definite focus on the attraction piece. Getting good talent into the funnel seems to be the priority, which isn’t particularly surprising, but at the same time it does overlook an increasingly obvious channel and audience”, Mike Heal, Managing Director, WDAD.

Not mapping out your organisation’s direction, ambition and purpose will only add to the fear of those likely to stay whilst validating the decision and determination of those looking to leave. 

Delivering a great EVP to external people audiences should help attraction. Not delivering a great EVP to your current workforce will not help retention. Particularly in the mind’s eye of those people who see an ambiguous market as an opportunity. 

Such people might also contrast the confident and clear messages of the competition with the silence, apparent lack of direction and confidence and opacity of their current employer – and act accordingly.

You have created your EVP using the experiences, ambitions and stories of your current people. You should definitely use that sentiment and narrative to facilitate hiring, to create a strong, compelling external impact. You should equally use such messaging to reinforce why you remain a great place to work for your current workforce. About why staying also offers excitement, challenge and a rich career experience. Particularly now.

Losing great people – the sort of people who will soon start making a difference for your competition – is unlikely to be an optimum strategy for coming through the next choppy twelve months. As Mr Strummer pleads later on in the song, ‘Come on and let me know now’. Articulate why great talent should stay with you, just as much as you are telling their external counterparts why they should join.