5 steps to take care of your talents and avoid the Great Resignation

3 min

Over the last two years, there has been an unprecedented rise in the number of resignations, especially from permanent contracts throughout the United States and certain Western European countries. Although this phenomenon, known as the "Great Resignation" or the “Big Quit”, is not as strong in France as it is in the US, it nevertheless raises questions for companies: how can they protect themselves from sudden resignations and retain their most strategic talents? Here are five decisive levers to prevent the Great Resignation from affecting your company!

What is the Great Resignation ?

First used in 2020 to define a phenomenon specific to the American labour market, the term “Big Resignation” is now used in France due to the significant increase in resignations from permanent contracts observed since the first quarter of 2021. According to a report by the DARES (the French department of studies and statistics, attached to the Ministry of Labour), this trend is first and foremost a consequence of the recruitment hardships encountered across many fields. The Big Resignation would thus reflect “behaviours of poaching of labour between companies, in a context where the demand of labour is strong, and the supply limited”.

In this context, companies are led to reflect on the means of retaining their talents in order to prevent their departure, but also to face a second risk: quiet quitting. Identified by a number of HR experts, quiet quitting refers to the disengagement of many employees who are demotivated and determined to keep their efforts to a minimum, at the expense of their efficiency.

However, in terms of commitment and retention of talents, the solutions lie in an HR policy that is attentive to the needs of employees: training, listening, internal career development, etc. Faced with the Great Resignation and with quiet quitting, a reassessment of these key HR processes is crucial.

What are the solutions to retain talent?

Conducting a skills assessment

A skills retention strategy must, above all, be based on a precise knowledge of the skills available within the company as well as the skills that are still to be acquired or reinforced. It is on this basis that efforts in terms of internal mobility or recruitment can be directed wisely. Although it is not directly aimed at retaining talent, a skills diagnosis does provide an overview of the situation, enabling talent to evolve according to their desires and the company’s needs.

Developing an efficient upskilling strategy

Training and career development are decisive levers to ensure the employees’ loyalty. As soon as a need for specific skills is identified, it is therefore twice as useful to deploy upskilling efforts towards employees whose loyalty is valuable.
Read on the blog: Upskilling and reskilling, priorities and perspectives for 2025

Listening to the needs of your employees

The employees’ needs are constantly evolving and must be constantly reassessed. Teleworking, communication tools, well-being at work… These are all needs which, if not taken into account, can lead to a resignation. It is therefore important for companies to develop spaces for employees to express themselves and to make use of existing opportunities to take these new requirements into account: annual interviews, HR meetings, etc.

Taking care of the employee’s experience

While companies have long paid attention to the customer journey, it is now necessary to consider the employee’s journey with equal care. From recruitment to termination of contract, how can the experience of each employee be improved?
A particularly strategic stage to take into account is onboarding: Discover our 10 tips for successfully integrating your employees during this key moment.

Developing the autonomy of employees

The simplicity of HR processes and the autonomy of employees in their management are important factors in the commitment and therefore the retention of talent. To optimise them, the Cegid Talentsoft solution offers tools that allow each employee to enter their talent profile and access a personalised training program as well as internal job offers.