Resignations peaked in April and have since remained abnormally high, with over 4 million Americans quitting their jobs in July alone.
We wanted to find out what’s driving those departures, what employers can do to retain their talent, and how employees can choose an organization that aligns with their values. So we spoke with Kogod MBA alum Ilan Meshoulam–a professor in human resources at Haifa University in Israel and previous chairman of the board at Israel's Human Resource Society–to learn more about retention and managing an organization.
Meshoulam has an extensive background in accounting and finance, strategic human resources (HR), and management, having been the co-general manager of Intel in Israel and the vice president of Elbit, Elscint, and Indigo before focusing on academia and writing close to 150 articles and three books on strategic human resources.
“I’ve invested a lot of time and effort in building the human resources profession in Israel. HR is built on a strategic point of view–not a reaction. You need to think and plan ahead,” he explains. “HR has a special role in guiding an organization. The department needs to think about the direction of employee careers, changes in the office environment–and they need to succeed in hiring the right leaders who can help guide employees throughout the company so that everyone can be prepared for changes in our world together.”
Meshoulam explained that the COVID-19 pandemic is the perfect example of the world changing around us. Organizations that were proactive with technology and ready to work at a distance pre-pandemic were in a better position in early 2020 when the world suddenly stopped and offices went entirely online.
Many employees have spent the past two years working from home and enjoying the increased family time, shorter commutes, and flexibility that come with Zoom meetings (and, let’s face it, wearing sweat pants). Employees are quitting over returning to their offices for in-person work because they feel their managers don’t trust them if they can’t see them, and they don’t want to be micromanaged. They’re also wary of the ever-present COVID-19 virus.