(2 1/2-minute read)
The period known as The Great Resignation is ending, and that’s OK.
The Great Resignation represented a needed correction in the employment market for job seekers. Before the pandemic (remember back then?), low unemployment and high corporate earnings gave employers the upper hand in hiring. Over the past two years burnout escalated, employees left their jobs and The Great Resignation shifted the employment market to favor employees and jobseekers.
Employers found themselves forced to respond by designing remote and distributed work structures, prioritizing humanistic culture, and promoting wellness and work-life balance initiatives.
The overall result is a working environment based on mutual benefit with employers focused on retaining their workforce and employees focused on personal and professional growth.
This is where we are now, but the nature of markets is constantly shifting. This next shift, predictably, is being driven by economic factors. Here’s are some of the indicators of the upcoming transition.
Volatility in the equities market
GNP and inflation are rising at unsustainable rates
Chatter about interest rate increases by Federal Reserve
Demanding more for less
When the economy shifts and the Fed tightens the money supply, margins are stressed, and organizations must respond. The typical organizational response calls for increased employee productivity combined with reduced resources. More for less. It means that a changing economy changes the definition of how you succeed at work.
Now you know what’s coming. Prepare yourself and your team to succeed by focusing on three areas:
Experience
Productivity
Allies
1) Leverage the totality of your experience
For you: After two years in survival mode, it’s easy to forget some of the things that made you successful in the first place. And it’s even easier for your management to forget or overlook some of your capabilities. From work experience to college internships, reflect on your past positions and skills. Extract and understand common threads among the roles as these represent your strengths—target opportunities to showcase your value.
For your team: Now is an excellent time to analyze the soundness of your team and identify gaps in the team’s capabilities. Assume your team must do more with less and adjust assignments now to utilize the strengths of each team member.
2) Fill internal gaps
For you: Are there areas where you can be more efficient? Identifying these areas and being proactive with an improvement plan will get you noticed and make you an indispensable part of the team.
For your team: Resource tightening means it’s time to get creative. Are there departmental silos that would benefit from better communications? Is your department utilizing its productivity resources? Dismantling potential roadblocks now will make it easier for your team to react when goals and timelines change.
3) Line up your allies
For you and your team: Efficiency and collaboration become even more critical with economic changes. Strengthen your bonds now. Who are your friends, foes and neutral colleagues? Look beyond your group. Widen your sphere of influence by getting to know people from all over your organization. Find out what they do, what they like and don’t like about their work and where you can collaborate. Getting to know various colleagues now will give you the bench strength you’ll need to face the challenges to come.
Change is coming, so take advantage of the employee retention, culture, and workplace improvements over the past two years. Start preparing now to make this next pivot less abrupt. Overall, you’ll be less stressed and able to excel in a money-tightening, resource-stretched environment.
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You can also check out Forbes.com/CFO blog where I write about communicating with and motivating teams.