RALEIGH – Employers may not be as aggressive in hiring now, with increasing concerns about the future of the national economy, but many Triangle companies are stepping up efforts at retaining workers that they already have, a report from talent management firm Robert Half found.
The State of U.S. Hiring Survey found that while some companies are announcing layoffs or hiring freezes, 46% of respondents still plan to hire for new roles, and 45% may use a recruitment firm to help make the match as employers and job seekers are feeling more urgency.
Triangle jobs market remains strong; report says life science firms keep hiring
Bracing for workers who choose to quit
But even more managers are bracing for additional departures of staff. That’s as 51% of respondents reported that there was an increase in voluntary turnover, or, workers who chose to leave their roles, within the department of their company in the prior 12 month period.
And 78% of the 1,500 respondents noted ongoing concerns that workers would quit.
“The single best thing companies can do for retention is to adapt alongside their employees,” said Derrick Minor, a senior consultant with Vaco in Raleigh in an interview with WRAL TechWire earlier this month.
“The shutdown didn’t just change our views on remote versus in-person collaboration,” said Minor. “It gave us renewed time and habits with family, mental health, etc., and everyone responded differently with what they most value.”
That led to many North Carolina workers quitting, while employers scrambled to hire workers.
But, though nearly 8 in 10 managers are worried they’ll have workers leave, there is some hope in Robert Half’s data. That’s because an earlier study from Robert Half found that only 4 in 10 workers are considering changing jobs at some point in the second half of 2022.
Retaining workers: a how-to guide
Some companies are increasing starting salaries for new hires, the Robert Half study found. That’s 46% of respondents, according to the statement from the company.
And one in three companies will provide a signing bonus, the same number of companies that will provide a remote option or allow new hires to live and work from anywhere.
Further, nearly 3 of every 10 respondent noted that their department has adjusted education, skills, or experience requirements in order to attract talented workers.
Robert Half found that 65% of workers who leave a role do so because they’re seeking greater salary or compensation. Other common cited concerns include outdated benefits packages, feeling overworked or unsupported, few opportunities for career advancement or skill development, or other concerns.
Chart: Robert Half. Data: Robert Half.
So companies can put in place programs and initiatives that are designed to retain workers, including boosting compensation, allowing remote work, adding professional development and career advancement opportunities, and empowering workers to choose their own flexible schedule.
“Organizations have responded by adjusting their benefits packages, adding mental health support, offering flexibility and autonomy within roles, doing salary audits of existing employees, and committing to social justice initiatives,” said Minor.
And this is still a must-do for employers, said Jessica Mitsch, the co-founder and CEO of Triangle-headquartered Momentum Learning.
“Employers have to remain competitive with salary, benefits, and value propositions to get great talent,” said Mitsch in an interview.
Layoffs still keep coming despite better-than-expected jobs report
There’s still hope for retaining workers – except those in tech?
Even though the balance of power may be shifting back toward employers, Triangle area workers are still in a strong negotiating position, for now.
That’s because, despite some decreases in job openings in recent weeks, there are still tens of thousands of openings in the Triangle’s labor market, and signs that local hiring may continue despite an uncertain national economy.
“The job market is still being driven by jobseekers and employees,” said Minor, adding that his company is still observing negotiations that include pay raises, higher titles, increased benefits, and options for remote work.
“Despite the threat of hiring freezes, we haven’t seen this on a large scale and top talent continues to be in high demand,” said Minor.
That’s particularly true for software engineers, said Mitsch. “Even if hiring is slowing for other departments like sales, operations, and marketing,” she said, “we continue to see interest in hiring Software Engineering talent.”
Some of that is being driven by what Mitsch called “re-shuffling,” or the process of employees being willing to take a recruiter’s call to entertain an external job move. Should a worker quit voluntarily to take a new role, the company may then back-fill the job to add talent, in addition to their other planned hiring growth.
Economist: US may be at ‘peak of job openings and quit rates’ with recession lurking
Layoffs still looming
Still, layoffs are occurring in the region and in the state, WRAL TechWire’s most recent Layoff Watch found. That includes at startups, such as Adwerx, which last month laid off 40 workers.
And it’s not just layoffs, there are some companies that have slowed hiring.
“We’ve certainly seen some of the younger venture-backed companies flirt with slowing down hiring in the midst of economic uncertainty,” said Mitsch.
The labor market is changing, and it’s changing locally, statewide, and nationally. But that’s in part because it was already undergoing dramatic changes in the prior two years, noted Mitsch, as employers were fighting for talent while becoming more capable and comfortable hiring and onboarding remote employees.
But Mitsch noted “the consensus seems to be that the second half of the year will be a bit more unpredictable with hiring across the board.”
That doesn’t mean layoffs are coming, but even if they were to increase dramatically, and even more so than they did in July, the Triangle is “uniquely positioned to weather a job market slowdown,” said Katie Dunn, the director of career development at Momentum Learning.
“With the recent influx of tech companies opening offices here, there are more opportunities than ever,” said Dunn in an interview with WRAL TechWire on Monday. “These new entrants into our market have pushed salaries higher as other companies tried to compete.”
So even though technology companies have announced layoffs in other geographies, the new opportunities available in the Triangle may be enough to counter any impact on workers due to local layoffs, said Dunn.
