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Why ‘The Great Reshuffle’ is the talent trend you should be talking about in 2022
In 2022, workers are not just leaving the workforce on a global scale; millions of people are reconstructing their careers in what is being hailed as “The Great Reshuffle”, with huge swathes of the workforce leveraging the unprecedented demand for talent to get into better and more rewarding positions. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that, in 2021, the rates at which people transitioned to new jobs or left old jobs was at its highest levels in at least seven years.
While there have been huge shifts in the labour market before – be it new job opportunities with the economic boom, or job losses with The Great Recession – the mass movement we’re seeing today comes with a significant difference.
So, what is the difference?
If, like a staggering 12.8 million others, you spent last year’s lockdowns binge-watching Line of Duty, you might be familiar with the concept of "The Categorical Trinity.”
The Categorical Trinity – opportunity, motive, means – is a detection method used in criminal investigations to build a well-rounded case against a suspect.
In this instance, this useful framework can be used to identify the main driving forces behind the current talent shifts -
Opportunity:
Fresh from an uncertain period of redundancies and furlough, the overnight switch from lean workforces to rapid growth phases has created a huge opportunity for moving careers – as evidenced by the record number of vacancies reported.
The highly competitive nature of the market means that recruiters are going out of their way to access passive talent – meaning more and more people are being directly headhunted and presented with opportunities, without having to venture to a job board.
Motive:
In 2021, STEM talent had more motive than ever to change jobs. According to data from the REC, starting salaries for STEM professionals has been increasing month-on-month since March. And furthermore, the rate of salary inflation has hit a record high for the fifth month in a row.
Some sectors are reporting starting salary rises of over 25% in order to attract crucial talent. In the wake of an uncertain market, even the most loyal of employees would struggle to pass up offers like this.
But motive for moving is about much more than money; other factors – including the Purpose and Vision of an organisation, or the company culture – have an important part to play. Many people who had been clinging to employment despite frustrations in their current roles during the pandemic, were highly motivated to capitalise on the market and make their move once the situation stabilised.
Means:
And finally, means.
The crucial thing to point out here is not just that candidates have a lot of opportunities; but that these opportunities are significantly more expansive and flexible than they were two years ago.
Roadblocks that had previously held applicants back from roles – such as geographical location or insufficient child-care - have significantly reduced as more flexible employers embrace hybrid working and, in some cases, opt to hire remote workers to fulfil their skill requirements.
We have also seen employers expand their talent pool to include workers with transferrable skill sets from other industries, as well as outsourcing projects to third parties to fulfil demand. Employers are being more flexible, and workers therefore have more means than ever to accelerate their careers.
Evidently, the key differentiator driving this enormous shift of the workforce is alignment. Prior to the upheaval and uncertainty of the pandemic, individuals might have scrutinised in more detail - or even turned down - opportunities that, for instance, offered significant salary advantages but perhaps did not offer other preferred policies, like flexible working.
However, against the backdrop of a changing workplace, people considering job moves find themselves with more freedom to manuever the job market and craft the right role for them, aligning opportunity, motive and means into one place.
This perfect storm of Opportunity, Motive and Means leaves businesses scrambling to attract and retain vital talent. To stay competitive in the current market, businesses need to ensure they have an adaptable and desirable Employer Value Proposition (EVP) to attract applicants with their desired skillsets.