BDO’s Steven Sorbello says business leaders should look for opportunities during the ‘great resignation’

Some workers are going to resign over the coming months but business leaders shouldn’t panic as it’s an opportunity to give people a reason to join, stay or return to your organisation.

The Christmas period will be a time for many staff to reflect, set new goals, and determine career expectations and desires.

IT’S not surprising to see the ‘great resignation’ headline grabbing attention and sparking debate across the globe – that is exactly what headlines are designed to do!

Events of the last two years have given a lot of people reason to consider what they want out of life.

It is easy for leaders to become anxious about what might or might not occur as their people ponder their future. For many, the Christmas period marks a time for reflection. After another year of curve balls and change, the break will be an opportunity to reflect, set new goals, and determine career expectations and desires.

While for some this may indeed mean resignation, others will be looking for a reason to stay or a new team to join. This presents a real opportunity for us to critically evaluate our point of difference. From my perspective, of key importance to any organisation navigating this situation is the development of your people. This speaks to the heart of an organisation’s culture.

Steven Sorbello is BDO’s managing partner in Brisbane.

Allowing people not only to continually grow and be better tomorrow than they are today but to be presented with real and meaningful opportunities to take responsibility and further their career.

While we tend to think winning comes at the expense of others, that’s often not the case.

Taking this approach means helping others grow, prioritising their development, giving them responsibility, throwing them in the deep end and cheering them on.

I can’t think of a better way of bringing a team together and giving people a reason to join, stay or return. The outcome will be growth – both in terms of your people and your organisation.

This is the time to practise all those people skills and strategies that we often talk about. There is no doubt that we will make some mistakes and lose some people who are chasing their dreams. We can be happy that they have left with better skills and in a better place than when they joined, with many promoting our organisations to other prospects.

This is not a time for panic – this is your chance to better connect with your people in a meaningful way and to those that will be attracted to the opportunities you can provide.

Steven Sorbello is managing partner, Brisbane at BDO in Australia