With such an active labor market at play, coupled with the “Great Resignation”, companies are also focusing on how to retain the talent they do have. Kurtz pointed out:
Strobel added:
“We have our annual review process and development planning as well as succession planning to identify and ensure top performers are gaining the right experiences. Mars has a robust training program within Mars University as well as associations with top universities and think tanks. Development is a critical component of the Mars associate experience, and it is expected that you do multiple trainings each year.”
Managers recognize retention is important, but some candidates still said it’s hard to ignore outside opportunities, no matter how hard their managers are trying to keep them engaged.
“I had heard the job market was good from colleagues,” one mid-career insights analyst commented. “I wasn’t actively looking and was giving my company the benefit of the doubt as they noted retention improvement efforts they were adding in. But eventually, when you’re getting multiple recruitment notes a week, you have to give in and see what’s really out there. The new roles that are being created and the benefits some companies are offering are just too good to pass up.”
Another young professional who recently started with a new ResTech company noted that the development opportunities the company highlighted during the hiring process were a big draw:
“One thing that really stood out to me about the company I accepted an offer from was their commitment to employees’ development. They were able to share examples of training and development efforts they’d put in place to help current employees and they also offer a generous reimbursement benefit so I can take courses outside of work too. With technology and research methods changing so rapidly, I wanted to know I was in a place that would help me advance, not just for the role I’m taking but for the ones to come after this.”
