The Great Resignation: How To Think About Career Mobility & Skills In 2022

The Great Resignation is very much alive. In Schulich ExecEd’s 2022 Career Mobility & Skills Report, we found that employees are still actively looking for new challenges and opportunities, both within and outside their organizations. How can leaders and employers respond to these needs and retain their top talent?

The Great Resignation: Key Findings

In our survey, we asked 500 professionals, managers, and directors across multiple industries about their career outlooks. With the number of new organizations, roles, and career paths that emerged from the pandemic, it’s not surprising that most respondents believed they would be better with a new employer.

In both Canada and the US, there have been record numbers of people quitting their jobs. More than 45% of those surveyed are actively seeking a higher position within the next year, and 25% are looking for roles outside their own companies.

The alarming pace of change that comes with The Great Resignation requires great organizational change. Sadly, we discovered that many organizations were not adequately prepared in recognizing employees’ career ambitions and credential skill development.

Fostering Talent for Success

What our new findings suggest is that organizations, particularly Learning & Development and Human Resources leaders, should be rethinking their talent management strategies to strengthen employee retention with tangible results.

To start, they should identify the right skills needed for each level in the talent pipeline, and actively look for partners that can help employees upskill and reskill according to their ambition. In fact, a large percentage of respondents in the survey expressed a desire for skill development that can set them apart in their roles and match their career mobility aspirations, including an internal lateral change, an upward move to a higher rank, or a fresh start in a new role.

A new normal has arrived in the workplace. Employees will need to reflect on their goals and design new career pathways that match their ambitions, and employers need to respond so they can retain and foster their talent meaningfully.

Get the Full Report

Learn more about career mobility and figure out your next steps with our To-Do lists for employees and employers. Read the Schulich ExecEd Career Mobility & Skills Report 2022.