It may sound counter-intuitive for a recruitment firm to say, but at Anderson Wise, we want to work with companies with a low turnover of staff, not a high one. Sure, we want to work on more mandates, but the right ones, where we are convinced it’s a company where talent is treated well.
Great company culture and strong leadership trump all the other employee benefits, including remuneration where salary inflation is at the highest levels never seen before.
We are now in a unique moment in time where we have all begun to truly reflect on what is important to us, including whether our work is contributing to a positive or negative impact on our lives.
Employee turnover levels across the board have increased. The good news is that those companies that have demonstrated a leadership style that is more compassionate continue to retain their talent.
Compassionate leaders focus on employees via attentive listening, understanding, empathy, and support allowing those they lead to feel valued, respected, and cared for, helping them to realise their potential and perform at their highest level.
I cannot count the number of times I speak with a candidate who wishes to leave a company ‘because they want to increase their salary’ only to uncover with a few targeted questions that the real reason is that they don’t feel valued and would move to a company where they feel valued for the same or even less financial compensation.
I have worked in the Recruitment Industry for over 25 years, and I can confirm there has never been a better time for employees to re-evaluate their employment relationship. Clearly, there are some economic challenges ahead and we are most likely to witness a recession in the Eurozone and beyond. However, the markets which AW serves in Luxembourg are still upbeat about their hiring intention in 2023 and beyond.
As the possibility of a global recession looms, Luxembourg’s financial services sector is likely to still be under-resourced, providing opportunities for local companies to benefit from talent relocating from jurisdictions that will have a much harder time absorbing the impacts of a recession. Additional international resources may help cool the salary inflation Luxembourg is currently experiencing.
If you are an organisation that is experiencing high turnover of staff, before jumping to the conclusion that if you pay your employees more you can keep them, consider what is really behind it, the ugly truth is it’s likely to be poor culture and weak leadership. Fortunately, solutions exist, and there are plenty of specialised companies and expert business coaches that can help bring a positive change to your organisation.
There are some good, bad, and ugly companies to work for. Those employees who are considering a change, regardless of whether you utilise the services of a recruitment firm or not, I can’t emphasise enough, do your due diligence on the team, leadership and company culture before making the move. Be selective like your career depended on it, because it does!
Darren Robinson
Managing Partner
Anderson Wise