Among the unprecedented changes 2020 and 2021 have brought to our lives, one of the most obvious is work and how it gets done. For many of us, our daily work lives were upended, with many jobs being converted to remote work. Not surprisingly, all this upheaval has been reflected in employment numbers, beginning with unheard-of job losses at the start of the pandemic and more recently manifesting in surprising numbers of resignations—what has been dubbed the Great Resignation.

The Stats Are Astounding

According to the U.S Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey report, between May and September 2021, about 20 million workers left their jobs—a 15% increase over the same period in 2019. In September alone, 4.4 million workers quit, which is the highest number ever recorded. Another 4.2 million people left their jobs in October.

Not surprisingly, the U.S. is also experiencing record-high numbers of job openings—10.4 million in September—creating an overheated market for job seekers.

The reasons for these numbers are many: COVID-related health concerns, vaccine hesitancy, lack of access to childcare, a search for better work/life balance (especially when it comes to working remotely), a decision to retire early and a desire for better pay and benefits. Additionally, there is a backlog of people who delayed leaving jobs in 2020 as they waited out the pandemic before making a move.

The trends vary across industry sectors, with hotels and food service having the highest percentage of quits. In the technology field, resignations increased by 4.5%, while in healthcare, quits rose by 3.6%.

“The market has been very busy for the last six to nine months, and what we see absolutely supports the data,” says Jessica Doherty, Queen Consulting Group’s Vice President of Consulting and Staffing Services. “We see people taking advantage of opportunities to make a move after staying put during COVID and all of last year’s upheaval. And it’s snowballing, because people have a comfort level now that it’s a really good time to make a move.”

How Employers Are Responding

For our clients, the Great Resignation plays out in a much swifter hiring cycle, meaning that the days of taking three months to fill a position are gone for now. Jessica sees Queen’s clients adjusting in two important ways. “People are always looking for career growth and opportunity and they want to be valued and compensated accordingly. On the hiring side, our clients are speeding up the process and making attractive offers sooner, knowing that when people make a move, it’s usually for more money. And on the retention side, clients are working to improve work/life balance and are offering rate increases to keep key employees in place.”

Jessica continues, “Clients are having more trouble filling permanent positions, which makes hiring temporary a great option now. We’re seeing an uptick in the need for consultants from companies that never hired consultants before, because they recognize that they can pull the trigger on a hire much faster this way, and then, if they choose, continue to search for a permanent employee, or convert the person to a full-time employee in the future.”

How Queen Consulting Group Helps Clients Find Great Candidates

 “When we partner with our clients, we take the time to understand their environment and culture, their projects and how their teams work, so that we understand what the candidate will be doing, the key skills needed and what type of candidate would be the best fit,” says Jessica.

Whereas an employer would traditionally post an opening and wait for job seekers to apply, Queen’s team of IT recruiters tap into our vast network of consultants & referrals to proactively find skilled candidates. Queen Consulting Group has spent years connecting with top IT talent to build up our talent pool, giving us access to candidates a general staffing agency won’t have.

Next, Queen vets and screens candidates to make sure they have the skills and abilities our client is looking for. Then, Queen selects the best candidates and sets them up for interviews. “We streamline everything that we can to make it super easy for our clients,” says Jessica.

Queen also works with organizations to help their part of the interview and hiring process move along as quickly and effectively as possible. Queen acts in a consultative manner to help clients present their company and the position in an attractive light.

“If a client needs to hire quickly, working with us is a way to get somebody in the door fast,” says Jessica. “We can find great candidates really quickly—even in a couple of days. And, because the selected candidate remains our employee, we act as a go-between to make sure both they and the client remain satisfied throughout the engagement.”

If the last couple of years have taught us anything, it’s that unpredictability is now the norm—and being able to respond quickly and make adjustments is essential. Employers navigating today’s revved-up hiring environment should know that they have an important resource to turn to in Queen Consulting.

“Staff augmentation is a great option for companies right now,” concludes Jessica. “If they partner with a firm like Queen, they have help in identifying top candidates and in completing the hiring process. We invest a lot of resources, time and expertise and use our network to identify the right people for a great fit.