Quick Quitting is Still a Thing—So What Can Companies Do About It?

Hot on the heels of the Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting, Quick Quitting has been running strong for many months and shows no sign of abating.

For the uninitiated, Quick Quitting refers to employees leaving their jobs within a short period after being hired, usually less than one year. This trend has been attributed to a variety of factors, including work environment, lack of career development, burnout, and feeling undervalued, and it's most prevalent among deskless workers. As a result, many companies find themselves in a tight spot, struggling to handle the high volume of staff turnover that comes with Quick Quitting.

So what can companies do to address this issue and retain their employees for longer? Let's take a look.

What's behind Quick Quitting?

While competitive pay and attractive benefits are essential for employee retention, there are numerous other reasons why employees might leave a job before they barely have time to settle in. Here are a few factors that have been identified as major contributors to Quick Quitting:

• The company's values clash with the employee's personal values, leading to a lack of alignment and motivation.
• Poor communication or lack thereof can lead to misunderstandings, frustration and disengagement.
• Lack of opportunities for career growth and development can make employees feel stagnant and unfulfilled.
• Negative work culture, including toxic behaviors or favoritism, can drive employees away.
• A poor onboarding experience can leave employees feeling lost and unengaged.
• A lack of meaningful work or feeling undervalued and underutilized can cause employees to seek out other opportunities.
• Rigid schedules can be incompatible with the work-life balance employees strive for.
• Ineffective or unsupportive managers can dampen employee morale and increase turnover.

Many of these factors boil down to workplace culture—a powerful retention tool that often gets overlooked. Addressing these issues is a critical step towards mitigating Quick Quitting. Here are a few potential solutions companies can consider.

1. Conduct regular check-ins with employees

Deciding to quit a  job – even in a job market where opportunities are abundant – is never a spur-of-the-moment thing. People usually drop hints when they are thinking about leaving. Signs include increased absenteeism or tardiness, missed deadlines, a decline in the quality of work, or simply checking out from the role. If you can spot these signs early on, you can address the employee's concerns and hopefully stop them from jumping ship. 

One way to do this is to take online pulse surveys and/or have managers conduct regular check-in meetings with employees. In these meetings, managers should ask questions like “How are you feeling about your work?” or “What challenges are you facing?” to get a pulse on how the employee is doing and identify issues before they escalate.

These check-ins also provide employees with an opportunity to voice their concerns and feel heard, which can go a long way in boosting engagement and retention.

2. Show them some love

According to a recent BCG study, one of the top reasons for employees considering quitting is feeling undervalued and unappreciated. When people’s contributions are not acknowledged, they feel like a cog in the wheel, which can be a major buzzkill for anyone.

Now, it's hard for employers to individually recognize every employee for every contribution in deskless environments, where there are usually a large number of workers spread out over different locations. However, companies can use digital tools to facilitate peer recognition and make it easier for managers to acknowledge employees’ hard work.

Even simple gestures like shout-outs in team meetings and positive performance feedback from the manager can go a long way at making people want to stick around. 

3. Improve work-life balance

Deskless roles often involve fixed shifts, night shifts, weekend work and crazy overtime, which can really mess with work-life balance. Unlike the white-collar world where employees might snag some remote and flexible work perks, there is little room for flexible work arrangements in the blue collar sector. However, there are still things companies can do to stop the job from rubbing up against the employee’s personal life and allowing employees some flexibility in their schedules if they can.

For example, FedEx Ground, a package delivery company, uses flexible scheduling software that lets some of their blue collar staff choose from different shifts, including shorter shifts or staggered work hours. This flexibility can be a game-changer for deskless employees. Even small stuff, like allowing flexible break times, can make a big difference.

4. Keep them safe

Deskless jobs are typically found in industries that, by definition, lack comfortable work environments, such as construction sites, mining operations, farms and manufacturing facilities. Tough working conditions are a by-product of the nature of the job.

However, there are steps employers can take to make working conditions more comfortable. In terms of the physical workspace, ensuring proper ventilation in enclosed spaces and offering amenities like break rooms and clean restrooms can have a positive impact on employees' morale and well-being. Another strategy is to alleviate the workload. If people are starting with your company and quickly leaving, it's often a sign that  the workload is too strenuous or overwhelming. Companies should look for ways to streamline processes, reduce administrative tasks and invest in technology that can help automate manual work.

5. Provide growth and upskilling opportunities

Career development opportunities – or the absence of them – are a leading factor in an employee’s decision to quit. People want opportunities for advancement and professional development, even in deskless work where education and promotion opportunities may be limited.

To address this, companies can offer online learning programs or provide access to career counseling or upskilling resources to help employees develop new skills and progress in their careers. You may also want to consider cross-training, which involves moving employees across different departments. For example, a warehouse worker could undergo cross-training to gain skills in logistics or inventory management. 

Not everyone is interested in upskilling beyond the role they were hired for. However, providing these opportunities can signal that you value your employees and are willing to invest in their professional growth. This ultimately leads to a more engaged and satisfied workforce, which can help reduce turnover rates.

Conclusion

While Quick Quitting may be a persistent trend, companies aren’t completely powerless against it. There are things they can do to make deskless staff stick around for the long-term, as the above strategies show.

The biggest thing you can do is find out what workers want – and the only way to know is to ask. Invest in surveys, feedback and conversations with managers, then use those insights to make meaningful changes that will increase retention. These efforts will not only help improve employee satisfaction, but also save valuable time and resources on constantly having to find and train new hires. It's a win-win situation for both employers and employees in the deskless sector.