Why Do All the Great People Leave First?

April 11, 2013

Employers have had an unfair advantage in this down employment market. Employees have had to suck it up and take whatever their employer dished out. Well the tides-are-a-changing and I see a major wave of candidates just waiting for the HCIT hiring frenzy to begin to run from their current situation. And run they will.

Tim Tolan

The market must be changing. Our inbound call volume from candidates ready to bail from their current employer is ratcheting up like the 11^th hour on a Jerry Lewis Tele-Thon. It’s only been a week in the New Year but it’s been quite noticeable. Ring- ring- ring is sort of what it sounds like. .

And, as Billy Mays (God rest this pitchman’s soul) would say – “But wait – there’s more.” I seem to get more and more calls from candidates that just can’t take it anymore. They are sick and tired of being sick and tired and are ready for a change. Some are willing to take less compensation just to get out of their current environment. That’s pretty sad.

And…There’s more. These are not your average run of the mill C players ready to head for the exit doors. Oh no. These are the very people that carry the load for many of the organizations they are working for. A and B players. Yep. They do all the work and they can’t wait to pull the trigger and bolt. Why you ask? Employers have had an unfair advantage in this down employment market. Employees have had to suck it up and take whatever their employer dished out. Well the tides-are-a-changing and I see a major wave of candidates just waiting for the HCIT hiring frenzy to begin to run from their current situation. And run they will.

Here’s the really sad part for the clueless employer and in no particular order.

# 1 - Many employers just don’t get it. They are too busy feeling good about getting a false sense of higher productivity with fewer resources while the very people that make them look good on paper are on the verge of leaving. The disconnected employer will absolutely get hit on the blind side and it will be too late to do anything about it.

# 2 – The great people that do most of the work are the smart ones that will figure it out. The once great employer with great financials that has met and exceeded budget for the past couple of years will suddenly be stuck with the C-Team. That’s right – not the ideal talent pool. Not a good plan - but well deserved.

# 3 – For HCIT employers that have not had the chance to read the paper lately – we are approaching a shortage of skilled HCIT workers across all functional roles. It will be unprecedented. Now what? Better think long and hard about how you value your most prized asset – your people. Your really good people are ready to walk!

For those that don’t “get it” – it probably doesn’t matter anyway. It will be lights out before you will ever notice. That would be a shame. Maybe not...