Episode 63
Stemming the tide of the Great Resignation with Steve Mair
The Great Resignation is reshaping how organizations hire and retain talent. Steve Mair, VP of Talent Acquisition at Procore, breaks down what’s driving mass attrition, why leadership development is now a business imperative, and how TA leaders can build sustainable teams without burning out.
Episode Key Takeaways
65% of the US workforce is actively looking for a new job, but the real story isn’t resignation—it’s reshuffle. People are jumping career paths, retiring early, or moving to self-employment because they’ve had time to reprioritize. This breaks traditional hiring models built on predictable lateral moves.
Doubling recruiter workload to meet demand is a trap that guarantees attrition. The teams seeing 20–22% turnover (up from single digits) are the ones that ignored capacity planning and burned out their own TA staff. Sustainable hiring requires expanding the function, not squeezing harder.
Manager quality is now the primary retention lever. Gallup data shows it takes a 20% pay raise to lure someone away from an engaged manager, but almost nothing to lure them from a disengaged one. Remote work has made this gap visible and urgent—leaders must invest in one-on-ones, clarity on workload, and active burnout management.
Hiring for skills rather than experience is no longer optional; it’s survival. With senior talent retiring and mid-career workers changing paths, organizations must build recruiter academies and sourcer development tracks. The skill set of sourcing is more critical now than ever, yet most companies still treat it as a stepping stone to recruiting.
TA leaders have unprecedented leverage to reshape their function. This is the moment to build capacity models, secure headcount, and invest in leadership development—not just for hiring managers, but for the TA team itself. The market won’t normalize for 18+ months, and companies that treat this as a temporary crisis will lose to those building for the long term.
Frequently
Asked
Questions
What is the Great Resignation and why is it happening now?
The Great Resignation is a wave of workers leaving their jobs—3.6 million in May 2021 alone. It’s driven by pandemic-induced clarity on priorities, early retirements (2 million extra people retired in July 2021 due to strong market portfolios), and career path changes. People had time to reprioritize and realized they wanted different work, different companies, or no boss at all.
How do I retain my TA team while scaling rapidly?
Build a capacity model that defines sustainable workload per recruiter, sourcer, and coordinator. Don’t double existing team workload—hire more people or use agencies. Invest in leadership development and career paths (sourcer to senior sourcer, recruiter to manager). Most critically, demonstrate you’re protecting their time and managing burnout actively, not delegating it to them.
Why is remote work making attrition worse?
Remote work removes friction from resignation—you close your laptop, ship it back, and start a new job. It also eliminates peer pressure and informal mentoring that used to happen in offices. Managers can no longer rely on visibility to evaluate performance; they must build real trust and clarity. Poor managers are now exposed, and good ones are in high demand.
Should we hire experienced recruiters or build our own?
Build your own. Experienced recruiters are scarce and expensive; salaries are escalating rapidly. Instead, create a recruiter academy and hire from adjacent fields (retail, hospitality, customer service). Develop sourcing as a career track, not just a stepping stone. This is the long-term sustainable answer and gives you control over culture and retention.
What's the biggest mistake TA leaders are making right now?
Ignoring capacity planning and burning out their teams to meet demand. Companies are seeing 20–22% attrition in TA itself because leaders doubled workload instead of expanding headcount. This creates a death spiral: more attrition, fewer people, more overwork, more attrition. Secure funding, hire more people, and protect your team’s health—it’s a business imperative, not a luxury.