How to Leverage Automation to Negate the Impact of the Great Resignation | Industry Insights | All MKC Content | ANA

How to Leverage Automation to Negate the Impact of the Great Resignation

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Over the last two years, the global workforce at large has seen a major upheaval as a direct result of the pandemic. While every industry has been affected, today's workforce is re-evaluating their career paths and leaning into positions that allow for better work-life balance. As a result, we are seeing what has been dubbed the great resignation — a mass exodus of employees from their current positions.

Many companies are now questioning how they can improve employee satisfaction to retain and attract top talent. While many brands have adapted their policies to support remote work, that is not the only thing the modern employee is looking for. Today's employees are seeking positions that allow them to not only work remotely but also work efficiently. That is where automation comes into play.

Improving Connectivity


As countless companies pivoted to all remote working structures in the wake of the pandemic, the gaps in connectivity between individual employees and departments became much more evident. The ease of transition to remote work is heavily dependent on achieving seamless connectivity to enable staff to complete projects and tasks that span across departments.

As these gaps became more and more evident, many organizations began to explore and implement strategies that allowed for ease of work and efficiency for all. These solutions often included elements of automation, allowing employees to maintain operational efficiency while increasing transparency across teams to enable more efficient workflows.

Additionally, connectivity and transparency have become more imperative with customers and clients in the new endemic working environment. While this is not a new concept for any business, the pandemic amplified the need for more robust solutions within and outside of organizations.

As a result, many companies have turned to technology and A.I. to eliminate gaps. Implementing solutions like robust Client Relationship Management (CRMs) platforms and Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) to enable internal teams to have full visibility into client and audience data while also enabling ease of communication between internal teams and clients.

Eliminating Menial Tasks


While many employees enjoy the benefits of working from home, there are some downsides that need to be addressed. For starters, the typical 9-to-5 workday went out the window along with the daily commute, leaving many employees working longer hours and taking less breaks. Some of this was due to a need for employees to adapt their mindsets to working from home. Another contributing factor was the number of menial tasks that occur in the average workday.

To negate this issue, many brands began looking for ways to increase efficiency and eliminate the repetitive tasks bogging down the average employee. For the majority, automation initiatives became the answer, allowing for a majority of these repetitive, time-consuming tasks across various departments to be executed by technology.

For example, many marketing teams are investing in marketing automation tools to streamline workflows, while their parallel creative teams are turning to creative automation solutions to increase both productivity and bandwidth while bolstering engagement and ROI.

Creating More Autonomy and Freedom


One of the biggest influencers of the great resignation is the need for autonomy in today's workforce. Although it seems counter-intuitive, many employees encountered a lack of autonomy and freedom when pivoting to a fully remote working environment, which of course creates stress and unhappiness.

To ease this, many teams have pivoted to automation technologies to create more efficient and transparent workflows. Meaning they can complete tasks and projects faster, while also giving upper management a fully transparent view of progress within platform and software dashboards. This not only creates more efficiency, but it also eliminates the need for constant verbal check-ins and meetings, allowing employees more freedom and time to focus on larger scale initiatives.

In Summary


The great resignation is a direct result of the changes brought forth by the pandemic. The workforce at large is demanding more flexibility, better work-life balance, efficiency and appreciation, as well as more freedom within their working lives. One of the best ways to offset some of the legacy issues of working is by implementing automation strategies within your organization.

Companies that wish to succeed will evolve their strategies to future-proof their business. Many of these evolutions will include elements of automation and A.I. that ensure ease of work, employee satisfaction, autonomy, and freedom as well as increase productivity and ROI for the immediate and long-term future.


The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the ANA or imply endorsement from the ANA.


Jenn Choo is the marketing director at Theorem.

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