How the ‘Big Quit’ Hit the AM Talent Market
/0 Comments/in Blog, Career Advice, Hiring Advice /by Sophie PontoppidanThis year promises to be a big hit for the industry with further mergers and acquisitions predicted for 2022 and a very active jobs market to reflect the overhaul of additive manufacturing organizations that occurred in the previous year.
But the talent market itself is taking a significant blow as it emerges on the other side of the Great Resignation, or ‘the Big Quit’ – an economic trend starting in early 2021 where employees voluntarily resigned en masse across various industries. This event came to prominence in the same period within the additive manufacturing industry, with many of our colleagues having changed job in the last 12 months – namely 33% of the AM workforce, worldwide, changed jobs in 2021 (source: 2022 AM Salary Survey Report by Alexander Daniels Global) – indicating an unprecedented shift in the talent market.
We recently hosted a webinar on the effects on the additive manufacturing hiring landscape following the Great Resignation – which you can find here.
The infographic below will give you a summary of the topics discussed and share with you the advice that AD Global proposes as a method for managing hiring in a jobs market that favors the talent.

Retention Hiring is the future?
Making the Right Hire From the Get-Go
As mentioned in a previous article on promoting team diversity, Nick Pearce – our Founder & CEO – placed real importance on hiring not just for experience, but also for potential and gave some tips on how to approach doing so.
The same concept doesn’t just apply to nurturing diverse teams, but any and all teams. Part of ‘making the right hire’ is rooted in looking beyond what you can see and creatively assessing what a professional can become when any skills gaps are filled. Nick uses the analogy of a circle peg and a square hole:
[the job description is]… “a square hole, and the client is [often] looking for a square peg, when actually, the right sized circle peg might fit into that square hole. There might be a little bit of room around the edges that needs filling in, but if they [the candidate] has the right attitude… [they] could conceivably fit quite well and could be trained…”
Nick Pearce, Founder & CEO, Alexander Daniels Global
Webinar: The Effects of the Great Resignation on the AM Hiring Landscape
In terms of retention hiring, hiring for potential and not just experience, is all part of the process. Retention hiring is a strategic approach to hiring that spans the entire recruitment process and onwards into employee retention strategies. It recognizes the importance of finding the right people from the get-go and focuses nurturing them in their roles.
Getting Your Job Descriptions On Point
Retention hiring starts with getting your job description right, in order to attract the talent you want to your business.
We have released a short guide on writing job descriptions, which will give you pointers on the best way to attract the talent you want with the job descriptions you write.
Benefits of Retention Hiring
Retention hiring strategies can have effects on the business that go beyond just having a happy team. Real tangible benefits of employee retention looks like:
- Sustained Productivity Workflow
- Reduced Company Cost (as a result of reduced employee turnover)
- Reduced Training Time
- Improve Revenue and ROI (as employees are more engaged)
- Improved Customer Experience (when dealing with your employees)
If that isn’t reason enough to get started on your employee retention strategies, then watch our recent webinar on demand to learn more about what Alexander Daniels Global advocates for your hiring strategies for 2022.
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