Retain Your Employees with Just Two Efforts

Photo by DDP on Unsplash

The Great Resignation was initially spoken about as women departed their places of work in 2020 (either by force or by “choice”). Over five million women were affected. In the present day, nearly two million women still have not returned to the workforce (in the United States alone). 

Interestingly, this “Great Resignation” has taken shape to classify the departure of both women and men, noting the changing landscape of work, and employees’ sentiments on what work should look like. While I do not argue there are clear trends of disengagement which have led to both men and women leaving the workforce, there is still a monumental issue of women being at the helm of COVID job losses. 

Media outlets, particularly those who cover leadership and management, have used this opportunity to talk about the importance of retention. I find it startling, and fascinating, that due to the fact this Resignation now includes men, it is being discussed further. Not just the reality of departures, but the essentiality that companies do all they can do to make people stay. Where was this same tone during the pandemic when women were mass exiting? 

Needless to say, the point remains that in order for the economy to stabilize and for companies to flourish, both men and women must remain, or return, to the workplace. But how are we intending to help people return? How are we intending to keep people content in their current positions? 

If you are familiar with my work you know I advocate for women. And, after a year researching and publishing a book on women’s experiences during COVID-19, I assure you it is women that companies need to be focused on when it comes to retention and engagement. Regardless, engagement drives performance and the best companies are composed of diverse teams, thus there are actions you can take readily to engage all company members. 

Career Transparency

Career transparency can minimize ambiguity and increase engagement. Helping employees know what’s next for them (and helping him/her create the path) is paramount. What makes this employee tick? What areas do they excel in? How does their current career path allow for their skills to shine? 

If you haven’t discussed this with your team members, it’s time. If your team member isn’t sure what it is they want in their career, your job is to help them discover. But, odds are, they have an inkling of what they want to accomplish, and have been waiting for you to ask how they can achieve their goals. 

Recognition 

Yes, something as simple as recognition can increase retention. Have you ever been in a position where a superior took an idea as his own? Or did an exceptional job on a project and was simply assigned the next? This wears on people. Managers must have integrity and shed a light on their team members’ successes, not take them as their own. Further, managers must take the time to privately and publicly recognize their team. Not only does this spark discretionary effort, but a microculture of recognition demonstrates to a company as a whole that behavior that promotes and encourages will also establish trustworthy and hardworking teams. 

The Stay Interview

The stay interview, like the exit interview, is not a new practice. Business leaders are slow to implement the former which I argue is counterintuitive. Exit interviews offer institutions, government agencies, and firms alike insight into why employees leave and what organizational changes may prevent a like-caliber employee from moving on in the future. But, let us face it, the exit interview can only offer the potential to corrective action if the person receiving the exit interview information can actually use it – or better yet – make a useful change with the feedback.

An exit interview, while still valid for gathering knowledge, is more about cleaning up the pieces. It is also all too often emotionally fueled due to the upsetness (some) managers face by losing an employee. Conversely, the stay interview approach is about preparation. If a valued employee gleans perspicacity into a glaring problem, a manager has an opportunity. This opportunity is particularly unique because the awareness gained can be used to motivate and retain the "stay interviewee." Rather than a broad stroke, a manager has the chance to make slight adjustments for each team member, ensuring continued discretionary effort and fueling manager-subordinate discourse rooted in trust.

 To my earlier point, the individual receiving feedback from the employee needs to have either influence or a path to an individual who can influence - even if small - change. An unfortunate practice, one particularly common with exit interviews, is when senior leadership never even bothers to review the responses — what a missed learning moment. From recurring themes to insights about the type of employee that is less successful at the organization, the data offers a wealth of information.

Let us assume you are new to this but think the idea of engagement and retention sounds appealing. How do you get started?

Preface the stay interview conversation with the worth the employee offers the organization. Next, candidly share the importance of understanding their experience at ABC company, and that the following questions are to understand what is meaningful to them, and to learn what areas need development.

• What do you like most about working here?

• What do you like least about working here?

• Is there something you look forward to when you come to work each day?

• What keeps you here?

• If there is something you could change about your job, what would that be?

• What motivates you?

• What can I do better as a manager?

• What talents are not being used in your current role?

• What might tempt you to leave?

Do not forget to recap what you heard. Provide a real-time occasion for the employee to clarify or refine statements. Listening is an essential skill, after-all! Does your team member have a lot of sentiments about what needs to be changed? Set the expectation that change doesn’t happen overnight and be sure to communicate openly about what you have or do not have control over and what actions you will be seeking. A conversation without action (even if mostly positive) diminishes the value of a stay interview.

This article was first published via LinkedIn Articles

Recruitment & Leadership Pairing: An Approach for Employee Retention

I recently conversed with the owners of Exploration People, Melinda Williams and Jennifer Gould. Their expertise in placing talent within the eCommerce vertical enabled our paths to cross quite naturally. Upon reflection of our conversation and the undeniable necessity of strong talent acquisition, it got me thinking: How do recruitment professionals and leadership consultants work together to help companies create an ideal workforce?

Management consulting and recruitment specialists are mutually exclusive; yet, we are in the business of people. These functions are more closely linked than what first meets the eye.

Both work streams are responsible for technical capability; where I am responsible in assessing leadership theory appropriately and using my rolodex of knowledge to prescribe the issue and, with it, implement programming to improve situations, recruiters are responsible for thoroughly understanding the scope of the position as well as the mechanical skill-sets the candidate must possess. Just as the technical components are essential, so too are the relationships that are built along the way. The ability to understand people – truly comprehend motivations, limitations, potential, and possible blind spots – is really where our work comes in.  As I said, we are in the business of people.

We sat down to discuss. I wanted to learn why candidates – from the lens of recruiters who have dedicated time to proper vetting – stay with companies. The results are unsurprising, and business owners will be served well to take note.

Value

Value is identified as one of the three components that must be taken into account for a retention strategy. Jennifer and Melinda are frequently asked by candidates how the companies for which they are interviewing value their people.

Value comes in different forms – from salary to other rewards, and of course, recognition. While wage needs to be commensurate with industry standards, I have found it’s often not about the salary alone. It’s about the culture within the company.

Take this example: person one (1) works for company ABC and earns 20% more than another person, person two (2), who works for DEF. Person 1 is never thanked, seldom recognized, and morale is low. Person 2, while earning less, is regularly recognized by their boss for a job well-done, is trusted to accomplish the work, and is appreciated for who they are and how they contribute to the company. Unsurprisingly, they are more motivated to come into work, and the 20% difference in pay is a moot point.

Companies need to be able to answer these questions in the interview process:

1. How is change handled and communicated?

2. What is the corporate culture? Not the marketing words associated with mission and vision, but what are the actual values of the people within?

3. What type of recognition and rewards can be expected?

Growth

In my climate assessments, a key piece of feedback received is about upward mobility. What is the path to further achievement and what potential is there for growth? Without these discussions being held regularly, professional paths are ambiguous. This leaves employees feeling bored or “stuck” and limits longevity.

Companies may have grand plans for an employee, but if they aren’t discussed, documented, and action-oriented, the employee may leave never knowing there was the positive intent.

Regular reviews must be a part of the business framework; not only to discuss performance but to discuss potential and professional development. Further, feedback doesn’t always need to be scheduled. Encourage managers to speak with team members about aspirations and performance regularly. This allows corrections to be more fluid and enables plans for the future to be actualized, not just discussed.

Autonomy and Flexibility
In saving the best for last, Melinda and Jennifer find independence and flexibility to be the most common theme that is discussed with candidates. A common mistake that managers make is to keep their grip too tight. Instead of empowering employees, they think their control will produce better results. (This micromanagement can, and should, be undone!)

A common fear that candidates possess is whether or not they will be trusted to do their jobs. This goes back to the cultural framework as well as the coaching and self-awareness that is needed for managers.  If the person is a top performer but is never allowed to work from home, and this is something that adds value to their life, employees will feel mistrusted, and this leads to an absence in motivation. Giving a good employee space and flexibility to do what they were hired to do speaks volumes.

A Strategic Combination
The recruiter’s new reality? A desire to place candidates in workplaces where cultures are encouraging, dynamic, and free of toxicity. To me, these means the necessity to invest in organizational development, and personal development has never been higher. The interconnectivity between recruiters and leadership consultants, too, is an apparent fit. How I support people within organizations to become the best versions of themselves contributes to the overarching retention strategy. If we can correct fundamental issues, such as the aforementioned top three, candidates will be eager to evolve with their company. The people companies seek, and Melinda and Jennifer look diligently to uncover, will be a very worthwhile investment.

As such, the power-packed approach of engaging the right talent – Melinda and Jennifer’s part – and enabling candidates’ success through organizational change and development – my part – is undoubtedly well-aligned.

Acknowledgement In the Workplace: A Retention Strategy

Following my Manager Trapdoors: Four Themes to Correct post, I promised to address the relevance of acknowledgement in the workplace. Identifying acknowledgement as a necessity to contentment at work may seem like a no brainer, but it easily falls through the cracks. Let’s look at the importance of acknowledgement, as well as some easy steps to implement acknowledgment into your day.

The days go by, your teams produce work, and life goes on. Do they feel appreciated for their work? This is a question worth asking.

Acknowledgement not only builds trust, it energizes people. Without a trustworthy environment where motivation is fostered, disengagement is painfully relevant. Gallup estimates that U.S. productivity loss, as a result of disengaged employees, is about $500 billion a year. Further, disengaged employees take an average of 4.5 more sick days per year than actively engaged employees. When the Society for Human Resource Management polled participants for the number one reason they leave a job, the answer was a lack of appreciation.  

Acknowledgement, Recognition, and Appreciation

Judy Umlas, author of the Power of Acknowledgement identified recognition and acknowledgement as two distinct actions.  Recognition is the appreciation of an action. This is the “job well-done” commentary. Thank you for completing a task on time. Think of actions, and their associated result. Conversely, she identifies acknowledgement as the heart-felt appreciation for the person as a whole. This requires a manager to really know their team member. Thank you for being an exceptional listener in that client meeting or I appreciate your natural ability to be genuine. This isn’t the surface-stuff. It’s the underlying behaviors.  

Appreciation, on the other hand, can be accomplished by both acknowledgement and recognition. If we are seeing people flock away due to the absence of appreciation, we have many options in correcting the virus.

To that point, any deficiency in acknowledgement, recognition, and appreciation, contributes to disengagement. Gallup has identified the following:

-       About 30 percent of currently employed people are actively engaged. This is the type of person we should want to see in our organizations. These individuals work with passion, want to succeed, and are committed to their jobs.

-       About 50-52 percent are not engaged employees. They are checked out. Energy is lacking and they do the minimum. (Anyone surprised by this number? Me too.)

-       Then, it’s suggested 18 percent are actively disengaged. The negativity is venomous. From irresponsibility, to speed to criticize, and blatant unhappiness, we’ve all seen a person or two in our careers who demonstrate these behaviors.  

Steps to Take

As a quick background on just one leadership theory, the behavioral approach focuses on what leaders do rather than who leaders are. The behavioral approach suggests that leaders engage in two primary types of behaviors: task behaviors and relationship behaviors. In my work as a management consultant, I have identified the best leaders are focused slightly more (and sometimes significantly so) on relationship behaviors. Can managers be leaders? Absolutely. But the core definitions differ. (Get some more clarity on the difference here.) The point here is this: relationship-oriented leaders and managers will opt to engage in appreciative behaviors more often than their task-oriented counter parts. Unsure where you fall? I can share a great assessment tool with you for self-exploration.  

If you find a team member demonstrating some disengagement traits, try the following.

• Acknowledge them (see above for an example!)

• Recognize them (see above for an example!)

• Listen to them. True listening is a form of acknowledgement. It is validating and truly helps team members feel they are an important part of the team.  

• Adjust your behaviors; try implementing a practice to recognize each of your employees at least once (everyone can do that!) a week.

Have you done all these things and still no luck? Drop me a line.

Until next time –
Brielle