In Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em: Getting Good People to Stay, Beverly Kay and Sharon Jordan-Evans write about creating commitment cultures.

After 20 years of research and 60,000 exit interviews, the Saratoga Institute reports that 80% of turnover is related to unsatisfactory relationships with the boss. Talent retention and engagement will remain one of management’s highest priorities over the coming years. In fact, in the current global economic situation with its ever-increasing reliance on talent and technology, retention and engagement are critical to an organization’s survival.

Organisations therefore need to focus on three areas to retain and engage their talented people:

Employee development – Support learning and growth.

Find ways to continuously develop and grow workers’ talents. Enrich and enliven employees’ work, making every effort to increase the time they spend on desirable and innovative work. Help workers identify opportunities for moving laterally as well as vertically. Link workers to mentors, coaches, leaders, or colleagues who can offer guidance and support.

Management style – Inspire loyalty.

Ask employees what they want from their work and what it takes to keep them motivated. Provide constant feedback – clearly, truthfully, and respectfully – and, in return, listen closely and carefully. Look for creative, meaningful ways to recognise and reward workers. Create a culture of inclusion – valuing not only differences of race and gender, but thoughts, experiences, and attitudes as well. Hold managers accountable for retention and then give them the training and the tools to do it.

Work environment – Create one that people love.

Let fun happen. Share information freely and regularly. Give people space – providing the freedom to get the job done in ways that work best for them, from their schedule and attire to their approach and process.

There are many complex reasons why some organisations are more successful than others in attracting and retaining the best people. However, studies reveal some common patterns. The most significant of these clearly boil down to questions of leadership.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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I read a piece from John Sylvester recently that said the Number 1 reason employees leave a company is from lack of recognition.

Not sure if you would all agree with that, as some managers I’ve recently talked to say their people are leaving for more money. But isn’t that exactly the same thing? If they want to leave for more money, are they really saying that you do not recognise their contribution and they want to go to a company that does?

A recognition scheme can help you to improve retention and morale by giving your employees a sense of belonging and a feeling of actively contributing to the success of a wider team.

A well thought out recognition scheme can help you to:
• Reinforce employee actions to mirror company values
• Promote your brand
• Foster a sense of belonging and a recognition culture
• Reduce recruitment costs – the average cost per employee currently stands at £8,200
• Empower line managers to award positive behaviour
• Improve customer service levels – For every 1% increase in staff loyalty a 0.5% increase can be seen in customer loyalty – (Study by Harvard Business School)
• Create a more productive team
• Reduce attrition

A good recognition programme will include awards and merchandise incentives, rather than simple money bonuses. Cash incentives could cost up to 6 times as much as non-cash incentives and provide similar results. Over time employees come to expect cash incentives and as such, rather than recognising performance that goes above and beyond the norm, cash incentives lose their value over time.

So you need to identify what kind of things will not only motivate your teams but also provide the recognition they are looking for.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

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Google’s vice president of people operations, Laszlo Bock, says, “It’s not the company-provided lunch that keeps people here. Googlers tell us that there are three reasons they stay: the mission, the quality of the people, and the chance to build the skill set of a better leader or entrepreneur”.

I find it interesting that one of the world’s top ten brands actually measures through analytics why their people stay and progress with the company. Many companies we work with never get round to asking the basic questions as to why people work there, never mind analysing it so they can help them develop.

Have you asked why people stay with you? What motivates them to come to work each day and stay loyal to your company?

If you want to maintain anything like the loyalty that Google enjoys, maybe you should start thinking seriously about what you are doing and can do to keep your people loyal to your company.

Take a look at Google’s top three reasons why people stay. Firstly, the mission of the company. It states “To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” It’s clear, specific and makes people want to believe in it.

How does your mission make your people feel? Do they aspire to be better simply by reading it and do they want to live it? Or do they even know what your mission is?

Secondly, Googlers stay because of the quality of the people there. Ask yourself whether that’s one reason why you have staff loyalty; because they are happy with the quality of the people they work with. This needs a commitment to development and learning and advancement throughout the whole company, and will create an environment of creativity and innovation, if it is nurtured.

Thirdly, it’s the chance to improve their leadership skills while they work there. Do your people have the opportunity to learn, advance, create, produce, grow, develop and progress through job enrichment and shared responsibilities? Remember, if your people aren’t growing in their jobs, they are hibernating, and may be simply waiting for something better to come along.

Naturally, not all of us can aspire to be like the Google’s of this world. But we can all share a bit of the attitude and commitment they show towards their staff. With zero per cent turnover of staff in the last twelve months, and an average of 100 resumés received every day from aspiring co-workers, it appears the company has a knack of keeping employees loyal. Let’s hope some of that magic can rub off on us!

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

The other day we started to discuss a few of the things you can do, as a manager, to retain your good employees. Today I’d like to add 5 more tips to the list. Combine them all, using your own personal management style, and before you know it you’ll see your employee relationships improving.

• Listen to your employees. Your team members, if you listen to them, have valuable ideas and most of them want to contribute to the process. Listen to what they have to say and make sure they know the lines of communication are always open.
• Help them find opportunities for growth. No one wants to feel as though he or she is stuck in a dead end job for a lifetime and you, as a manager, can’t expect them to be happy in the same position forever. Help your employees identify opportunities for growth, both short-term and long. Employees working towards goals are always happier.
• Encourage flexibility. I’m not saying you have to adjust their schedules every other day and make ridiculous concessions but you can find ways to encourage them to find balance between their work and persona lives without decreasing productivity. This means not being rude when they’re really sick or when they need to take care of their children.
• Encourage personal wellness. Healthy employees are happy employees and stress is certainly not healthy. Surprise them with special breaks, give them gift certificates to their favorite restaurants or spas as an acknowledgment of their loyalty, or have a yoga instructor come in for a morning class. They’ll appreciate the break from the regular routine.
• Finally, please remember to say THANK YOU to the people who work for you. Whether they’re permanent employees or independent contractors, everyone appreciates knowing you recognize, acknowledge, and appreciate the things they do. Nothing else you do will matter if you never utter those two simple words.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

As a manager you have a huge amount of repsonsibility when it comes to hiring and firing employees. You’ll do your best to hire the candidates you think are the best and you’ll have to document incidents in order to fire those who turn out to be not as great as they presented themselves. In the midst of all this, managers tend to forget one group of people – the good ones – the ones they should be working to retain.

A good employee isn’t one you can just leave alone, monitoring only when it comes time for the annual review or when you need to assign new work. Even good employees need attention and if they don’t get it, or feel appreciated, they might start to look elsewhere for work.

So what can you do to help retain the employees you already have and want to keep? Here are 5 things to consider.

• Pay them well. Money really isn’t the only factor people consider when it comes to taking or keeping a job but it does play a huge role in the decision. If your employees feel overworked and underpaid they’ll start to wonder if they can find what they feel to be a fair level of compensation elsewhere (and they probably can).
• Treat your employees fairly. Truth be told, you are all simply people. If you want your employees to feel good about themselves, treat them as if you are on an equal playing field. You know, as if you are all members of a team instead of them being the team with you as the leader.
• Make one-on-one time for each member of your team – whether it’s an informal cup of coffee in the morning or a trip out to lunch. Find time where neither of you feels pressured and let your team members know, on an individual basis, that you actually care about their growth and development.
• Allow space to breathe. Sure, there are rules, but everyone has their own way of getting the job done. Let your employees be creative in their work. As long as they aren’t breaking the law or any important rules – and they’re getting the work done on time – you’ll find they’re happier if they’re able to express themselves.
• Be personable. Be a great leader, with heart and spirit, and let them know you respect and appreciate what they do. The more respect you have for them, the more they’ll have for you.

On Friday we’ll go over a few more tips for employee retention. Until then, think about the relationships you have with your team members. Are they strong enough to survive?

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Leadership Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”