The title may say it all however before diving into employees, top talent, retention and so forth I want to look at employing the best as a critical step in operational excellence. That may be a very broad term in regards to employing people yet I believe the ability to filter out in any possible way (for the sake of length I am not going to go into discussion around recruitment – yes recruiting first rate employees remains a task easy to discuss, yet hard to execute.), those that will not carry the burden towards success should not be part of an organization. Now the focus of this post is not necessarily the employee but those that lead.
The ever pressing challenge in business is the reality of attracting and keeping talent in your company. Many large organizations including my employer struggle with the fact and regardless of any arguments anyone may bring to me, this maintains a direct impact on the bottom line. Again, the people deliver the metrics, not a random circus. If companies maintain a more consistent experience for the employees that truly deliver a value add and weed out those that don’t than for the long haul, due to high quality and consistency businesses will win back and/or maintain their customers. Its quite simple, no?
The Pressing Issue
The issue is in the fact that turnover exist in companies, from my perspective, out of two reasons which are intertwined.
- Companies, organizations, teams, etc are poorly led, and
- as a consequence the opportunity for development disappears into the fog, hence
the result of this is the loss of top talent. Companies will always loose people for a number of reasons but the reason, but I personally believe that attrition is high in companies due to the above two factors. The downside on top of this is usually the top performers end up going after what I call “the second chance.”
Typically people will leave when the going gets rough for a variety of reasons. Top Talents end up going somewhere in the middle, not necessarily because the grass is greener on the other side but again, let me stress above two reasons. Talents remain on-board and when the going gets tough, they are the ones to push harder, grabbing the biggest bucket in sight and shoveling out the water that’s causing the ship to sink. That’s dedication and determination. The flaw behind the way companies think is as long as the ship is going, all seems to be fine (in the simplest form – there is much more behind it, but that again depends on leadership).
Hence the consequence of the non-fulfillment of above two factors is high turnover, which requires companies to be in a constant mode of recruiting.
Leaders need to boost retention and performance
In order to retain top talent, leadership, not management needs to
- Provide a clear vision that talents buy into.
- Create a culture of performance through nurturing (not hand holding – you are responsible for your own career), that
- provides the opportunity to grow and attain more responsibility and challenge’s your skills
If leaders keep a clear vision, keep the brand solid and don’t change up the game play, rather focus on delivering, then you will attract talent. I believe the minute this changes you will begin losing and this will in return directly affect how companies attract people, which in the end, again, affects the bottom line.
Culture starts at the top
The issue I have faced in several of my work experiences is that in most instances those at the top read down some script about how corporate or company culture should be – so let’s do this. Stop right there. The cultural tone for any company starts at the top. Live it and breathe it. If you want engaged employees, those who are willing to press on, a simple way of retention is be hands-on and supportive. If you do not live up to the standards you want to convey, who else will hold the workforce accountable?
One of my personal credo’s as a leader is building up trust and believing in empowerment. That is key for my employees to understand. Along with that I have seven inherent values that I require of those that work with me; personality, individuality, focus, passion, integrity, continuous improvement and creativity. Leaders at the top need to understand that people will follow you, even through the rough, if you are clear, engaged, maintain feedback in two ways and focus on the people by providing what I have already repeated up top. Interactive events, proper feedback mechanisms, building trust through engagement and providing staff the opportunity to offer best practice and solutions that will enhance working conditions and operational productivity.
The key here is: Build rapport. Period.
Conclusion
Even when facing a troubled situation, whether you are a multinational, a small business, a restaurant operator – people are and always will be your strongest asset. Lose sight of them and you will fail, regardless of how brilliant you may be.
Strive to build a culture that is genuine and authentic. Walk the talk and listen. Build rapport. Provide opportunity the people will follow. Retention is all about developing internal talent.
In conclusion, my points on retention
- Hire “the right” profile from the start
- Build and promote a genuine and authentic culture that is practiced by all throughout the organization
- Encourage employee feedback by empowering people to speak up, considering that feedback is based on trust and respect.
- Reward employees through recognition, incentives and perks. The smallest thing fosters peoples trust, commitment and values their contributions.
- Value internal development by investing in and encouraging staff development. To me it is vital to train my staff by providing opportunities for “the next thing” they can do.