One of the common concerns among the leadership teams I work with at various organizations is – “How do we keep our key employees from leaving?” I typically start by asking them what they’ve done so far. Often the conversation then goes something like this:
Client: We did a survey, and built some initiatives around the results.
Me: And how did that go?
Client: Well, we created cross-functional teams to work on each of the top four areas from the survey, but then_________ (fill in the blank from the following): a) their recommendations were too costly, or b) the team fell apart because of members’ work obligations or c) there was a shift in priorities due to business needs…
Really?
For years now, companies have been trying to turn around the widely reported low employee engagement scores. Tons of articles have been written, myriad solutions advised, and numerous remedies tried. It’s become “the flavor of the month” for employee engagement and retention. But here’s the thing. You can’t be everything to everyone. And in my experience with the multitude of clients I’ve worked with over the years, those who retain their top talent are the ones who:
1. Prioritize and commit to their people initiatives
2. Communicate consistently and ask for feedback on progress
3. Align their initiatives with the company culture
As a talent leader or learning and development leader, you need to get very clear about what your people initiatives are going to be. You need to prioritize based on your company culture, input from your employees, and the needs of the business. Once you prioritize, it’s critical to communicate and commit to those priorities so that your employees understand, and can get on board with them. Naturally, you can make tweaks and updates (communicating along the way), however changing things midstream, or trying to do too much at once, is confusing and disheartening to employees.
How are you going to keep your employees? Make them feel valued, connected, challenged, and recognized. Create an environment where individual, team and organizational goals are aligned so every employee knows how their work impacts overall success. Provide employees with a menu of options for continued development and growth. If you want to be an “employer of choice,” employees need to trust that you have their best interests at heart. That means resisting the “flavor of the month” and committing to initiatives that will have the best results for your people.
Till next time,
Karen
