“How can I stop my employees from leaving when I can’t afford to compete with the salaries and benefits the other folks are offering?”
That’s the question many employers are asking. The problem is, they’re listening to Conventional Wisdom for the answers. CW suggests that people join companies and stay with them for salary and benefits; that employees have no loyalty; if they can get better down the street, that’s where they’re going to go.
In years past, employers attracted employees with unspoken promises of security, competitive salaries and benefits. What they asked in return was uncompromising loyalty. They got it.
Companies grew and acquired other companies. Their mergers turned into downsizings and the silent promises they made were as bankable as smoke. If you were lucky, your hard work and loyalty got you a pass until the next layoff was announced.
Once burned twice savvy employees (and their soon to be employed children) learned that loyalty meant “take care of yourself because no one else is going to do it for you.” They changed the game by writing their own rules: Stay with a company that treats you right. Leave a company that doesn’t. They knew precisely what that meant even though they didn’t tell anyone and no one took the time to ask. Until recently.
First, Break All the Rules, What the World’s Greatest Managers do Differently,by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, is based upon the Gallup Organization’s comprehensive employee opinion survey and in-depth interviews of over 80,000 managers in over 400 companies. It is, according to Gallup, “the largest study of its kind ever undertaken.”
In essence, it says that despite the best efforts of pay, benefits, promotions and training, it’s the employee’s manager who most strongly influences whether employees stay or leave. How’s that? The more that managers become involved and invested in their employees’ development and career success, the greater the likelihood that employees are more productive, companies makes more money, customers are better served, and yes, employees stay where they are.
When highly respected polling organizations take the time to ask the right questions, in as comprehensive a manner as the Gallup Organization has, it pays to take notice of their findings.
Employees leave or stay because of their managers, not because pay or benefits are more or less than what the folks get next door. Employees stay with managers who match strengths to challenges; delegate decision making authority, and demonstrate a real interest in individual development. They stay with managers who enable them to accomplish something worthwhile and affirm them when doing so.
So rant and rave all you want about the folks next door stealing your employees. If you treat them right, they’ll stay. If you don’t, they won’t.
“But what if your employees don’t want to be motivated? They don’t want to be challenged, they don’t want to be developed, they just want to get a paycheck. If you demand more than they’re willing to give, they’re out the door. What then?”
Look at your hiring practices. The most critical mistake any employer makes is to hire someone without clarifying expectations. Consult with a professional who can help assess your needs and your environment (which are often different than you might think), and design an interview process that is targeted to both.
Provide new employees the training and equipment they need to get the job done. Give them specific and timely feedback; when they are performing the job well and when they need to improve and how. Motivate them by reinforcing their strengths instead of emphasizing their weaknesses. Ask them for feedback and listen to what they say: Do you have what you need? Give us your ideas about how to do this job better. What are some ways we can improve our processes?
Take an interest in employees as people. The more you bring out their best, the more likely they are to stay. Those are employees you want to keep.
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Yes! You may use this article by Executive and Career Coach, Joyce Richman, in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:
Joyce Richman (www.joycerichman.com) has been specializing in executive and career coaching since she started her own practice in 1982. She works in a variety of environments including: higher education, manufacturing, sales, marketing, media, technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, banking and finance, service, IT, and non-profit sectors. A member of the adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Joyce is certified to administer a number of feedback and psychological instruments. Joyce is a weekly guest on WFMY-TV and the career columnist for The Greensboro News & Record. She is the author of Roads, Routes and Ruts: A Guidebook to Career Success and co-author of Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job. A popular speaker, Richman conducts seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Her coaching profile can be found at TheCoachingAssociation.com.
