Tag Employee Engagement

How to Retain Key Employees

Steve Keating 2 Comments

Turnover is a fact of life for any business or organization. Some level of turnover is even good. With new team members comes fresh perspectives and new ideas. But turnover is also expensive. Depending on your business it can take up to and even over 12 months to bring new team members up to full speed. If you can’t keep them on the team for at least a few years your business will always struggle.

That’s even more true if the people you’re losing are considered “key” employees. These are people in leadership positions who you rely on to help you chart the future course of the company. Key employees may also be those who possess unique skills or expertise that is not easily replaced. When you lose a key employee the “sting” is worse. Losing several key employees in a short period of time can signal serious issues within the organization.

It can be tempting to say that it is mere coincidence that more than one key leader left in the same time frame. It may even be true. But as a leader you better know exactly why you’ve lost a key employee and what you can do to prevent it from happening again.

Retaining your key employees is crucial for maintaining stability and ensuring that your company continues to thrive. If you’ve lost a key leader or employee lately here some areas to focus on as possible reasons.

• Ensure that your employees are fairly compensated for their skills and contributions. Conduct regular salary reviews to stay competitive in the market.

• Provide comprehensive benefits packages, including health insurance, retirement plans, and other perks like flexible work arrangements, wellness programs, and professional development opportunities.

• Recognize and reward your key employees (well actually all employees) for their hard work and accomplishments. This can include bonuses, promotions, or public recognition within the organization.

• Show appreciation through regular feedback and simple gestures like thank-you notes or verbal recognition.

So here is the thing about these first two points. Most key leaders don’t leave for more money. Some do and some always will but most simply don’t. But many of them do leave if they don’t feel recognized and appreciated. You MUST be intentional in providing that recognition and appreciation. If you think your people “just know” how much they mean to you then frankly you deserve to lose them.

• Offer opportunities for growth and advancement within the company. Ensure that employees have a clear path for career progression.

• Provide access to training, mentoring, and skill development programs to help employees enhance their skills and advance their careers.

• Support a healthy work-life balance by encouraging reasonable working hours and providing flexible scheduling options.

• Promote a culture of respecting personal time and vacation days.

• Cultivate a positive work environment with a strong company culture that aligns with your employees’ values and goals.

• Foster a sense of belonging and camaraderie within the organization.

• Maintain open and honest communication with your employees. Encourage them to share their concerns, ideas, and feedback.

• Address issues promptly and transparently, so employees feel valued and heard.

You’ll likely be surprised how many issues can be resolved through truly open communication. Never assume people know what’s going on just because you do. When in doubt communicate. Then communicate some more.

• Involve employees in decision-making processes when possible. Seek their input on matters that affect their work and the organization.

• Give employees a sense of ownership in their roles and the company’s success.

• Establish mentorship programs to connect key employees with experienced leaders in the organization.

• Invest in leadership development programs to prepare potential future leaders within your organization.

• Conduct regular employee engagement surveys to understand their needs and concerns.

• Act on the feedback received to make improvements and create a better work environment.

• Offer non-monetary incentives like additional vacation days, opportunities to work on exciting projects, or the ability to work remotely.

• Create a fun and engaging workplace through team-building activities and social events.

• Consider offering retention bonuses or stock options to key employees as incentives to stay with the company for a defined period.

• Stay competitive in terms of perks and benefits. Things like on-site daycare, gym memberships, or commuter benefits, can attract and retain top talent.

• Conduct exit interviews with employees who choose to leave. Use this feedback to identify areas for improvement and address any concerns.

Different employees have different motivations. It’s essential to tailor your retention strategies to individual needs and preferences. Continuously monitor your retention efforts, adapt as necessary, and make employee satisfaction a priority to keep your key employees engaged and loyal to your organization.

Above all know this; if you’re losing multiple key employees you’ll continue to lose key employees until something changes. You may change something and miss the mark but that’s better than standing pat and allowing your losses to mount. Keep changing until you get it right.

What Employees Want

Steve Keating 1 Comment

I hope, particularly if you’re in a leadership position, that you don’t learn a thing from this post. That’s because you should already know everything in this post. It would be best if you learned it from the people you lead. It would be better than best if you learned it by asking them directly. 

But in case none of that is true, here we go. 

It’s a given that your people want a fair wage and decent benefits. When you determine what you can pay them it’s likely you do so based on what you can afford. They determine what they should be paid based on what they think is fair. You’ll likely have to meet in the middle but know that if you don’t you’ll have motivation and turnover issues galore. 

What you may not realize is that money alone is a pretty poor motivator. Once a person’s basic needs are met money becomes a “nice to have” not a “must have.”

More important than money is a future in the organization. The more defined that future is the better. Many people, especially people in the younger demographic groups, have left their companies during the Great Resignation precisely because they couldn’t see a future with their current companies. If you want engaged and committed employees then work with them to chart out potential opportunities for them within your organization. 

While employees may not go the extra mile for mere money they will give you extraordinary effort in return for earned recognition. The expectation of recognition on the part of employees who have earned it does not make them divas, it makes them human. 

Organizations with enthusiastically committed employees have systems in place to make recognition intentional. Haphazard recognition can be as bad as no recognition, especially for the unlucky individual who earned it and didn’t receive it. Don’t allow recognition to be a matter of luck in your organization. Be consistent in giving recognition and your people will be consistent in responding. 

Everyone needs to matter and everyone needs to know that they matter. The most effective way to show your employees that they matter is to listen to them. They have opinions and ideas about the organization and how it could be better. LISTEN to them. When employees determine that their voices aren’t being heard they disengage. If you want disengaged employees give them a check and ignore them. But don’t blame them, their lack of engagement is on you for failing to show them that they matter. 

They simple act of listening, really listening, to what your employees tell you is also a sign of respect, which is another thing employees crave. 

Finally, the big one. Employees want to know how they are doing. They want to know it more than once a year. They want to be crystal clear on exactly what is expected of them and how those expectations will be measured. Not knowing what is expected of them is the number one reason people give for being frustrated with their organizations. Most say they would rather be told they are performing poorly than being left to wonder what their boss thinks of their performance. 

I hope you knew all that already. But knowing and doing are two different things. It’s good to know what your people want, but you must provide it to them if you hope to have the kind of people who will help your organization grow. 

So they question isn’t did you know this stuff, the question is are you providing this stuff. 

Answer honestly or there’s no need to answer at all! 

On a another subject…I’m trying something new on Twitter. It’s called “Super Followers.” For $5 a month, that’s 17 cents a day, people can follow a part of my Twitter stream that is for subscribers only. It features short videos of me discussing leadership topics, sales tips and ideas for better overall relationships. I’m assuming there will be far fewer Super Followers than the million or so people who regularly follow me on Twitter. That will give me the opportunity to answer questions more throughly than I can on regular Twitter. Most of the answers will come in the evening cause we all have day jobs, right? Think of it as ”mentoring on demand!”

My goal with SuperFollowers is to build a better connection, one where I can perhaps help more and have a greater impact. I’m hoping it gives me a chance to mentor to a wider audience. It’s still new, we’ll see how it works. It’s a $5 dollar investment that may be the extra “push” you need to get to where you want to be. I’d be honored to be able to help get you there. 

You can find more information by clicking the Super Follow button on my Twitter profile page IN THE TWITTER APP. http://twitter.com/leadtoday Give it a try if you’re so inclined, and if you are, be sure to let me know how I’m doing and how I can be of even more help.

The Reward for Growing People

Steve Keating 4 Comments

A good manager can grow a business. Most often they do it with very little help. That’s because the people who work for them are not exactly engaged with helping to grow the business. 

The most likely cause of that lack of engagement is the fact that they are managed rather than led. 

That limits how much and how fast even a great manager can grow their business. While they may have the compliance of those who work for them they do not have their commitment. It’s tough to grow anything with a bunch of merely compliant people. 

Managed people will always create problems for a business, for the customers of the business and especially for the manager. I’d say most of them don’t do it intentionally, it’s an offshoot of their lack of engagement. 

That’s why I tell managers that most of the “people problems” in their organization are caused by them, not the people who seem to be the problem. 

I can say that with a high degree of confidence because when those same people are exposed to Authentic Leadership they engage rather quickly. Sooner rather than later they commit to that leader. 

An Authentic Leader’s potential to grow a business is unlimited. It’s unlimited because they lead their people. They grow their people knowing full well that as their people grow those people will grow the business.

An Authentic Leader invests a portion of their time EVERYDAY to grow their people. They invest of part of themselves in their people and they celebrate the success of the individuals they lead…even over their own success. 

Authentic Leaders invest the time to know and understand their people. They know each person’s unique situation. They know their goals. They know their challenges. Most importantly they know how they can help them achieve their goals and overcome their challenges. 

Each day an Authentic Leader takes intentional action to SHOW their people that they care. They SHOW their people that they come first. They SHOW their people that they understand that every leader’s success is completely dependent upon the success of the people they lead.

Their people commit to the leader because of what the leader does for them. Authentic Leaders seldom deal with attitude issues. They don’t have the tardiness and absenteeism concerns that managers have. They have a much easier time recruiting new employees because the employees they already have do the recruiting for them.

All that because their people are led instead of managed. The rewards of growing people are many. One is knowing that as your people are growing your business you’re making a positive difference in their lives. 

As an Authentic Leader that difference is likely to outlast your time as their leader. That may be the biggest reward of all.