Employee Retention – How to Crack the Code
What I’ve learnt over the years is that there is no one secret
ingredient to retaining staff. In my early days of running a business, I had
high staff turnover and it used to drive me crazy the amount of money, effort,
time and emotional energy I would invest in new recruits to only lose them
within a 12-month period. A realisation
and strong commitment to knowing and understanding that people are at the core
of business success was my breakthrough moment. I became acutely aware that the
right people in the right roles with the right leadership is the key to keeping
them. I increased the average length of service of staff to 6 years in an
industry that averages 8 months for a typical Consultant role.
Here’s what I learnt:
1. Recruit the right people
First and foremost – recruiting people is not easy. Picking the right
person is even harder. I have done this every day in the recruitment industry over
the past 13 years and see, hear, talk and advise clients on how to do it
better. It is an ongoing battle for most business owners – finding and
recruiting the right people. The key is to look beyond what’s on paper and
what’s technically being said at interview and hire for culture and motivational fit. Forget experience and length of service in a
similar role – find out what motivates them, what their values are, long term
what do they want to achieve and where has been the best culture that they have
worked in? Recruiting on competencies, attitude and culture are mandatory for
long term fit and retention and far out weighs years of experience on a resume.
2. Believe in people
The best approach you can take as a Leader is to assume that
people want to perform at their best.
Most people come to work to do a good job – they want to perform and
succeed. As a Leader you need to relate
to them as a top performer, don’t expect anything less. The moment I took this approach, my
intentions were always with their best interests in mind. This belief speaks volumes, builds trust,
delivers results and ultimately keeps top talent on your team.
3. Empower others
For most
business owners, you have created the business, know the ins and outs of how
things are done and you probably enjoy being in control. However,
“control freaks” don’t retain top talent – they can often drive them away. Being the leader doesn’t mean making all the
decisions and having an “I know best” attitude. Letting go, trusting others to
achieve and supporting this learning curve will go a long way to increasing
length of service.
4. Flexibility
In my business I gave people the tools and freedom to get on
with the job. Being clear on the
outcomes and timeframes is critical, but then get out of the way. People want to achieve their own goals
without having to work within rigid and structured environments. Flexibility in approach, hours and blending
home and work situations instantly motivates top performers.
5. Feedback
People want feedback – they want to know what they are doing
well, so they can keep doing it. They want to know what they are not doing
well, so they can stop doing it and
those thirsty for greater success and reward will want to know what can they start doing to perform at a higher
level. As a leader, it is your job to recognise top performance and reinforce
it, so it happens again. On the flip
side, when you observe behavior that is inconsistent, giving this feedback
instantly (with good intent) with push people outside their comfort zones,
which is necessary for changes in behavior.
6. Professional Development
Investing in your people is one of the best investments you can
make. Hiring an external
coach or mentor for an individual is a reward that can have incredible effects
such as increased performance and confidence.
To pay a professional to just listen or be an external confidante is a
great way to invest upfront in new talent and prevent staff turnover. This goes
a long way to reducing unnecessary replacement and re-recruitment costs as well
as increase engagement levels and ultimately assists in retaining key people.
7. Tools of the Trade
It may seem a little light or trivial, but having the right
tools of the trade and the right support systems in place are critical in
keeping staff happy. A candidate once
told me she left a job because she was promised a company car and after 8 weeks
of using her own car, paying for parking and petrol, she gave up on the false
promise and decided to move on. Tools
such as iphones, car parks, admin support, remote access, laptops are now seen
as essential for a lot of roles – get it right from day one to avoid
unnecessary ‘misunderstandings’.
8. Induction
The first 90 days is an important time for a new recruit in determining whether they stay long term with an organisation and day 1 in particular plays a key role. Who is there to greet them? Is their desk set up, business cards ready and a welcome message from the CEO? Don’t spend weeks going through a recruitment process to then spend no effort at all on the induction. This is a once-only opportunity to create a lasting impression and increase employee attachment and engagement from the first day.
9.
Invest in your
own leadership skills
A leader that is continuously learning and investing in their
own professional development is more inspiring to be around. We can never know it all and we can always
improve. Being authentic and transparent
with your team about your own development and desire to improve will have a
flow on effect.
10. You can’t win them all
How can you retain top talent? It’s not just about money and
perks such as days off for your birthday and free yoga classes – although nice
and staff will appreciate it, it isn’t what gets them to stick around long
term. It’s 2 things in my experience – leadership and culture.
Become a better leader, have great systems and an inspiring culture.
Only then can you attract the top talent that will stay.
Nicole Underwood understands what it takes to
create, build and grow a successful business. The essential ingredient is recruiting, engaging and retaining people.
Great people. Top talent. High performers. As a previous finalist in the
prestigious Telstra Business Women Awards, a regular blogger, coach and entrepreneur, Nicole works with organisations to
improve their results through hiring and keeping the right people.
www.nicoleunderwood.com.au
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