Have you ever left your house and locked the front door — only to come home and realize that your back door was wide open the whole time?
I’ve used this analogy to explain what I often see in companies that focus on recruitment more than they focus on retention. And, I’ll be bold here — but I’m advocating we make sure the back door is secured first before focusing on the front.
If you’re able to retain your people, it’s less time and money invested on your end in backfilling roles and recruiting new talent. And, the impact actually doubles, as you won't increase turnover (by way of staff burnout) because you're trying to do "business as usual" with less people.
Here are three pieces of advice I always give to companies who are wanting to bolster their retention efforts:
1️⃣ Development and upskilling is your friend. Instead of hiring someone that can “hit the ground running” with all the experience you think you need, understand that the position will probably change anyway. Retain your best employees by promoting them into stretch roles and helping them develop and learn in that position.
2️⃣ Get curious with your employees by asking them questions. If you don’t know what makes them happy — or what makes them miserable, there’s a good chance you’ll struggle with retention. There’s plenty of options for this — conducting “stay” interviews, asking them to take periodic employee surveys to watch for trends, or having their managers have recurring 1:1 conversations.
3️⃣ Be the biggest advocate for your people. When you get the answers to the questions above, fight for the things you can change when it comes to your employees' experience. How can you contribute to their welfare? How are you showing that you’re as invested in them as you want them to be in you?
Anything else you’d add here?
Comments