Talent Retention – don’t expect your staff to go down with your ship – or spend all night stoking the boiler
Posted by John Sanford on Tue, Sep 20, 2011 @ 02:46 PM
The “Great Recession” of 2008-2011 (longer here in Michigan) has again changed the game when it comes to talent retention in the ways that recent market corrections, bubbles, and their eventual staff fallout may not have driven home – we are all free agents, and almost everyone is expendable.
While the manufacturing, housing & finance sectors were the hardest hit, talent from all industries and all departments and at every level lost jobs. Based on that, employees are starting to recalibrate the balance between work & life. Why is that?
First, for the survivors, extra duties & hours picking up the slack were the norm, whether out of a sense of duty to the company or fear of being the next out the door. You probably have a lot of people who are burned out. Combine this with the ability to utilize technology that makes easy to be “on” 24/7, the formerly blurry line between family, friends, personal time and work is now almost non-existent.
If you haven’t already, you need to get over the concept of a workplace. The office and plant floor are not the only places your people work. They also work in their living rooms, back yards, and at their kids’ activities. They are giving up their time; you need to give some on your side as well. Flex schedules are becoming more the norm versus the exception – late starts, early ends, “no-ask, just inform” for workday personal activities, and don't worry about using PTO for these "flex" occurances.
Second, those returning to the workplace as the economy improves have just the opposite problem. Their balance has shifted the other way. While hunting for a new opportunity is a full-time job, they have probably been spending more time with friends, family, hobbies, etc. and while happy for their new job, are not likely to give those things up long-term. The corporate “Kool-Aid®” just isn’t going to taste as good anymore, no matter how fulfilling the new job may be or how committed they are to tackling the learning curve.
Lastly, employees really want to know “why” they should be putting their heart & soul into the business. There used to be a myth that hard work would buy job security. Poof…… So, what is the payoff? Have they bought into the big picture – the “vision/mission” stuff – do they get it & understand how they contribute? Are they engaged in your operations, or just doing “the job”?
The times, they are a’ changing. We’ll talk soon about Employee Engagement – the next level of your Talent Retention Plan.