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A recent report by the Conference Board of Canada confirmed something
many have known for a long time - managers have a critical role
to play in retaining talent. When the Board looked at organizations
that are able to effectively retain employees, one of the key differentiators
was that managers took accountability for their employees staying
or leaving. This accountability is definitely not the norm. Typically,
when faced with a resignation, the first thought that runs through
a manager's mind is not, "What did I do that might have led to this?"
Rather, more often it is, "We need to raise our salaries."
THE LINK
Another survey, by the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance, underscores
the link between management and retention. In this study, one of
the most commonly cited reasons for leaving high-tech companies
was bad bosses. Clearly, how managers are relating to their employees
is key to retaining talent. Unfortunately, however, managers often
undervalue the important role they have to play in contributing
to employee satisfaction. They feel at the mercy of forces outside
their control and are not engaged in practices that could dramatically
reduce the turnover in their departments.
From an HR perspective, there are two things to ad-dress in order
to affect change: a lack of awareness and a lack of training. Managers
often don't see the impact their day-to-day actions have on employees
and don't have the skills and knowledge to make a more positive
impact. When managers are provided with education and tools, they
feel more empowered to take charge of this difficult issue.
DISPELLING MYTHS
So what can be done to better engage managers in the struggle to
maintain talent? Begin by providing them with some facts and dispelling
some myths. Because employees are rarely completely candid in their
exit inter-views, managers don't really hear the full facts that
lead to premature departures. Instead, they hear about employees
leaving for more money or a "better opportunity." This reinforces
their feeling of not being in the driver's seat, of having little
control over the situation.
AN EXERCISE
One of the first challenges in any employee retention training
is to help managers realize what HR professionals know only too
well - money is rarely the determining factor in employee turnover.
In fact, most of the reasons people leave are linked to factors
within managers' control.
A quick and straightforward way to make this point in a training
situation is to ask managers to write down on an index card the
main reason they left their last employer. Then have them share
with a partner and elaborate on the circumstances.
Next, ask partners to re-port on the reasons people left their
jobs. As they are listed on a flipchart, it quickly becomes clear
that financial concerns fall far behind such things as lack of challenge,
career growth, balance, recognition, conflicts with bosses, etc.
Often, compensation is not even mentioned at all. This simple exercise
goes a long way to introducing managers to a broader way of thinking
- employees leave when their values are not fulfilled and there
are many more important values than money.
This realization often has a positive impact on managers. They
begin to see that they have influence over many of the reasons employees
leave. Now there is a foundation for learning and change.
COMPLEX INDIVIDUALS
The next step in empowering a management team is to ex-pose them
to the wide range of work-related values employees may hold. Managers
need to begin to see their team as complex individuals, each with
their own unique "values maps."
Just because someone is a GenXer, recently married or nearing retirement,
we can't assume to know what's most important to him. While it is
true that "free agents" and "boomers" differ in significant ways,
ultimately people need to be treated as individuals, and time taken
to un-cover their values.
RETENTION TOOL KIT
In any training, managers are looking for quick fixes and simple
tools they can use. A "retention tool kit" will help to develop
managers to the point where they take accountability for their part
in retaining employees. This tool kit is comprised of open-ended
behavioural questions they can use with employees to uncover and
better understand employee values.
Through the use of powerful questions, managers can create a values
map for each individual report and begin to take stock of how well
work assignments, recognition and activities are linking with the
employee's core values. From a retention standpoint, this is the
ultimate goal for managers. To be able to say to employees, "I know
what you're looking for, and I'm here to help you get it" is a powerful
and engaging message.
Some practice in working with these questions is a valuable training
exercise. Especially for managers from a technical background, entering
into and leading discussions of this type can be unfamiliar ground.
Assist managers to develop their confidence in this regard. Role
playing these one-on-one discussions also has another benefit. It
allows managers to experience what it feels like to have someone
ask questions like: "What was the most exciting thing you did last
week? What keeps you up at night? If you could change one thing
about your job, what would it be?" Because managers are time-pressed
and results-focused, having the chance to personally experience
the positive benefits of this type of discussion is key to them
creating the time to sit down with their employees and have similar
discussions.
Another excellent training activity that empowers managers is to
spend some time on real-life case studies. What should they do when
they see an employee at risk? Too often, managers are slow to act
or do nothing at all until it is too late. Working with them to
examine different scenarios and map out some action plans adds to
their retention tool kit as well as to their self-confidence.
Provide them with a behavioural checklist to identify employees
who are at risk of leaving. All too often, resignations come as
a surprise to managers who are then left scrambling and re-assigning
work. This leads to a ripple effect as other employees have to pick
up the slack and work harder and later.
By spending some time with managers helping them to learn to tune
into the behaviour changes that often precede the decision to leave,
they can learn to be proactive instead of reactive. Again, empower
them and reinforce to them that they can address and prevent some
of the turnover situations they face.
RETENTION ON THE AGENDA
Beyond training that ad-dresses the above issues, ensure that managers
keep their eyes on the real-time factors that are impacting turnover.
One way to do this is to include retention as a standing item on
the agenda at management meetings. What is causing people stress
these days? What seems to be detracting from morale? Who seems most
at risk and why? If training has been successful and managers are
supported and encouraged to do so, they will begin to spend valuable
one-on- one time with employees. Out of this time comes information
that needs to be dealt with long before the next employee survey.
By having a forum where managers can link their individual experiences
and brainstorm solutions, they can increase their impact on the
organization. What this also does is begin to build into the management
culture the responsibility for taking direct action to maximize
employee satisfaction in a wide variety of ways: policies and procedures,
recognition and feedback, and so on.
For managers to take accountability for employee retention, they
must be rewarded and recognized for doing so. It is important to
build this accountability into their performance plans and compensation
structure. Also, so much of the negative impact a manager can have
on employees is a result of their leadership style and skills. It
is critical that in these stressful and fast-changing times the
capabilities of each individual leader are maximized through on-going
training and coaching.
Ultimately, keeping the best talent is not possible without the
full co-operation of managers. To do that, they need to be trained
and empowered to make a positive difference.
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