Worried about losing key employees? How to keep talent today...and tomorrow

The number one question we get asked this time of year is how to slow down turnover as people look at the year ahead and (sometimes) long for change. Instead of focusing on the negative (stopping something from happening), we are big fans of focusing on the positive (keeping your employees happy so they don’t even consider leaving).

The short list we’ve found to be most effective (and is backed up by data):

• Focus on high-quality management.        
• Weave purpose into daily actions as well as your big company goals        
• Support employees learning and growing.         
• Ensure you’re paying fairly.

Let’s break that down a little bit more into actionable next steps. Here’s how you can not just retain employees but make work (and life) better for everyone.

High quality management under fire in COVID

People managers had to quickly adjust to managing remotely, and the burnout across the board is real. One way we’re helping them is by delivering workshops on the connection between sustained performance and wellbeing, and increasing their skills and conversational intelligence on setting team boundaries, priorities and focus.

Additionally, as we all try to limit Zoom fatigue and overscheduled calendars, the thread that keeps our employees connected and engaged is knowing different ways our work has meaning and purpose, so consider how you might keep “designing jobs that are too good to leave”. Blocking your calendar for that work is time well invested.

Surveys are your friend.

How do you help the whole team in one easy step? You ask them.

Know what matters most to different people by leveraging surveys. For large, company-wide insights we like (and partner with) Limeade. Other survey tools we value include  CultureAmp (psst: it’s free!), and Balloon (we use this often) for getting unbiased team insights before or after meetings. Work is a team sport, and hearing directly from your team in regular ways will keep you all flowing (or paddling rigorously!) in the same direction.

Two words: market rates.

Thankfully, people don’t make decisions based solely on compensation...unless it doesn’t seem “fair.”  It’s a dynamic market, so doing the work to ensure your total compensation matches up to market rates is foundational. If you need extra horsepower on this, let us do a little analysis for you and make sure you’re doing right by your talent.

L&D work is Essential Work.

You know that budget line you have for learning and development? Is it under “non-essential” on your budget? Because even if it doesn’t feel like it’s business critical, it’s definitely employee-critical.

Millennials rewrote the game a bit in this regard. They don’t need promotions to feel fulfilled, but they do need to feel like they’re growing and learning. And if that feels like a daunting task, guess what? We happen to have a few L&D consultants in our back pocket who would love to dig into it for you. We can help you implement a learning platform that works (like we did recently for a global tech company), or just pitch in with capable hands on whatever L&D goals are on your plate.

You keep looking forward. We’ve got your back.

We know you’re busy (it feels like it’s been 2021 for years already). So, if any of this feels like another monumental task, take a deep breath. We’re here for you.