As the race for talented employees becomes a global Olympic event, and businesses compete for qualified staff, human resources become your most important assets. If you dare to shift your focus, even temporarily, away from the needs of your staff, you may quickly be left with vacant positions and consequential downturns in productivity.
Add to this tenuous situation the fact that employees from a variety of generations often require different things from their employer and suddenly the waters seem uncharitable. Luckily, human beings seem to have core requirements that, when satisfied in the workplace, lead to retention and happy staff.
The first core desire that most employees have is to know that their supervisor listens to what they have to say. Making time to listen with intention and acknowledge staff is a gift that every good boss can give their employees. Don't wait for an annual performance review to learn what motivates and excites your employees. It is better to schedule regular occasions to sit down and open your mind to what brilliant ideas your staff have from their "boots on the ground" perspective.
There are often two reasons that employees resign their positions: 'push factors' that rub them the wrong way from within the organization and 'pull factors' offered by competitors and other businesses that entice them to vacate their positions. Holding regular check-in sessions with employees will help management discover the push factors or rubs that may be demotivating their employees, before they begin considering other employment options.
Another core desire most individuals have is to share a positive working relationship with one's manager. The old adage that you join a company but quit a manager holds a lot of truth in many cases and it is therefore important to develop a strong bond of trust and respect between managers and their staff. Finding a good fit is often more challenging for small businesses where there is less room to shift employees around between departments when they don't get along with their supervisor. Thorough hiring practices will help ensure that your recruits match both the culture of your organization and the people within it.
The third core factor encouraging staff retention is for employees to feel challenged at work. Ensuring that you have an understanding of each employee's strengths is much more important than identifying their weaknesses. Once strengths are noted, it is crucial that employees are transferred into positions where they can play on their strengths while feeling supported by their team members who have strengths in complimentary areas to them. That is where building a balanced team, with all core strengths covered, is vital to the success of your organization.
In the current hot labour marketplace, keep in mind that an increase in salary is rarely the prime incentive to leave one's job for another company. Retention has more to do employees feeling challenged at work, supervised by people they respect and trust, and believing that their opinions and ideas matter to management.
Until next time, stay in the black and keep coming back.
Jennifer Brandle-McCall is CEO of the Prince George Chamber of Commerce.
