Retain Top Talent

I had the opportunity to present our Vistage workshop "You're NOT the Person I Hired" today to a group of CEOs in the LA area. We did a role play around defining success for the team on product development. As we got deeper into the role-play it was obvious not everyone was on the same page for the results needed by the company. This article I just read makes that same point using different words - the need to align everyone on the team on what are the outcomes - this is probably the greatest failure in execution by most companies. How good a job does your company do in aligning expectations around business goals?

I find the vast majority of managers and leaders are disgusted by their performance management process. What's the worst part - zero training on how to give effective feedback. We just assume because someone has a manager or executive title, they should be great at giving feedback. Nothing could be further from the truth. How much are you investing to teach your executives and managers to give outstanding feedback?

Great infographic on the importance of friendships at work. My perception is that most leaders and managers do not give this subject much thought - however, Gallup has shown through their surveys and in the book "First Break All The Rules" that it's one of the most important elements of employee satisfaction. What are you doing to foster work friendships and relationships?

Almost all of my clients are experiencing frustrations in recruiting and retaining millennials - particularly in the merging of generational differences in work. Solving this clash of culture will be one of the keys to building high performing organizations in the near future.

"A staggering 69 percent are open to other opportunities or already seeking their next job." Can you comprehend that almost 70 percent of your workforce is right now trying to see if the grass is greener somewhere else? What are you doing about it? Do you have a plan?

Interesting research once again confirming employee satisfation and happiness is not tied to compensation - which is the gut first impression answer by most CEOs, executives, and managers. Learn more about some of the key elements that drive retention around engagement, happiness, and job satisfaction.

Some great ideas in this article on employee recognition. Study after study has proven that employee recognition is one of the most important elements of employee engagement and satisfaction?

Give a few of these a spin - let me know which ones worked great and which ones didn't. Vary them quarter by quarter. Try something new for once. Experiment, innovative, challenge your traditional thinking about what employees want for recognition.

Great article by Jeff Haden. His point about the characteristics of an exceptional employee not appearing on the performance evaluation - it should be on there. I do agree with his point about proactivity and initiative - this is the number ONE stand-out trait of high performers.

Jeff claims these high performers can turn on and off their unusual personalities easily - that they can "self-moderate", or to use an overworked term, they have high emotional intelligence.

My experience has been that most of these high flying star employees can't self-moderate and typically have low emotional intelligence. Many times the team is forced to tolerate their behavior (which is a direct conflict with the culture) because the boss is in love with their performance and blind to the chaos they create on the team (or perhaps the boss likes the idea that the employee is their surrogate for shaking things up. Either way, having this lone ranger on the team is not only dysfunctional, but many good employees will not put up with it.

Shelia Kamuda has a nice blog and great little video series about employee engagement, satisfaction, culture, and workplace behaviors. I recommend reading and watching the content she shares.

A large part of employee engagement and satisfaction is work that matters - employees derive a high value from what they do. Do you look closely at these issues for all jobs - particularly those on the front line?

Very few companies do a great job recognizing and rewarding individual and team performance. I liked this article because it reinforces some very simple ideas about recognition.

If you're recognizing outstanding performance, why would your employees continue to go above and beyond the call of duty for you?

We all know that it's important to focus on employee engagement. This article talks about some easy tactics to implement to boost employee engagement. One of the things I zeroed in on with this article was the need to set goals. As you know this is my mantra of the number one reason hiring and retention fails is through a lack of goal setting. I find the statistic interesting that goal setting can improve impact/productivity by 12-15%. I actually think that statistic is dramatically understated for the true impact of flawless execution through effective goals setting.

Scary statistic ALERT: Quote from the article: "The fact that barely more than one in four employees feels valued is a sad commentary on management." If this quote doesn't make your head spin in the continuing tight job market where your best employees have targets on their backs and are being picked off one-by-one by your competitors. The real issue is not whether one in four are feeling valued - the real issue is that you are doing nothing about it.

The author states "Despite increasing investments in employee engagement surveys, programs, and interventions, fewer than one third of workers around the globe are engaged."  Another study validating the primary information generated from Gallup's research. My question is how long can companies withstand dropping levels of employee engagement, satisfaction, effort, and commitment?

Interesting study that shows why/when employees give an extra effort - acting with initiative. It mirrors much of what the Gallup research has shown about work satisfaction. What was the number ONE point - it start with an employee's manager. If you have weak/average managers, they'll create weak/average teams that generate weak/average results. How would you rate your managers?

Gallup just confirmed through their research the statement I've been making for years - that at least 50% of your workforce at any given time is open to a new opportunity.

According to Gallup, "51 percent of U.S. employees say they are actively looking for a new job or watching for openings." Think about that for a minute. A little more than half of your employees have at least one foot out the door.

What does this say about your current weak efforts at retention? Is it time for a check-up on how your retaining not just your most talented (they leave first), but also everyone else?

Is anyone conducting employee satisfaction or happiness research, surveys, studies in their organization? What tools are using and how effective are these in improving employee happiness? Check out this tool I stumbled across called Gusto - would love to hear your feedback on what looks like a SaaS approach to employee surveys

I wanted to slap myself in the forehead after reading this article. Of course, the mission statement is critical to success. It's one of core elements of culture, focusing employees, and gaining alignment around employee motivation and the purpose of your organization.

How strong is your mission statement? Is it a difference maker in hiring and retention?

Out with the outdated sadistic approach to annual performance reviews. This article talks about how progressive companies are rethinking their approach to performance management and ensuring flawless execution among their employees.