Retain Top Talent

Interesting article in Forbes regarding the annual performance appraisal process. I've been recommending in my workshops on Feedback and Performance Management that companies should kill this sadistic exercise and move toward regular coaching conversations. The problem is that most managers don't know how to coach - so their focus is on highlighting the negatives in the annual performance review. Why don't we teach our managers to coach?

In my workshops on raising engagement and productivity, I talk about the need for leaders to show empathy in their coaching by asking questions. Jay Steven Levin posts some good ones in his recent Forbes article.

I call this type of dialogue an LIB discussion - learning, impact, and becoming. The technical HR term for the discussion is a stay interview.

Regardless of what you call it - are you as a leaders asking these questions? Are you afraid to ask the questions? If you're not doing it as the boss - everyone else is trying to hook your top performers by engaging in this conversation: former associates, recruiters, and friends. Don't you want to in the drivers seat determining whether your top performers think the grass is greener somewhere else?