After meeting with Jane, Larry was thinking about the various traits Guru had displayed and what could be the reason why he had the best employee retention in his team. Guru’s team was not only high-performing but also with the lowest attrition rate. Larry was very curious about this and the next day he set up a meeting with Jane to discuss this aspect. The next day Jane welcomed him and after preliminary discussions, Jane told him Before we look at what Guru is doing right let’s look from the employee’s perspective as to why they decided to leave an organization. Jane goes on..
Need for more challenging work
Once an employee is in a particular role for a period of time, he masters the skills required to do this job efficiently. This follows a learning cycle and once he masters the skills then it may become a repetitive job. Based on the complexity it may take a longer time in some cases. At some point, the employee may start to feel that he/she is ready to take on a new job or task. The manager has to identify the need and take corrective action and offer something different to the concerned. Guru was great to spot this aspect and was able to offer job rotation within the defined policies of the company
Searching for Career Advancement
If the employee sees no future for him/her in the company there is a high likelihood that they will look for changing job to meet their career aspirations. Good employees always try to improve their skill sets by constantly learning, attending seminars, webinars, etc. Guru was quick to identify the needs and send these employees for training/seminars/webinars etc. This way he was keeping the morale high and his teammates were always ready to take up any new opportunity.
More independence at work
Some managers use micromanaging as a way to keep track of activities. One major factor for this is the lack of trust between the supervisor and the employees. The employees can get choked and either they want to leave the company or get used to this way of working and start delegating upwards. Guru trusts his team members and gives operational freedom to all. Also with communication within the team being open and frank, all his teammates could actually reach out to him in case of any difficulty
Work-Life Balance
This is a very important parameter affecting employee satisfaction. If the employees are able to spend time with family, and friends and cultivate one’s hobbies it does help in having a good work-life balance. If the manager keeps interacting with employees post office hours trying to get some data/inputs it will definitely affect the employee adversely. Beyond a point, he will be burnt out and then will start exploring new options. Guru values the personal time of each of his teammates and thus he is able to get the best work-life balance.
Clarity of Company Vision
In the current situation, it’s absolutely imperative that all employees of the company have full clarity on the company’s vision and mission. That’s the reason in many companies the vision and mission statements are displayed across the premises which are clearly visible to all employees. Also, it’s not just displayed but all senior management walks the talk as well. Generally, good employees try to relate their KPIs or goals with that of the company and whether they tie into it. If the employees lack of clarity on this they may feel that they are traveling in the dark in a dark tunnel with no clear roadmap ahead. Guru does take time out of his schedule to keep his team updated on the company’s vision and mission, as well as how each of his teammates can make a difference.
Recognition
Positive feedback and praise can make the employees more appreciated within the workplace. Good managers understand the need for positive strokes and keep giving the team as and when some milestones are achieved be it a small one… If the employees are deprived of credit or the manager wants to be in the limelight always causes serious damage to the morale of the team and eventually may lead to an employee leaving the company. Guru does understand his team well and does give positive strokes to his teammates from time to time.
Feeling uninspired
Lastly, the employees may get this feeling. It could be a combination of various factors which leads to the feeling of being “uninspired”. When the employee has joined generally his inspiration/engagement levels are highest and if he/she finds out that his opinion does not matter or his work is not recognized then slowly one starts losing interest in the job and one may continue till there is no option or alternative. It’s the job of the concerned manager to keep his team highly engaged and charged up all the time.
Besides these factors, Jane mentioned that there could be other factors as well like salary demands due to changes in lifestyle or wanting a different work environment. At the end of the day, Jane says, you lose your best employees only. You need to identify your performing lot clearly take care of them emotionally and keep them engaged. Compensation would be the last factor for which an employee leaves. This has again left a lot of points for Larry to ponder about his team….