I don’t talk about employee retention much. There’s a reason why.
If you recruit great people and inspire them to do amazing things, they won’t really have much of a reason to leave your organization. (The exception is if people are leaving for things like relocation or to undergo a massive career change – in which case, there’s not much you could have done anyways)
Retention is the easy part. It’s the other two that are hard. Focus your energy on getting the right person into the right job and inspire them to do their best work. Chances are pretty good that they’ll want to keep working for you.
Do a good enough job at this, and the process fuels itself. Employees start to talk about how awesome it is to work there, and more great people want to come work for you.
(PS: I apologize for the sensational and misleading title of this post.)
i dunno if i agree with you on this one, chris. when you have a-players in particular, i think you need to handle them with care. they are largely self motivated, but a good manager of an a-player also needs to find the next opportunity for them so they don’t wander away elsewhere or aren’t recruited away elsewhere. i also feel like with other “at risk” staff, including high potential minorities, you also have to treat them with care too if you feel like diversity is important. this is debatable and i know there are people who would disagree with me on this particular piece… but there are folks you need to invest in and think long and hard about how to retain them. what do you think?
It is an interesting subject for sure. I would add to the discussion the fact that most employees will have many jobs/careers over their working lives, and ‘hopping’ from Company to Company (with perhaps some ‘freelancing’ mixed in) is expected to be a hallmark of the future workforce. Certainly the recession has slowed the pace of job hopping, but nonetheless people still do leave good companies and seemingly good jobs. I would be concerned about not only building an environment that makes folks want to stay, but also creating methods and support to stay engaged with the good employees that do leave (alumni). It does seem that for talent acquisition folks, the world is going to be more complicated, with a mix of employees, casual employees, temps, contractors, etc. all moving in and out of the ‘workforce’ at the same time. ‘Retention’ of staff is important I think, but it is only one aspect to ensuring the organization has ready access to the required knowledge and skills to execute strategy. Great and thought-provoking post, Chris.
First comment = THE magic is in the hiring.
I believe good leaders and people that naturally treat people with respect, don’t worry about retention as much. Because it is like breathing…they nurture, challange and encourage people through their daily activities, it isn’t a big deal to them. Others…they may need to work at creating the environment that people want to work in.
Maybe Chris has the unique ability to retain employees, so he doesn’t need to think about it.
@jessica lee – “but a good manager of an a-player also needs to find the next opportunity for them so they don’t wander away elsewhere or aren’t recruited away elsewhere.”
You’re absolutely right, and that’s really what I meant by inspiring them to do amazing things. If you’re identifying people’s talents, and helping them grow and develop and be incredible, they’re going to want to stay with your organization. I think you and I are actually on the same page, we’re just talking about it with different language.
@Steve Boese – Awesome insights! I think retention is incredibly important. But I also think that focusing on keeping people from leaving is focusing on the wrong the thing. Focus on creating an awesome job that they love and helps the business, and the retention piece takes care of itself. My favorite insight of yours, though, is this:
“I would be concerned about not only building an environment that makes folks want to stay, but also creating methods and support to stay engaged with the good employees that do leave (alumni).”
@Lois Melbourne – I don’t think the magic is only in hiring. That’s only half the process. You definitely need to get great people in, no doubt. You’re totally right, though, that great managers naturally “nurture, challenge and encourage people…” – they inspire them to do amazing work!
And I didn’t say don’t think about retention. I said don’t focus on it. Focus on getting the right people in the right jobs and developing them and inspiring them – and retention will mostly handle itself.
Thanks for the comments!
Chris, I subscribe your post on retention. Beside the emphasis on let amazing people do amazing things. I want to stress the importance of a right working atmosphere for the talents in the organization. Off course you want to let them do what they are good in and off course you want to give your talents a perspective for their future career, but…
You or someone in the organization must also show personal interest in those people. In other words be a friend and not only a manager. And beside the amazing people make sure that the ‘little less amazing’ people still deliver quality in their work.
@Rik – Thanks for the comment. I agree that the right atmosphere and culture is also really important. I guess I consider that part of inspiring people to do amazing things. Give them the tools and resources, give them the right culture, get them in the right job, and then get out of the way and let them shine.
What are your thoughts on managers who might not be a friend, but inspire people to do some of their best work? Steve Jobs is known for this. He’s rumored to be very difficult to work for, but people swear he brings their best work out of them. Looking forward to hearing your perspectives!
@Chris, I think there is a big difference between managers and leaders. I have not worked with Steve but I can imagine he is a great leader, someone that you would want to follow. In my opinion great leaders must be supported by great managers. Those are the ones that get out of the way and create the good working climate.
@Rik – Thanks for the response. I think that’s actually a pretty interesting perspective, and I see what you mean. Being led by a CEO and working for one are, technically, two different things.