01/19/2021

Engage! Keeping Your Top Talent From Becoming Someone Else

Presented by: Lisa Ryan, Founder, Grategy

Did you know that 87% of employees are open to exploring new job opportunities at any given time? Employees leave their company when they don't feel a connection to their job or to the people they work with. In a full-employment economy, organizations don’t have the luxury of the “turn and burn” of employee turnover. As much time, effort, and money as you spend to attract your industry’s top talent, the key is to now KEEP those valued team members.

Because people are the number one resource for every organization, engaging with them on a personal level is critical. When company leaders pay attention to the "little things," they maintain a higher retention rate, improved productivity, and increased engagement than organizations that ignore the niceties that create a positive culture.

Yes, creating an engaged culture at your workplace is essential, but how do you do it? Here are three ways you can engage your team and develop a culture of appreciation in your workplace.

Build trust. Trust is the foundation on which you build your culture. If there is no trust, nothing else matters. Your company's culture took a long time to get to the point where it is right now, and it's not going to change overnight. What often happens to leaders is that they suffer from a condition called BSO - Bright Shiny Object Syndrome. After attending a seminar, conference, or industry event, they discover "the next big idea" to increase engagement. Managers then excitedly implement these new strategies, but when they don't see immediate results, they discontinue the program. That's a mistake.

When you discover a new program or idea that you choose to implement, make sure you commit to it for the long run. You may start with an "apology approach." This entails telling your team you realized that this seems like another "flavor of the week." Admit the mistakes made while implementing and then discontinuing the programs in the past. Ask your team for their feedback on the initiative and the ways they feel they can play a role in its implementation. Listen to their ideas openly – and if there is grumbling about it, find out the reasons why the consternation is happening and see how you can work together to adjust. Getting buy-in early and often will help to sustain the program going forward.

Unfortunately, the "recipients" of these new initiatives have seen the repeated cycle of their managers chasing BSO's. Because of this, they figure that if they just ignore everything, that it will probably only take a few weeks for things to go back to "normal." With this type of ongoing cycle, it's hard to establish that "this time, we're really going to do this." Your team members won't trust you until they see consistency in your actions.

Trust takes a long time to build, and you can erase it in a moment. The deadly eye roll, the lack of follow-through, and not setting the example that you want to see within the organization are all things that destroy trust. When you, as a leader, commit to making a change no matter how long it takes, you are well on your way to creating a culture of trust.

Invest in training. Help your team become better tomorrow than they are today.
This means providing continuing education and professional development opportunities that help them to grow themselves and their organizations. Be creative in the programming that you offer and get member feedback as to what THEY would find most beneficial.

Don't exclude your team when it comes to investing in their personal and professional development. Most people are looking for ways to grow and improve, yet they don't necessarily take time out of their busy schedule to do the work on their own. Make it easy for your employees to take advantage of your offerings. When you invest in them, they will take better care of you.

Some leaders are of the mindset of "Why should we spend money to train our employees, they're just going to take what they learn and leave anyway." And, while in a few cases that is true, here is a little food for thought. What if you don't train them, and they stay? What you'll find is that when you invest in your employees, you'll see many benefits. Your people will not only work harder for you, but they will also feel that you value them and their contributions because you are investing time and resources in their career and personal development.

Acknowledge positive action. Catch your team in the act of doing things well. In other words, find ways to acknowledge, appreciate, and applaud the efforts of your team members. Mother Teresa once said, "We are more starved for appreciation than we are for bread." Showing appreciation is just as valid at work as it is at home. 

Research by Marcial Losado finds that high performing teams work with a 6 to 1 positivity ratio. This statistic means that for every one negative comment that employees hear, they hear at least six positive reactions. These opinions are not necessarily, "Yay! Everything that you do is perfect," but rather, "That's a good start of an idea; let's see how we can build it from here." It's respectful communication. 

In an average performing team, there is a 3 to 1 positivity ratio. At this point, the company is barely surviving. Employees are doing just enough work so that they do not get fired, and the company is probably paying them just enough so that they do not quit. It's an even balance. Finally, on a low performing team, there is a .3 to 1 positivity ratio. People on a low performing team are hearing three times more negative remarks than they are positive comments. That doesn't work.

Stop trying always to fix what's broken and, instead, acknowledge what's working. What gets recognized gets repeated, so if you want your people to behave productively, let them know you notice their excellent work. The chances are good that they will like the positive feedback and will look for ways to get more of that.

When you give positive feedback, don't just say, "Great job!" Be specific so they know that you were paying attention to them. Look for ways to recognize your employees in the way that they like to be recognized. Some of your employees will love public applause, while others will hate it. Maybe for those more reserved employees, you'll set up a one-to-one conversation with them. Written notes are also a terrific way to connect. When you tell someone you appreciate them you create a wonderful memory, when you write it down, you create a treasure. A well placed a Post-It note can make all the difference in someone's day.

To get started, sit down with your leadership team and determine the type of culture that you want to create. Don't focus on the things that you "should" do, but rather the unique characteristics that make your workplace a great place to work. And then, choose one or two of the top ideas that you will commit to doing over the long term. Then do it.

We’ll be talking about lots of strategies to keep your top talent from becoming someone else’s during my UID session in March. See you there!

Lisa Ryan, CSP, helps organizations who want to keep their top talent from becoming someone else's. She is the Founder of Grategy and is an award-winning speaker and best-selling author of ten books, including "Manufacturing Engagement: 98 Proven Strategies to Attract and Retain Your Industry’s Top Talent.” Learn more at www.LisaRyanSpeaks.com