Employee Retention in a Bad Economy

Times are uncertain right now. Businesses are closing. Jobs are not safe. We all know people who have lost employment and it can make our people edgy. Employees are asking, "What's going to happen with my job?" People are looking for reassurance and some level of comfort.

Do we need to worry about employee retention at a time like this? Since there aren't many jobs, is it OK to feel that our people should just watch their butts because there's no place else to go? We're all being asked to do more with less and on top of that we have to get all "touchy-feely" with our employees because they're feeling insecure?

Employee retention is an important issue at ALL times, good economy or bad. Let's face it:

1. There are a lot of average workers in the world. That's why they're called average. If you've got a superstar or even an above-average employee, chances are that potential employers could feel the same way you do.
2. There are jobs out there. Not as many jobs are available as used to be, but jobs are there. If you have talented professionals working for you and their working conditions (security, pay, duties, leadership, etc.) are less than they think is optimal, they can patiently look for something that will be better. Then, they can surprise you one day with a "Sayonara, here's my notice".
3. I guess since other talented people are out of work, it's no big deal to replace a solid, trained performer in these economic times, right? WRONG. Many HR people will tell you that it can cost 30% of a worker's salary to find a suitable replacement. 30%! How many companies have the money to be doing that very often (more than they already are)?
4. Plus, you know all the hassle that goes along with hiring new folks...or combining jobs when your boss tells you that even though your "jumper" left a funded position, you're not going to be allowed to refill the position...things are bad, remember?
5. Don't forget employee morale for those who stayed...you don't want a potential stampede of workers out your doors. What about the whole "team" thing? It just keeps adding up.

Talent retention is a key role of every boss regardless of the economy...bottom line.

Who Loves Ya, Baby?

Really, in your business life, who can you count on to take the absolute best care of you? There should be only one answer: YOU!

I'm not talking about having a dog-eat-dog perspective on your work life where it's just about "me and mine" over the common good. All I'm saying is that -- bottom line -- when you have tough decisions to make that affect you and your life and your family, you are the only work person you can truly count on.

That was a hard lesson for me to learn. My parents raised me to trust others and in my leadership training my Army instructors taught me that my people should be able to trust me and I should be able to trust my bosses. I believed that.

I've had a few (very few) bosses who've betrayed that trust and the rest of my bosses did their best for me. I have always tried to do my absolute best for the people I oversaw.

Still, as much as they work to have an empathetic spirit and walk in their peoples' shoes, the best bosses don't know their teams' personal finances, family dynamics, stresses, etc. Only each individual does.

When it comes down to it, regardless of how much of our lives we put into them...our jobs are still just that...jobs. I only have one family, but I have had several jobs. Even among the military careerists where "it's not a job, it's a way of life" we still used to say, "it's not if you separate from the Service, it's when".

Let's stop at this: Be the best team member and leader you can be...while Taking Care of You.

The Rights of a Leader...Why Be a Boss?

We read and hear and talk about employee rights from time to time. There are patient rights (HIPAA - Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), too. Animals have rights. Shoot, I even saw dozens of web pages discussing whether dead people have rights.

Going back to employee rights, there are lots of them, especially in the Western world. Employees have the right to be treated fairly regarding any number of things like:

• Pay
• Hours
• Vacation
• Safety
• Taking care of their families
• Privacy
• Not to be harassed or discriminated against

All of these rights seem fair, don't they?

Well, what about managers or leaders? What rights do they have? Sure, they should have the same rights as any other employees, but do they have any rights that are specific or inherent to them as managers or leaders?

I can’t think of any…and I’ve been trying.

Certainly bosses have some level of power and that power allows them to do things like hire, fire, maybe promote, or discipline. But are these rights or responsibilities?

We’ve heard it said that rank has its privileges. What privileges are they…having nicer offices (they have a door instead of being stuck with the cube rats?), staying in nicer hotels on business trips, eating at fancier restaurants or getting paid more than their employees? Are these rights?

Is it all much ado about nothing? Should my post just go in the trash?

I’m just wondering because it makes me think being a manager or boss sure has a lot more responsibilities than it does perks.

Why are people bosses, then? Is it just for the money? Is it for the power, you know, getting to tell other people what to do? Does it make them feel special? Is it that, as I read in an article, it’s just a further expression of living a service-like life? Is it just better than having other people boss you around (although I’ve never met a boss who didn’t have another boss of his or her own in one way or another)?

Why do you think people choose to be bosses? And what rights do you think bosses have specific to them?

Reality Filters...here, take one

Wait, you already have one. So do I.

Reality filters are the way human beings see themselves and the world around them (you can also call them "points of view"). They are like snowflakes where every one is different from the others even if minutely so. Filters are comprised of many things, like results of:

• Upbringing and influence (manipulation) of others
• Environment
• Significant events in life
• Likes and dislikes

One could argue there are multiple realities, you know, that everyone has his or her own reality (this may be the genesis of the "perception is reality" phrase; I don't know).

The other possibility that I think of is that there is one reality, but none of us see it totally clearly and definitely not the same as anyone else around us. That's because we see reality through our unique filters.

If we look at it from a leadership or teamwork view, filters can be good when we use them to create, like in a project team, because each of us can bring our own perspective to the group. Filters in the form of wisdom can be great as we act as teachers and mentors imparting our perspective on a problem, issue, or challenge.

However, filters can be bad when our views and outlook diminish those around us. Filters can hinder progress when they halt or slow down creativity. Filters can cause us to discriminate. Filters can cause us to think more or less of ourselves than we should and can have the same effect as we look at those we lead, collaborate with, or even work for.

Filters aren't going away. We'll always have them. So, how can we ensure our filters are used only for good? Is it enough that we are aware of them, so we may try to understand how they affect our views and ideas? Can "suspending our assumptions" like I mentioned in my last post help us overcome the negative aspects of our filters?

Suspend Your Assumptions...

You know, many of us think, when we're not really thinking, that we can do it all ourselves and we really don't need help or input from others, like our team.

In reality, we know that's just not true. We need dialogue, we need brainstorming, we need dynamic conversation in order to often come up with the most robust solution to an issue, problem, or project.

Problem is, when we think we already know the answers or that our guesses are better than anyone else's thoughts, we can stop listening. When we stop listening, our solutions can be very limited because we're missing out on potentially great input from others.

We have to be confident and open enough to entertain to possiblity that our personal ideas are incorrect or imperfect. Peter Senge, in his book, "The Fifth Discipline", writes about suspending our assumptions.

When we "suspend" our assumptions, we're not throwing them out or saying that they're wrong. We're just admitting that it's possible a colleague might have an even better solution to the problem or project and that could to the BEST solution for everyone.

So what if our idea isn't the best? Is having a great result all about us? Or is it about the team, about the organization...maybe about the customer?

Suspending our assumptions temporarily allows us to actively listen and explore many more possibilities than we may have ever imagined.

Have you ever seen where your assumptions or the assumptions of your boss or one of your team members got in the way of a potentially better solution than the forerunner? Have you ever seen where pushing assumptions has caused others to shut down? How hard do you think it is to suspend assumptions, just for a little while, until all the ideas have been given their due?

Opinion as Fact

Whew. There are a long list of ways to quickly disengage others from a conversation. In fact, I think I probably know of many more ways to disengage others than to engage them.

One biggie is stating our opinions as facts. We all do it, don't we? We have a current reality that works for us, whether we like that reality or not. I think that subconciously we may just assume that our reality is THE reality even though, if asked in detail about it, we'd realize that everyone has a reality or maybe that we all see THE reality through our own filters (more on filters in another post...I'm saving it for later).

When we get into a discussion, especially a lively one, some people seem to state their reality as the only one that exists, or maybe worse, the only one that matters. When they are calm and rational, they know that is just not the case, but when they're passionate about an issue or a person or an idea, they can quickly take their side as THE side.

Do you ever state your opinion as fact? Think about it and think about how others react if you do it. What are ways we can help keep this "monster" in check?

Blame is way overrated

As soon as a mistake is made, what do many of us do? We rush to lay blame at the feet of the offender.

What does that do for us? It makes us feel better because there's no heat on us so that must elevate our position.

What does that do for the organization? It certainly DOES NOT move the organization forward.

In fact, the ART of Blame (and some of us do excel at that art) is, unless you're using it to help you get rid of an employee, just a waste of time...time that you're not using to fix problems and move the team or organization forward.

Peter Senge, in his book, "The Fifth Discipline", talks about how blame is so common and that we all look for opportunities to assign it. Then it's not our problem...it's someone else's. Check out this link reviewing " The Fifth Discipline" (it's hands-down the best learning book I've ever read).

Anyway, when something goes wrong or someone makes a mistake, we need to step back and think before pointing fingers. If we look at our world from a systematic approach and how we fit into our team or organization or world, rather than place blame, we need to look at how we could have positively affected the outcome. Just like we like to figure out our part in an event when it goes well, we need to ask ourselves what part we had to play or what part we could have played in an event that went way wrong. This way we're not making someone the problem; instead we're part of the solution.

Would we all like to be part of the solution where everyone is successful? Isn't that a much better way to work and live than trying to build ourselves up by tearing someone else down?

So let me ask you, does your organzation or team excel at placing blame? Do you ask yourself what you could have done to help another succeed instead of jumping on the "blame bandwagon"? How can organizations move past blame and move ahead toward shared success?