| In the
first part of this article, we discussed
why retention strategies based on “goodies
and gimmicks” are misguided and
how such approaches are also not the
key to increasing morale or becoming
an employer of choice. Instead, becoming
an organization that attracts and retains
the best employees, requires basing
strategies on essential human needs
that, when fulfilled, lead to satisfied,
committed, productive workers. Six
of the most critical human needs that
affect employee commitment and performance
are: |
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1. |
Pride in One’s
Work and Employer |
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| 2. |
Work That Has Meaning |
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| 3. |
Understanding The Goal and One’s
Role |
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| 4. |
To Be a Player And Not Just a Hired
Hand |
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| 5. |
The Chance to Experience Efficacy |
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| 6. |
To Be Heard |
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In Parts II and III of
this article, we will explore each of these
important human needs and how to use them,
along with accompanying questions, to help
your organization become a Talent Magnet.
Do You Give Your Employees a Reason to
Be Proud?
Organizations with a committed, inspired
workforce expect excellence from themselves
and their employees. Organizations with
low morale and high turnover often suffer
from a pride problem. In these companies,
employees frequently see poor quality products
and services tolerated, ineffective managers
not held accountable, operational decisions
made without due diligence, and flavor
of the month fad following, among other
pride destroyers.
With respect to employee pride, remember
this: “Everything Matters.” Every
management, marketing, customer service,
operations, and public relations action
will affect whether employees feel pride
in their work and their employer. |
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Questions
to ask your Managers and Employee Advisory
Council: |
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1. |
Do our products and/or
services warrant pride? |
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| 2. |
Do our operational decisions and
processes warrant pride? |
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| 3. |
Do we let poor quality go unchallenged? |
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Does Their Work Have Meaning?
Perhaps THE secret weapon of Talent Magnet
organizations is creating a meaningful
work experience, where employees – regardless
of their job – feel like they are
doing something important. This is such
an important “difference that makes
a difference” because the desire
for meaning and purpose is one of the
most fundamental and powerful drives.
How do you create a work experience that
has deep meaning? First, make sure your
organization’s mission and vision
don’t just stay on a wall plaque,
but instead come to life everyday in
the actions of your managers. Second,
continually communicate to employees
how your mission and vision translate
into their daily work. They need to know
how they make it happen. Third, connect
your workers with your customers through
testimonials, videos, focus groups, or
face to face encounters. Make sure they
can to experience how their behind the
scenes work makes a difference on your
end user. |
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Questions
to ask your Managers and Employee Advisory
Council: |
|
| |
1. |
Do we give our employees
a reason to care? |
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| 2. |
Do our mission and vision inspire
passion? |
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| 3. |
Do our employees understand how
they contribute to our mission and
vision? |
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| 4. |
Do our employees hear and see how
their work affects our customers? |
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Do Employees Understand
The Game They’re Playing?
Years ago, while doing a project in Australia,
my host excitedly offered to treat me to
an evening of World Cup cricket. I remember
staring blankly at the TV screen, not able
to muster any enthusiasm about a bunch
of guys whacking at a ball with a funny
looking bat. If I understood more about
the goal of the game, the rules, the strategy,
and the skills that made someone great,
I might have shared his enthusiasm.
My lack of engagement and flat out boredom
reminded me of the experience many employees
have of their work, because they don’t
understand the game they’re playing.
They don’t understand the company’s
mission and vision in practical terms,
they don’t know the business goals,
the role they play in achieving these goals,
how they provide the greatest value, how
the company itself works, how their market
works, how well the company is doing, and
how well they themselves are “playing
the game.” How can we expect employees
to be to be excited about a “game” they
don’t understand? |
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Questions
to ask your Managers and Employee
Advisory Council:
|
|
| |
1. |
Do our employees understand
the Big Picture and their role in making
it happen? |
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| 2. |
Do our employees understand the workings
of our organization and how each piece
affects the others? |
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| 3. |
Do our employees understand the fundamentals
of business in general, and ours in
particular? |
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| 4. |
Does each employee understand how
he or she provides value and the ways
he or she can provide the most value? |
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| 5. |
Do we communicate regularly what
is going on in the organization and
marketplace? |
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| 6. |
Do we give our employees numerical
data that allows them to assess their
performance and progress? |
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Are Your Employees Players
And Not Just Hired Hands?
People are a lot like cats. If we’re
not stimulated, we can be like a housecat – about
as lively as a pillow. When our curiosity
is aroused, we become like an outdoor cat – a
veritable learning and exploration machine.
Scientists believe that the drive to learn
is hard-wired into us. Some maintain that
this need is even more fundamental than
the desire to procreate, since it is needed
the moment a baby enters the world. When
organizations thwart this innate drive
by not allowing employees to learn, they
create a bored, disengaged workforce.
Giving employees the chance to learn on
the job, to solve problems, to offer solutions,
can transform a lethargic, disengaged workforce
into a vibrant, passionate team. Few things
engage workers more than being able to
roll up their sleeves and solve real life
problems. Yet, so often they only get to
be worker bees, little drones mindlessly
carrying out strategies created from above.
Making employees players and not just hired
hands not only taps into the human need
to learn, it also taps into the powerful
drive for meaning discussed earlier. Employees
want to matter; they want what they do
to matter. Having the chance to be a player,
to give one’s input and have it respected,
is one of the most powerful drivers of
employee performance and retention, according
to Gallup’s research. The more you
can work with employees to design their
work so they don’t just feel valuable,
but they get to be valuable, the more engaged
and committed they will be. |
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Questions
to ask your Managers and Employee
Advisory Council:
|
|
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1. |
Do we actively involve
our employees in problem solving and
process improvement? |
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| 2. |
Do we give them the information and
support to make good decisions? |
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| 3. |
Do employees actually have the authority
to execute their decisions? |
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| 4. |
Do we constantly ask for input, both
for issues related to an employee’s
particular process or department, and
for overall organizational issues? |
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| 5. |
Do we give employees a chance to
be like small business owners with
regard to their work? |
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In the third and final segment of this article, we will explore the final two critical human needs in our list of needs that affect employee commitment and performance. These are:
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• |
The Chance to Experience
Efficacy |
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| • |
To Be Heard |
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We will end off with a list
of “Next Steps” to help guide
your application of this information.
For Parts I and III, go to the Employee
Retention article section.
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