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What is stopping
you?
3 misperceptions that prevent you from holding onto talented
employees
Copyright © 2006 Marion Stone
Used with permission of the author:
Author:
Marion
Stone marion@cornerstoneconnections.co.za
Director
Cornerstone Connections
www.cornerstoneconnections.co.za
22 November 2007
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to ... Workinfo.com Human Resources Magazine Volume 1 Issue 12,
2007
It fascinates me that
many managers or organisations will on the one hand complain about
talented people walking out of the door and on the other
completely ignore the appeals of their people for development and
recognition. Here are three important misperceptions that you
should address if you are serious about retaining talented
employees.
1. Employees will
leave your organisation
In the recent past
jobs were very scarce and South Africans have clung onto
comfortable corporate jobs knowing that it was likely to be hard
to find another one. Times have changed and the economy, while
perhaps not on a par with our western counterparts, is solid and
growing. Not only that, but a younger generation of workers who
haven’t known the lean job market are coming through the ranks
and are far less fearful of making job changes if they are not
satisfied with the psychological contract.
As managers and
organisations we need to realise that we can no longer expect
employees to stick with a job no matter how we treat them just
because they are too afraid to leave. Some will, but increasingly
employees will weigh up their options and perhaps choose to leave.
The cost of high turnover in terms of recruitment and development
as well as the impact on morale is high.
2. Employees
are rarely in it only for the money
So is the
psychological contract all about the money? Traditionally it was
an exchange of skills and loyalty on the part of the employee for
remuneration and stability on the part of the employer. It is the
delicate balance between what is expected and can be offered by
the employee and employer respectively. Although it can be
influenced by money in the short term, this is rarely a long-term
solution.
Research now shows
(What makes Employees Tick – Feedback from research on the
Deloitte Best Company to work for competition, HRFuture, August
2007) that people generally don’t stay in their jobs just for
the money. Remuneration is part of what attracts people to the job
in the first place and it needs to be fair and market related, but
the reasons why people stay are different and include factors such
as –
-
Role clarity
-
Meaning in their
work (employees connect with the organisation’s purpose)
-
Ability to achieve
work/life balance
-
Interesting work
-
Career development
-
The culture and
values of the organisation
These job satisfaction
factors again relate to the times where a new generation of
employees are looking for meaning in their jobs and a link between
their personal values and those of the organisation.
Would you take a CEO’s
salary to dig a hole and fill it in every day of your lives for
the next 20 years? I know there will be at least one ‘wise guy’
who will say yes, but most of
us would admit that such a scenario in practice would be extremely
dissatisfying!
3. Your
managers have the biggest impact on how motivated your employees
are
The author Marcus
Buckingham, says that employees leave managers and not
organisations (First Break all the Rules, Marcus Buckingham &
Curt Coffman, 1999, Simon & Schuster)! Quite a controversial
statement, but reflect on it. Employees experience the culture of
the organisation not from the company vision statement, but how
the manager interprets the vision statement within the team.
The vision statement
can say "people are our most important asset" but if the
manager refuses to allow the employees to attend training or apply
for other jobs, then the vision statement is irrelevant to the
employee. The message that they actually receive is one of "we
don’t want our people to develop; we want them to stay where
they are and not make our lives awkward by having to find a
replacement for them". The job satisfaction factors mentioned
previously are impacted partly by company policies but they are
implemented by managers. How are your managers doing? Do you know?
Do they have the skills?
If this type of
situation is common in your organisation then I have news for you
– in the end those people will leave you anyway. However,
instead of retaining them in your business you will lose them to a
competitor and ultimately that will affect your competitiveness.
Just in case you are not convinced, here is a real life story that
someone in one of my training workshops shared with us –
“My husband worked
for a manager who did not want to lose him. Every time he
applied for a different job in another team his transfer was
blocked. Every time he asked to attend courses that would
broaden his knowledge and prepare him for other roles, his
request was rejected. Eventually, frustrated beyond belief, he
appealed to HR as his record of performance was very good. HR
apparently spoke to the manager but the refusals continued.
Another year went by and still no progress. When he approached
HR again he was told; ‘I can only recommend that you find
another job outside the organisation!’ “
Well, he did. And they
promoted him within 6 months because they recognised his ability
to perform before he even had a chance to ask for
development!
Are you convinced yet?
In a today’s environment technology has made more companies
equal in terms of efficiencies and the key differentiator has
become your people. Are you losing them because you have managers
and HR departments who behave like the one’s described above?
Think about it!
Marion
Stone is an
experienced training and development consultant with over 10 years
of experience both nationally and internationally. Her
comprehensive understanding of training strategy and practice has
been acquired in various sectors including manufacturing, FMCG,
construction, media and travel. Her work has focussed
predominantly on middle managers although she has worked with
various levels within the business from the shop floor to senior
managers. Marion holds a first degree in chemistry (UCT) and an
MSc in Strategic Training and Development (University of Surrey
Roehampton). She is accredited by the South African Board of
Personnel Practitioners as a Chartered HR Practitioner. Her
diverse background ensures a practical approach to development
activities that are joined up with organisational goals and
processes. She can be contacted at marion@cornerstoneconnections.co.za
and www.cornerstoneconnections.co.za.
Cornerstone
Connections builds
connections between the organisation and it’s employees and
between managers and their teams. Consultancy and training are
offered in the areas of:
Short summary
Employees are no longer psychologically as dependent on
organisations as they used to be in a job market where jobs were
scarce; to retain them, managers and organisations need to
investigate the reasons skilled employees are willing to leave. Keywords
and relevant phrases
Action, attraction, career development, clarity, communication,
competitiveness, connection, contract, corporate culture, culture,
development, expectations, fairness, implementation, interest, job
satisfaction, job scarcity, loyalty, management, market related,
meaning, mission statement, motivation, perceptions, performance,
performance management, policies, psychological contract, purpose,
recognition, recruitment, remuneration, replacement, respect,
retention, rewards, roles, skills, skills shortage, talent, talent
management, training, turnover, values, vision statement,
work/life balance.
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