When the opportunity presents itself, shower praise on a team member who succeeds in a goal in front ... [+]
Pay Your People
Pay people what they are worth, and then add on a little extra compensation. It’s that easy. People don’t commute three hours a day into an office, dealing with all of the stress and headaches because they enjoy it.
People have mortgages to pay, college tuition for children and an array of other expenses. With inflation raising the costs of everything, along with the stock market plunging and wiping out profits from the past year, offering a healthy compensation package will greatly help attract and retain talent.
The key to alleviating tension—in the office or at home—and retaining top talent is to pay people well. Businesses can rave about their corporate culture, Kombucha on tap, ping pong tables and other perks, but these frills won’t put gas in the car or food in the refrigerator at home. Young people need compensation to pay back burdensome college loans. Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers are worried about saving enough money to retire with dignity.
To retain top talent, in addition to pay, you need to treat people with respect, show appreciation, gratitude and empathy and offer a career path forward within the organization.
Treat People With Respect
People want to have options and choose what’s right for them. After working remotely and autonomously for the last two years, people enjoyed their freedom. The last thing they want is to be ordered into the office. Even if they’re inclined to return to headquarters, they want to do it of their own volition.
Provide flexibility and choices. There is no reason why it must be a 9 a.m.-to-5 p.m. grind. If a parent has young children and needs to take them to school and pick them up afterward, provide the leeway for them to do this. They’ll be forever appreciative and grateful that you’ve made their life easier.
It's not unreasonable for companies to offer a safe environment. Bosses shouldn’t be micro-managing bullies. If a supervisor wants to show that they value and trust their employees, there should be no need for deploying spyware on the computers and keeping track of when people arrive at the office and leave to go home.
The same holds true for hybrid and remote workers. If they hop on a Zoom meeting two minutes after it started, this doesn’t mean they’re a slacker and needed to be chastised in front of their colleagues.
Show That You Care
Regularly let your team know that you appreciate them. In a one-on-one conversation, express the reasons why you are proud of them. Cite all the good work they’ve done and how the person exceeded expectations.
If an employee needs some improvement, be diplomatic about it. When the opportunity presents itself, shower praise on a team member who succeeds in a goal in front of their peers. This will improve the morale of both the recipient of the praise and everyone else too.
Offer psychological safety. This involves managing in a way that people are given room to take chances and fail. If they make a mistake the worker doesn't have to worry about being fired or left with a permanent stain on their reputation.
Encourage people to provide their input and foster the climate to speak openly without fear of retribution. Ask for feedback from the staff and swiftly take action on their suggestions. If you sense a change in sentiment, meet with the person before they become discouraged and disconnected from their job, co-workers and company.
Encourage a work-life balance. This could entail mental health days off, subscriptions to well-being apps and fitness centers or closing down for a week, so that everyone can decompress. If the company is remote or hybrid, offer team-building events outside of the office to foster camaraderie. When a person has a tight group of work-friends, they are likely to stay at the company, as they don't want to leave their work-family.
Is There A Career Path?
The boss must be transparent about the future. No one wants to stagnate in a role. Fast trackers want to learn, grow and advance. They desire the opportunity to continually build and cultivate their skills and grow within their profession.
Sometimes, there isn't room for growth for various reasons. If that’s the case, the manager needs to be honest about what is happening. If they don’t, there will be a simmering resentment. The person will become disengaged and leave.
The manager needs to share how they can advance. Advise the team members of what skills are needed to succeed in their position. Consider offering a lateral promotion to another division, which has an open lane to flourish. Ensure that your group is continually learning and challenged.
To prepare people for the future of work, offer additional training, upskilling and access to coursework to stay current and ahead of fast-moving changes and developments. Help empower a person by providing mentors, coaches and tutors to help them succeed, thrive and happily remain at the company.
