3 Strategies to Retain Your Best Employees
Don’t you wish your very best of employees would simply stay with you forever? I certainly do. The truth, however, is that this is unlikely to happen. At some point, people will want to grow, change, and try a new endeavor. Does the question thus become à how can you people fulfill in their position, for as long as possible, in a way healthy for the both of you?
The key here falls within the wording à “in a way healthy for the both of you.” Employers tend to only think of their own needs, and, ironically, we often forget to think of the needs of those we depend on most. Below I outline 3 strategies to help you turn the corner toward this critically important mindset.
1. Look in the Mirror.
When you look in the mirror what do you see? We judge ourselves on many fronts. Yet, this is beside the point. We need to ask ourselves à what do others see? Do they see a fair leader? A kind leader? An inspiring leader? Someone worth emulating and working hard for? These are not easy questions to answer. We must get out of our own heads and into the minds of others. This makes the task of looking in the mirror much more challenging, yet the best manager builds this muscle. It is the muscle of continually asking, and answering, what do it look like to work on the other side of me?
2. Design the Environment.
If you are a people-leader and you have not intentionally thought about the environment you have designed for your team to flourish, you are likely falling behind. Take this as a gentle wake-up call! What have you done for them lately? Have you made efforts to create opportunities for your key people to grow? Have you generated instances whereby they can be inspired? And/or have you designed momentum to engage them in your mission and vision? Naturally, most leaders are too busy with the day-to-day to engage in such activity, yet it truly is what sets the great leaders apart from the mediocre.
3. Get to Know the End-User.
Software developers and marketing professionals are obsessed with the user experience. UX they call it. Or CX for customer experience. Yet have you ever thought of your EX? Your employee-experience? If you have not, it is time. It is rare for leaders to have the know-how, time, emotional bandwidth, and gumption to do this regularly – yet it is the best strategy to keep your employees engaged, inspired, and wanting to continue to put forth their best effort for your brand. What do they want from their position? What do they want from their workplace efforts? What are they looking for in a brand they represent daily? If you cannot answer these questions most likely you cannot accurately assess what you “look like in the mirror” nor how to “design the environment” they need most. The task is simple à just ask. If you have built a culture of trust, you can find the answer you are looking for with this simple question to take the steps you need to take.
These 3 strategies can help you shift your mindset in a way that leads to powerful results in terms of employee retention. Truth be told; however, they might not be enough. We are all on our individual journeys in life. It is reasonable to expect even your best to venture out of both your and their comfort zone. To prepare for this change, stay tuned and read further in this blog series where we continue to tackle these issues.
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Lion Leadership is an executive education company. We coach and train leadership teams and mid-level managers so that people don’t quit because of bad bosses. Whether you need 1-on-1 coaching for yourself, a custom leadership academy for your company, off-site retreats for your teams, or just a few hours of morale-building, we are here to get your organization ready for what’s next.
Natasha Ganem, Ph.D., is the founder and principal consultant.
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