How to keep your best people
There’s no doubt about it, keeping the right people is much less expensive than hiring the wrong ones. High turnover is a budget-killing, morale-destroying plague that can bring down even the best business models. So, How To Keep My Best People is a question every manager is asking pretty much all the time.
While no plan is entirely foolproof, and we’d be lying if we said this article will be the ultimate anything with regard to advice on the topic, there are a few indispensable, unilaterally applicable metrics that many people get wrong. These may feel like no-brainers, but enough managers fail at this that you begin to wonder just how many people are running around out there with “no brain.” Don’t be one of those people. Rate yourself based on this very short list of criteria that can help you keep your best people. Give your people what they need to Get It Done. Today’s marketplace demands a workforce that can be fully productive and collaborative outside The Office. If your team is not, that’s a hindrance. Figure out what they need to be optimally equipped for both on or off-site work, and set them up for success. Now, there are some caveats here. If, for whatever reason, you don’t want people accessing or working on stuff outside of a very controlled situation, disregard this, but, otherwise, think about ways to help your people better take advantage of a global, 24-7 economy.
Don’t tether people to the office. This is a different way of communicating the previous point, but it’s also the other side of the coin. Not only should you give people the resources to get the job done anywhere, you should also not purposely create hurdles that force people to be in the office to be productive. Your clients will expect modern connectivity. Make sure your team can deliver. Equip your leaders with everything they need to create the sort of environment that is conducive to achieving your best. Your managers may need training, they may need trust or they may need resources, but don’t set them up for failure by withholding those things.
Give your people the resources and opportunities to get better. Professional development is a must, but it requires a forward-thinking leadership team to know how and when to offer this. If you don’t know where your people are going, you won’t know how to help them get there. So, how did you do? Are you already doing all of these things, or did you find some room for improvement?
