The Do's and Don'ts of Employee Retention

Over the last several months I have had several prominent companies ask me, “Wade, now that I have my people (frontline and managers), how do I keep them?” If I had all the answers to these life-altering questions, trust me, I would pass them along. While there are many factors that go into employee retention, some of the keys to maintaining quality employees is with the implementation of general best practices principles.

Here are some general do’s and don’ts:

The Do’s

Set Expectations – Expectations are hardly ever set prior to hiring. Each industry that I work with has minimum expectations that need to be achieved by every individual who works for them. The problem is employees typically have no idea what that level is until it is too late.

Simply clarify what is expected prior to hiring or promoting personnel and then provide them with the tools (coaching and feedback) to achieve the goal. Remember that a policy that is not written and distributed is only an idea or suggestion.

Coach – Why coach? Why not? The most successful industries use coaching and feedback to help develop their management team. This process then has a trickle-down effect to the rest of the team members.

By using the coaching formula, you, as a leader in your company, have the opportunity to install your vision and work ethic into your direct supervisors. They, in turn, will repeat the process down the line. To quote an overused line: “It’s brilliant!” People love to be coached as long as there is a well-directed plan and proven model.

Feedback – Coaching will only go so far, so I suggest that directly after a solid coaching session you provide constructive feedback that highlights two key areas, one being a job-related function in which an employee excels and the other being an area that could use improvement.

Remember these are potential leaders in your company and industry, not children. You must make sure your point is well understood, while still maintaining the mentoring approach. This tends to be difficult if you have not established expectations prior to coaching and feedback.

Development – Your people want to be developed and have the chance to grow. So how do you keep your managers and key people? You need to show them the way to your position. Hold on! I promise you will not work yourself out of a job, at least not right away.

Set a timeline for your management. Show them what it took to achieve your level of success. Each of them will view it as a road map. By showing concern for their growth and development, you will limit the stagnant pool of contentment that tends to form among team members that have been with you in the same capacity for a while.

Inspection (Accountability) – OK , now it’s time to “inspect what you expect.” Everyone wants to be considered valuable. But what makes someone valuable to your company? Is it being on time? Dressing professionally? Peer appreciation? Having the most sales? Good client-employee relationships? Or is it a combination of all these characteristics? I would suggest that it is a combination of all these factors.

Each of you probably has one employee that everybody likes but whose sales are less than impressive. Then there is the person who drives the numbers but whose CSI (customer satisfaction index) is in the dumpster. Let’s not forget about “Mr. Joe Cool.” This is the person who comes to work a little late and looks like he’s off to the club for the night. His peers love him, but you’re embarrassed to have him on the frontlines.

Remember when each of these individuals started with your company? They were model employees. But as time moved on, so did their accountability — or should we say lack of accountability?

A simple reminder or review upon the first slip of company policy usually slows a fall from grace. Managers tend to be apprehensive when it comes to small infractions in the beginning. They just don’t want be viewed as nitpickers.

By holding your managers accountable for their people and their actions, you will see a drastic change in employee morale and pride in the workplace. Prideful team members hold themselves and their peers to a higher standard.

Ask your managers, “Would you bet your job on your people doing theirs?” I hope they say, “Yes.”

The Don’ts

Incentives – Multiple pay plan changes are never a good idea. As I have experienced several times as a salesperson, manager and consultant, this tends to never be a win-win situation. Your management views this