Continued from A Previous Blog
3 – Know Your People
Regarding management approaches, one size doesn’t fit all anymore. Today’s workforce is extremely diverse not only in regards to race, religion, gender, generation, etc. but simply by mindset. We all have different priorities, different motivators, and different goals in our lives and careers. How well do you know your staff, professionally and personally? Do you know what keeps them up at night? Do you know why they work for you, or why they would consider leaving? Don’t assume. Go ask! As a leader, you also cannot assume people think like you do, were raised like you were or will behave as you behave. And they can’t read your mind, so you must communicate your expectations more clearly than ever before to be sure everyone’s on the same page. Otherwise, your staff will be frustrated when they are reprimanded for something they didn’t know they weren’t supposed to do.
4 – Seniority Doesn’t Matter – Value Does!
Is someone who has been with your organization a long time more valuable to your company now than they were years ago? Maybe. Maybe not. If that person has gained new knowledge and/or skills over time, built positive relationships, has become a resource for troubleshooting, and is loyal because they believe in the organization and its leadership, they should be compensated for bringing added value. On the other hand, if that seasoned employee has not bettered themselves or increased their value to the organization over time, they may not be as valuable as a newer hire could be in the same role.
Smart employees know their value and grow their value. And they don’t settle for being undervalued or letting those less valuable receive more compensation. If they are more valuable to the company today than they were six months ago, why doesn’t increased compensation typically follow? It’s often because companies are trying to get as much as they can for as little as they can, and because they are set in their ways regarding timelines for compensation discussions (i.e. annual performance reviews).
Seniority-based approaches reward loyalty for loyalty’s sake. But today, we know those staff are much more likely to staff simply because they are deep-rooted in the organization. Workforce statistics report the longer someone has been at an organization, they less likely they are to leave. So should you be making your staffing structure, scheduling or other decisions based on seniority? Not if you want to retain new hires.
Instead, focus on value and recognizing every job well done, and you will see an increase in loyalty and length of tenure of the current revolving door roles.
Cara Silletto, President & Chief Retention Officer at Magnet Culture, is committed to reducing unnecessary employee turnover by bridging generational gaps and making managers more effective in their roles. Visit Magnet Culture for programs of solving workforce challenges, or contact Cara at [email protected].
Read the conclusion of this series here.
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