The Job Files: Retaining Good Employees
Like many, I have had numerous jobs in my lifetime, some professional, some not so professional; however, there is a common thread that employers should follow when it comes to employee retention, especially good people who are exceptional workers. Here’s a few of the guidelines employers should follow to keep the cream of the crop from running to the competition.
Offer Opportunities for Advancement
Ever had a position where you were “too good” at your job and upper management manipulated your opportunities for career advancement? So have I. I have been in positions where management trapped me in my slot, afraid that if I left, they would have a problem meeting SLAs (Service Level Agreements). I also once made the mistake of exposing too much knowledge to managers when it came to information that they found valuable and limited people (two, including myself, to be exact) knew about. Although I attempted the process of knowledge transfer to the best of my abilities, the situation I was in affected my ability to move upwards. Management deliberately blocked my opportunities for advancement for a time before I was finally able to make my escape. When I finally found an opportunity to advance, I found myself in another similar situation with my new job.
I became trapped in the new position for a number of years because I was a key person for my team, something I’m sure others can relate to. There was lip service from management about training me to take on new responsibilities, but those opportunities never came to fruition. As time passed by, I was pigeonholed into that position because of my work ethic and the fact that I gradually became the person on my team with seniority, thus knowledge. This time around, I didn’t reveal exactly how much I knew about the operation. Still, I openly shared knowledge every chance I got with my newer teammates to bring everyone up on the same level. This still didn’t work in my favor because of cutbacks and a high level of turnover in my team in a short amount of time. Fortunately, a manager I worked with in a previously joined my division and offered me an opportunity to move up.
While I understand management has to worry about staffing for key positions, they should not go out of their way to block advancement opportunities for their employees, especially those who are actively trying to advance in their careers. I was being deliberately held back, even when there wasn’t a shortage on my team. For some people, they will start to look elsewhere for career advancement. I was thisclose to doing the same thing.
Pay Fairly at Market Standards
If you work at a company that you really like and they pay you unfairly, look for another job. By bringing back an offer letter, most companies will make a counter-offer to keep you if they really want to. In my previous position, I was vastly underpaid by market standards. I felt that I had more than proved myself in my position and had above average employee evaluations, despite not having any proven experience in the field when I started the job. I showed dedication by putting in overtime (even when it was unnecessary) and produced high quality work. I met my deadlines, pitched in a helping hand in other areas outside my job when needed, and handled a workload that was meant for at least two people. When I asked for a raise, management initially balked, so I started looking for a new job and brought back an offer letter. My former company wanted to retain me close to yet below the pay the other company offered for me. Of course, there were strings attached, which involved me taking on even more responsibilities to earn the pay I should have been making in the first place. Obviously, I saddled up my horse and went on to greener pastures; however, this method can work if the company wants to keep you and you want to stay. Just be prepared for your company to give you a firm but polite “no” in regards to your raise request, especially if revenues are down. Still, not all is dire when it comes to pay raises. I have seen cases where key people threaten to leave with an offer letter in hand (even without), and management gives them what they want (and more) in order to retain them. This happened despite low revenues, and even though it’s unfair, it’s realistic when it comes to the corporate game.
Offer Incentives, Perks, and/or Rewards
As I mentioned, your employer may not be able to offer you a raise if revenues are down; however, they can compensate you other ways. I have worked in environments where workers are offered incentives to finish a job ahead of schedule by working late or coming in on weekends. Staff benefited from half or whole days off and in some cases small, cash bonuses.
I received some perks in lieu of a pay raise. Some included free movie tickets, gift certificates/gift cards, half days off from work, and extremely flexible working hours. Believe it or not, these perks are actually appreciative by workers. Naturally, some people only want money, but finding ways to compensate staff in a non-monetary way can actually work. Had my work environment not been so bad and my pay severely underneath market standards, I would have stayed with my previous company because I did enjoy some nice perks that my new company does not offer…at least so far.
Treat Your Workers with Respect
The biggest problem with a company I worked for was the lack of respect people had towards each other. In general, managers did not respect employees (and vice versa), and employees did not respect each other. While every workplace has a few temperamental employees, no one should ever have to put up with verbal abuse. It can be a bad enough situation to deal with a problematic coworker, but when the person you have a major issue with is your superior or other management members, it can be downright intolerable. I have witnessed managers talking badly to their employees and fellow managers; we’re talking screaming matches among other improper behavior. In “normal” situations, those managers would have been terminated immediately; believe me, I’ve seen managers fired for a lot less. My former work situation was not normal by any stretch of the imagination.
My philosophy is simple: treat people how you want to be treated. Everyone has plenty of drama to deal with when it comes to life issues. I know I’ve said this before, but why create more issues, especially unnecessary ones? You already spend most of your life working with other people during the week, so be courteous, professional, and respectful to each other. Coat your words with honey. It gets you a lot further than words coated with venom.
Listen to Your Workers
One of the things that infuriate me most is managers who “hear you” but don’t listen to you, especially if you have a work issue. Many of my former colleagues complained about work environment and lack of management response to issues. There were lackluster efforts to appear that management was doing something about the work conditions; however, those efforts were nothing more than a case of smoke and mirrors. No one in management took real action on those complaints to change the environment and make things betters. When people feel no one is listening and management ignores their repeated requests for solutions to problems, they reach their breaking point and leave the company. I did.