It’s an unprecedented crisis in the American workplace.
Historic levels of American employees across employers within the private, public, and non-profit sectors annually report record dissatisfaction and disengagement with work. 50% feel unappreciated. 80% say they’re not thriving at work (Spreitzer & Porath, 2012). Turnover is at an all-time and persistent high.
Monetized annually in lost production, efficiency, innovation, performance, and customers and it’s in the trillions. It’s a real anchor on the American economy. It’s a competitive disadvantage for employers and our nation in the global economy.
Pay and benefits should be competitive, but they cannot solve the problem. Talented individuals of integrity won’t stay working at an organization with the wrong leadership, a bad culture, and the absence of true teamwork regardless of the pay and benefits.
Good employees highly value a genuine and positive relationship with their supervisor, working together as a true team, and a healthy work culture. It creates and sustains employee commitment, engagement, satisfaction, retention, and success. People with no strong commitment to the leadership, team, or culture have no problem leaving.
Leaders who shrug their shoulders and say, “that’s just the way it is today” are not accepting responsibility. When you hire a good employee, it’s also your job to retain them. Retention not turnover should be your company culture.
It is not a guaranteed automatic new normal to have high turnover even in specific industries and positions. Recruiting and training talented professionals of integrity for your competitors is a losing model. Retention of good employees improves performance, productivity, teamwork, morale, culture, customer satisfaction, and profits.
People quit bad supervisors, toxic cultures, mediocre missions, and total lack of teamwork. As leaders, it’s your duty to make them want to stay. It’s your role to learn their goals and help them chart a course for career success. You need to make everyone on your team feel valued and appreciated. You have to provide opportunities for them to grow with professional and leadership development. Invest in their success. They need to have the opportunity to voice their ideas, make decisions, admit mistakes, and feel safe and confident in your workplace. They need to be allowed to have a real impact and take on new challenges (Abrashoff, 2002). They want you as a coach and a mentor. Hire the motivated and keep them inspired. Keep employees fully informed so they feel trusted and act like owners. Always be honest with your team as they can handle the truth (Abrashoff, 2002). Celebrate their successes (Welch, 2001).
People who are well led are loyal. They will stay on a team with the right leadership and culture.
Employers accept costly record turnover as the New Normal. It’s not normal. Effective leadership enables employees to be their best and give their most on a true team in a positive work culture and feel appreciated, excel, grow, and thrive.
