The four work questions we all need to answer.
Every time I talk with a customer these days one subject will always get a mention. Recruitment.
A day doesn’t go by when I don’t get a message, or hear from a customer asking ‘Do you know anyone good?’ Of course the answer is always yes, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to tell them. Unless the person I’m thinking of is between roles it’s neither ethical, nor in my best interest, to introduce them. At the moment, particularly in the UK, there’s a major shortage of labour. It’s affecting every industry, some more than others. Finding the right candidates for your business has never been easy, but when the supply is squeezed it becomes even harder. The shortage of talent also means your competitors are interested in your best people and some are offering eye watering remuneration packages to entice them to leave. We need work harder than ever to keep our people happy.
Build a brick wall around your best people.
Employee churn isn’t necessarily a bad thing as long as it’s controlled and a small percent of the overall team. Churn gives opportunity for succession and new people will bring in fresh ideas. Sometimes we even need to allow our best people to leave to fulfil their potential, but none of us wants to lose our best performers unexpectedly. How do you stop that happening? By understanding the factors which might make them leave before they do.
Their are four work questions we all need answers to.
People generally don’t leave businesses they’re happy in, even if they’re offered more money somewhere else. Yes, we all have our price but don’t underestimate the importance of non financial factors. In terms of employee satisfaction a large proportion of people leave because they can’t adequately answer these four questions.
What’s my job?
Who’s my manager?
Who do I go to if I need help?
What’s my goal?
On the face of it these don’t seem very difficult questions to answer, but if you dig under the surface many people can’t.
What’s my job? Not just their title but clearly defined roles, expectations and responsibilities. Are they able to fulfil these or is something stopping them?
Who’s my boss? Do they have one or more than one? In a matrix management structure people are often confused as to who they report to on a specific task. Then there’s the quality of management interactions. Does your manager act like one? Do they deliver to you what they’re meant to? Is there signifiant development, coaching, reporting, guidance and are the rules clear?
Who do I go to if I need help? This isn’t necessarily your manager’s responsibility. We all need help to improve and support. Who is providing this? Where do I go if I need help with something outside of work? What facilities are there for my wellbeing?
What’s my goal? What is it I’m meant to achieve? Is it clear and unambiguous? Is anything stopping me from achieving it? Does it change every few months? Is it achievable? What happens if I exceed it? Most of us need a purpose to strive towards. Does the company have a clear reason for being? Without purpose people perish.
Can your team answer these questions? Can you? Before you start ‘selling’ your business to new candidates, make sure you’re doing everything in your power to keep your best performers. Don’t be fooled into believing people leave for money. People stay despite the financial incentives to move on and the data suggests that 90% of people leave businesses for ‘non-financial’ reasons. Don’t wait until they hand in their notice to find out why. Find out now.
If you’d like to discover Employee Experience Insights for your business get in touch for an exploratory discussion. tonymoyle@in-sell.co.uk