It's Time to Wean Ourselves off of the Retention Paradigm
Most organizations measure tenure as if longer always equals better. Yet many decades of research have proven that the single best way to attract and keep the talent is to ensure their engagement. Gaining emotional connection to the organization, and an attitude of “going the extra mile” yields far greater and sustainable impact for a healthy and productive climate than “buying” someone to stay with an extra bonus, title, perk or benefit. “Carrot” style motivators are excellent short-term bandaids, and they are certainly far easier to implement - but this fix will not address employees’ emotional connection to their organizations, leaders and co-workers. In fact, bandaid solutions may even mask underlying cultural issues long enough to make transformation towards a healthier work environment even more difficult than it already is. The bottom line: efforts on short-term retention fixes won’t address root engagement issues if people don’t feel heard, paid attention to, developed, appreciated, and valued. These are not just “nice” to have, they are the drivers of agility and high performance - what we know all too well that organizations desperately need today and in the future.
We all know companies that pay staff well above market yet have the same engagement profile as those that pay at market. Similarly, we know organizations that cannot afford to pay at market, yet have off-the-charts passionately engaged employees. So, it has to be said: retention is no longer the optimal metric. Isn’t it time to shift from too much focus on how to keep people from leaving, and pivot to more focus on creating the conditions where they want to stay because they feel valued, are learning and growing, and are experiencing an authentic connection to what they do and who they do it with?
Before we move on, here’s some guidance when it really is “about the money”:
For individuals: as a manager, clearly you can buy a little time with an increase, but a higher bidder will come along soon enough – especially in today’s aggressive talent market. My advice, wish them well.
For organizations: if you’re below the market, it really may be about “the money” for some. As many amazing non-profits find themselves, do what you can, if you can, but focus on investing in staff learning and development, and creating excellence in your work environment where collaboration and agility reign, and where staff feel heard and valued. This achieves heightened engagement for the duration they are with you – without the pressure and worry about keeping them “forever”.
The Pitfalls of Popular Retention Initiatives
The retention paradigm can generate initiatives which yield modest, temporary impact. While well-intentioned, such initiatives typically focus on a few “key” folks, and cause the organization’s managers to waste precious energy and momentum better deployed to broader-reach engagement initiatives and creating a desirable work culture for everyone.
Here are a couple of examples of popular retention initiatives which I’d advise you to think carefully about prior to implementation:
Stay interviews - there’s a lot of hype about these, a concept that has existed for some time, designed not to “wait” until the exit interview to let someone know how valuable they are, rather to ask what motivates and keeps them proactively, unrelated to thinking about leaving. A useful concept at times, but not in our current heightened turnover frenzy. It’s no wonder there seems to be more talk about these than any data about organizations implementing them, and we recognize they often occur when it is in fact already too late.
Managers can easily become paralyzed by the fear that employees will raise a “want” they cannot provide (back to salary increase, title etc.) The truth that we already know from engagement research is people want to learn and grow, and want to feel that their manager is invested in their growth and development - the role of the direct manager cannot be overstated. This can be provided in a variety of ways such as exposure, being invited to join or present in a meeting, being part of a strategic task force, getting an opportunity to learn a skill – all these strategies are typically well within a manager’s sphere of influence! These types of motivators can and should be discussed, offered and implemented without the need for a formal ‘stay interview’, but as part of regular 1-on-1s between engagement-minded managers and their team members.
If implementing stay interviews is something you are considering for 2022, here are a few watch-outs:
Do not make it a stand alone initiative. Rather, bake in excellent questions (I like Blanchard’s 5 ) to robust 1:1s, check-ins, and career conversations. It’s about continuous engagement, not a 1-and-done initiative
Anticipate manager anxiety with robust preparation for these discussions, otherwise the conversation will not be optimal, if it really takes place at all
Don’t forget to include your significantly large and vital group of “B” players, they may not be your stars, but they are the backbone of your company. Chances are you already spend management attention on your key talent – that is essential, but these are not times to be exclusive – disregard this critical group of your “best supporting actors” at your peril. As thoughtful HBR authors wrote many years ago, “companies are routinely blinded to the important role that B players serve in saving organizations from themselves.” This is just as, if not more so, relevant today.
Risk of Flight Analysis – I am not a big fan of this retention-driven activity which attempts to predict turnover risk by individual. Even with a statistical model, this essentially takes management’s guesses about which people may leave to generate actions to reduce that anticipated likely future outcome.
The actions are usually focused on small numbers of “key” or “top” talent, however the organization defines this. Your top talent should obviously already receive and experience disproportionate attention. Therefore, this analysis adds little value for alot of management effort. If you’re planning this exercise, be inclusive, and look at your large group of unsung, committed “B” contributors.
As a closed door management exercise that does not engage directly with employees, this exercise does not involve or demonstrate to staff you are paying attention to them
Even if guesses are correct, management is typically only able to read the “signals” because, unfortunately, it’s too late (that’s why there are signs!)
Ultimately, while this exercise sounds ideal, it does not rise to the level of impact worth spending management energy on, and it specifically maintains a retention mindset for a few vs. cultivating engagement and a desired culture for all.
So where to start when thinking about employee engagement?
Some of my no-fail favorites are to focus on helping leaders:
measure engagement by listening to employee voice via survey or other means and apply actionable insights
develop managers: they account for 70% of the engagement variance between teams
recognize and value staff regularly
build trust and safety in speaking up
invest in learning and development as currency
some great engagement resources and tools to get started are here, here or here
Retention becomes the earned outcome - it is the reward, not the goal.
Engagement is hard, takes time and investment to implement the right strategies. Sorry, no easy fix or magic. However, once it starts to take root, the ROI will be impressive- your organization becomes a better place to work because employees are thriving and bringing their best and most productive selves to drive success.
The engagement data pie chart says it best: half your workforce is neither fully engaged or fully disengaged - meaning their hearts and minds are up for grabs - where broadly distributed attention can significantly heighten impact. As a manager, what will you choose?
Instead of trying to stop them from going, build a place they won’t want to leave.
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Organizational Effectiveness Expert
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