Have you, as a business owner or managing partner, experienced the gut-punching surprise of that talented person leaving unexpectedly?
I was asked to help a large labour-hire company overcome their quality staff turnover problem.
Despite very competitive conditions, the staff turnover was in the order of 30%. Excessive and very expensive. The expense was calculated to be 1.5 times the salary and on-costs of each employee (all university graduates) who left.
I met with 17 regional managers in one state who were experiencing these losses.
I coached them for nearly two hours in having a particular conversation with their people.
I then asked them each to name at least one staff member most at risk of leaving. Seventeen names were submitted.
I asked them to have that conversation with each of those named staff and report back whether they had been retained or not at our next session, eight weeks away.
Fifteen people were turned around and retained, two left. A massive return on investment in a very short time. The fifteen staff who stayed, remained for the next few years, some being promoted.
It is about timely leadership engagement.
Here’s the conversation you need to have.
The conversation consists mainly of you asking seven questions at a sensible frequency.
‘Sensible frequency’ can mean once a fortnight or three weeks or a month, but not once every six months or once a week. You get the picture.
Here are the seven questions which you can adapt to suit your own style and the person you are meeting with:
- How are you?
Firstly, show you care and are interested in their well-being – be genuine. Fakery is easy to spot.
- What have you achieved since we last met?
Look for and acknowledge achievements – it let’s them know they are valued. It also keeps you in the loop as to their progress.
You’ll also gauge their level of enthusiasm and engagement, or any warning signs.
- What’s the plan for the next period?
Again, it’s showing your interest and keeping you in the loop without micro-managing. It’s also giving you an opportunity to gauge if there’s anything amiss. An uncertain answer to this question could mean
-
- They need more guidance
- They are not looking to the future here.
- They have other issues preventing them from focusing on the next period.
- What work issues do you have that need resolving, and what are your suggested solutions?
This encourages them to express any real issues and empowers them to think and then act in remedying the issue.
Of course, it also is an opportunity for you to be informed of how they approach their answer, which could reveal some other concerns.
- What workplace relationship issues do you have, including anything with me, and what are your suggested remedies?
As with question 4 above, this gives them an opportunity to express their truth, and how they see it being resolved if necessary.
It also gives you an opportunity to notice anything else that is either positive or negative.
- What resources do you need for the next period, that you don’t have?
Apart from showing your competence and care as a leader by asking this question, you also ensure that they are properly equipped to succeed in the next period.
It also gives you an opportunity to detect anything either positive or negative, such as heightened or reduced passion and interest and care.
- Is there anything that I can do for you?
This question closes the loop opened in the first question and again demonstrates your care.
True, some people know how to play the game and can aptly deceive you in their answers. Are they really the people you want to keep, even if talented?
You must be genuine in your questioning.
You must listen carefully to their responses.
You must acknowledge that you’ve heard them.
You must be prepared to ask more questions if the situation warrants it.
You must be prepared to answer and help as well, if they seek guidance or you sense they can benefit from your help.
Remember to adapt the questions to suit you and the other person.
Be conversational rather than interrogative.
Practice, practice, practice.
The outcomes will be more than rapidly improved retention.
It will also improve performance and productivity.
It will improve the culture.
It will improve your leadership.
The root cause of staff turnover, as well as staff retention, performance, productivity and culture, boils down to the quality of leadership.
Rapidly improving your leadership will rapidly improve everything else in your business.
If you want a hand, contact me.
