I have been noticing as of late, there is quite a lot of chatter in various networks, forums, groups and blogs on how to retain talent and keep employees. When I reflect and think back to every session, conference, or forum I have attended or participated in; it seems as if we are all seeking some magical mathematical formula to solve this issue and are not applying reality and common sense.
While it’s true that it is in a company’s best interest to have minimal turnover and retain their employees; it is virtually impossible. Does anyone stop and look at one simple element in all this – The Human Element? This is the most complex, hard to figure out element in the entire world. Why you ask, because people are difficult! We have different personalities, different likes, different backgrounds, and different goals and objectives. If you add up and wrap all these differences together; there will never be one set solution on how to retain and keep employees; there will only be the common best practices.
A big factor to keep in mind is that the landscape of Corporate America has changed dramatically over that last few decades. It used to be that there was a positive end in sight for workers - staying with a company, putting in your sweat and blood, dedicating yourself to an entire career and then in the end there was retirement pay and benefits and maybe a few other perks.
Now days, you dedicate yourself to a company and the next day your job is shipped off overseas to cut costs or you are axed because there is a slowdown in work - but funny how the executives seem keep their bonuses and high pay. In my opinion, the work culture is shifting to a “what’s in it for me” mentality. Meaning, employees accept a position – learn, contribute, make money, move up and then move on before they are the ones getting dumped. And why not, what is the incentive to dedicate one’s self to an organization only to be left in the end with nothing? In Corporate America, if your mindset is to retire from a company - the light at the end of your tunnel will be a train.
People leave for all sorts of reasons: bad leadership/management, poor working environment, low pay, commute time/distance, instability, internal/external conflicts, family/personal motivations, etc. At this moment, even the top companies and best places to work are facing losing employees. There was an interesting article on ERE how Google is increasing their employee’s pay scale worldwide in order to try and keep their people content. But, it’s not working as multiple key employees have bolted for other companies such as Facebook. As good as Google may be - working environment, benefits, compensation – they too still have trouble retaining individuals as it’s not a science anymore, it’s just the way it is.
So what can we do moving forward? Continue to do all the things that mainstream research and guidance suggests: create a great corporate culture, promote, empower, pay fair or better than fair, ask for input, implement ideas, reward, communicate, create a team and better yet a family, etc. However, even with all these great things in place; the grass will always seem greener on the other side - so accept it, prepare for it, go with it and don’t leave any regrets on the table as what you could have done better to have kept your employees.
Morgan, very good article. I believe your view depicts the reality of the employment contract today however sad it is. It would be interesting to research retention by industry, company size, private/public sector companies to understand if it is the same across the board. We typically hear about the large, public companies. I really believe that "GREED" is at the root of many of our problems. Boards have incentives for Executives that reward short term results (stock options plans, Performance Bonuses etc.) When the average tenure of a CEO is 2 - 3 years, why would they care about doing the right thing for the long term well being of a company. They merely look at "getting their money and running" and the next executive comes in and does the same thing. Imagine what Families would be like if they were managed the same way. Their wouldn't be a family. I believe that organizations are biological and alot like a family. They are as strong as the parents and in the corporate sense the leaders! One has to care, invest, nurture, educate, train, foster a culture of learning in a safe environment to keep the "institution strong and thriving". Basic and common sense, but common sense isn't too common these days. Very sad for such an educated society.
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