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Nearly two years into the global pandemic, many things seem unstable; entire markets, industries, companies, and individual jobs have all been impacted, often adversely, by upheaval from health precautions, changing consumer trends, and general economic meltdowns. As a result, it may not seem like a great time to leave a stable, decently-paying job–and yet, that’s what millions of employees are doing world-wide. Termed the “Great Resignation,” or sometimes the “Big Quit,” this increasingly weird version of the timeline involves millions of people quitting their jobs en masse, often without clear prospects lined up to replace the erstwhile employment.
If you’re one of the employees quitting with the hopes of heading to greener pastures, this period represents a mix of uncertainty and possibility. (We’ll discuss that in a different blog!) However, if you’re an employer suddenly faced with record numbers of vacancies, then the Big Quit is also a big problem. Recruiting correctly-skilled new candidates is costly and time-consuming, not to mention the potential adverse impacts on productivity and workflow when the deck remains unmanned for long periods of time. This all leaves companies with two choices: Either they accept (and expect) that employees are going to up and leave for potentially better offers, and eat the associated costs–or, they up their game to retain valuable employees with incentives, better workplace culture, and stronger management. Really, there is no choice. So, how can employers keep top talent from becoming “flight risks”? We’ve compiled a few best practices to keep those MVP’s from leaving for greener fields, or worse yet, being poached by the competition. 1. Invest in Your Team According to a study from 2019–before the Great Resignation began–a whopping 94% of employees said they would stay at a company longer for one simple reason: If it helped to train them. Conversely, one of the main reasons employees leave companies is a feeling of stagnation, or that there is no further growth to be experienced. A good manager can fight that inertia by upskilling employees: providing meaningful opportunities for learning new skills or technologies, training team members to take on new and greater responsibilities, and raising the ceiling of career progress for all employees involved. Note that, besides avoiding employee flight, investing in your employees has an upside for companies: By reflecting on what skills are necessary for business optimization and then cultivating them within an existing workforce, companies can ensure that they have a steady supply of people with the skills they need for business success, all while keeping employees engaged, challenged, and fulfilled. 2. Remain Flexible During the pandemic, workers have become used to working arrangements that may not even have been on the table two years ago. Full-time remote work, hybrid work situations, and non-traditional work hours have become staples of work–and while some company execs may bemoan a loss of a certain corporate culture, a lot of employees no longer consider it a reasonable requirement that they show up at the office from 9-5. Particularly given changes individuals might be experiencing in familial responsibilities as a result of the pandemic (kids at home more, concern about exposing vulnerable relatives, etc.), it makes sense for employers to be flexible about working arrangements. And in fact, that’s exactly what employees want. According to a recent PWC survey, a desire to find a more flexible work situation is one of the top four reasons that employees are resigning. It seems likely that flexible work arrangements will be one of those trends that remains long after the pandemic has wound down–even if everyone isn’t taking off to work in exotic locales for twelve weeks at a time anymore. 3. Offer Appreciation and Support A series of studies by behavioral economist Dan Arieli demonstrated that there are significant motivating factors other than salary that matter to employees. These include feeling that their work is meaningful, that it helps others, that someone will look at it, that it is appreciated, and the experience of receiving positive reinforcement for it. A good manager lets employees know when they’ve done a great job, emphasizes that their work is valued and important, and offers feedback that is constructive and warm-hearted, even when delivering criticism. When employees feel that their contributions are noticed and appreciated, they are far more likely to remain engaged–and to stay put. 4. Prioritize Diversity, Inclusivity, and Equity A 2019 study of workplace discrimination found that Black employees experienced a 60% higher rate of discrimination than White employees, and women reported 53% higher rates of discrimination than men. Older workers, too, experienced discriminatory treatment. This discrimination encompassed all types of mistreatment including threats, harassment, bullying, ostracization, aggression, unwanted attention, and hindrances to hiring, promotion, and advancement. It goes without saying that these experiences would drive employees away from a company. Bosses who truly prioritize inclusivity and diversity among their workforce don’t just “talk the talk.” Not only do they have a zero-tolerance policy for discriminatory behavior in their place of work, they also take active steps to recruit a diverse workforce, to seek out the input and opinion of minority employees, and to help to promote success and advancement for these individuals. They understand that supporting diversity, inclusivity, and inclusion is not just ethical–it is also conducive to a productive workplace that benefits from diverse insights and perspectives. 5. Support Healthy Work-Life Balance Popular media extols the image of the “go-getter,” who comes in early, stays late, and works on weekends in a display of unparalleled commitment and drive to succeed at the job. But the reality is that, for the most part, skilled employees will be turned off by a workplace where this is the expectation, or the norm. In part due to the challenges of the pandemic, employees are looking for a workplace that is flexible and supportive of personal time. Businesses looking to promote this type of healthy mentality can focus more on productivity than hours when evaluating employees; they can also offer more vacation, shorter hours, breaks within the day, flexible schedules, support for parents, and healthy perks–subsidized gym memberships, yoga classes, therapy, and healthy food. The Bottom Line In this time of rapid and constant turnover, it’s important for company heads to remember that their employees are people, too–and to ask themselves some serious but important questions about whether they are creating an environment in which people will want to stay put. Ideally, they can create a company culture in which employees are inspired, happy, and productive, and incentivized to grow along with the business.
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It’s a new year, and companies are resolutely focused on how to best position themselves and their employees to do great work despite the on-going complications caused by the pandemic. With increased automation and digitization across all industries, as well as an unprecedented nationwide labor shortage (leaving companies stuck with vacancies in important positions for lengthy periods of time), HR personnel and executives are coming to two important realizations: (1) Their employees need to gain a lot of new skills, quickly, or else they’ll lose productivity; and (2) It’s often more expedient and cost-effective to develop these new skills in-house.
But how do companies implement learning and development initiatives within their own workforce in an engaging and productive manner? And, what skills or learnings should these efforts focus on, both for new management development, and to set all employees up for success? Soft Skills for Success While company heads might automatically assume that new technical skills are the bread and butter of a well-developed workforce, these aren’t the only important tools worthy of training and development initiatives within companies. Soft skills – interpersonal or “people skills” that are difficult to quantify or measure, but nonetheless serve as the sinews of workplace function–are in demand across every industry. Thus it behooves HR and senior executives to consider implementing management trainings that emphasize these skills. Here are some of the most important and broadly applicable “soft” competencies that savvy company heads will be looking to develop in new managers, and by extension, their teams, in 2022: 1. Clear and precise communication Great communicators are able to convey information in a way that is straightforward, unconfusing, informative, calm, and on-topic. In the “before times,” this might have been specific to phone conversations and face-to-face discussions, but now, strong communication includes the ability to convey information over video-conferencing platforms such as Zoom (nerve-wracking for some), and digital “chat” platforms such as those provided by Skype or Teams. It also includes the ability to write polite and clear emails, company memos, and other documents. Importantly, being a great communicator means being available. That doesn’t necessarily require checking email on nights and weekends. But with the increased adoption of different communication platforms (most of which are accessible via personal smartphones) and more people working off-site and remotely, for better or worse, there is now an expectation of hastened response times. Strong technical managers are able to be responsive when needed. 2. Interpersonal skills Being a great manager involves a certain amount of grace with people, which can be hard to teach and even harder to learn. When managing a team, having good interpersonal skills means exuding a certain amount of warmth and friendliness, while also conveying a firm, business-like approach. It means having self-awareness, awareness of one’s audience, and knowing how to work a room. Moreover, knowing the people on a team can be an important component of interpersonal skills. Being aware of personal events outside of work (such as births or deaths in families), professional or academic accomplishments, and other goings-on can endear a manager to his or her team by supporting a personalized and empathetic approach to leadership. 3. Conflict resolution Unfortunately, there are conflicts in any place where disparate personalities, skill sets, and outlooks collide. A good manager is adept at managing these conflicts in a way that is fair, practical, and avoids further wasting time. When mediating a workplace dispute, a good manager will allow each aggrieved party to say their piece, and listen to each quietly and without bias so as to evaluate the merit of each party’s claim. Discretion is also important–no need to involve other people, or distract everyone from important tasks. Occasionally, such conflicts may require involvement of a legal team or HR, and in those cases, a good manager knows how and when to engage the relevant authorities. 4. Ability to motivate Let’s face it – sometimes it’s hard to stay motivated. A great manager knows how to engage team members so that they feel included in the process and invested in delivering premium goods (whatever these goods may be.) Involving team members, trusting them, and inspiring them to do their best work are all important aspects of motivation. Team members need to have a safe space for exploration, ideas, and making (some) mistakes that are important to the learning process. On the flip side, a good manager shows appreciation by celebrating individual and team successes, and rewarding or incentivizing participants in whatever ways they find meaningful (money, certificates of achievement, stock options, company-wide paintball adventures, gift cards to the Olive Garden, etc.) To that end – a good manager also has a healthy respect for work-life balance. A well-rested and relaxed employee is far more motivated than a harried, strained one, and more likely to stay rather than leaving for greener pastures. 5. Diversity and inclusion Diversity and inclusion aren’t just buzzwords. From a legal perspective, it’s obviously imperative that companies work to create opportunities and good working environments for individuals from under-represented backgrounds. But beyond mere rote compliance issues, the experiences, abilities, and perspectives that are brought to the table by a diverse pool of employees are important for thinking through challenging problems and coming up with novel ideas. A great manager doesn’t only personally embrace team members from many different backgrounds–though obviously, that is important. He or she also creates a working environment where these employees feel welcomed, included, and valued as members of the team. As a side, a truly excellent team manager knows that it’s important to have people with a variety of strengths, abilities, and backgrounds–and takes this into account when developing a diverse team. How We Can Help At Girard Training Solutions, we take the guesswork out of creating great managers, particularly for technical teams. We offer a variety of programs to upskill team members in everything from hiring, to facilitation (for occasional trainers), to managing technical teams and projects, to time management. We also offer Everything DiSC(™) Management and Everything DiSC(™) Workplace trainings; these innovative programs that help new technical managers to improve their management styles so as to facilitate effective teamwork and produce positive relationships at work, respectively. And, if none of our workshops deliver the exact training for your organizational needs, we also offer bespoke management trainings and facilitation for topics of your choice. We provide a number of ways to train high-performing technical team managers, to upskill them in meaningful ways so as to support great work experiences for everyone involved. Get in touch to learn more about how we can help transform your workplace, one manager at a time. |
AuthorThe Girard Training Solutions team includes experts in Learning and Development, Management Development, Facilitation, Learning Experience Design, Project Management, and Graphic Design. Archives
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