With the current rate of unemployed people in the United States sitting at 3.9 percent (as of July 2018) and some industries even lower, leaders must heed this warning: Competitors and “head hunters” want your people.
Your people are in demand because, with such a low rate of unemployment, not enough quality people are readily available.
How do you keep your people from leaving your company? You can’t. If they want to leave, they will leave.
However, you can seek out all possible reasons your employees may want to leave and address those reasons.
Leadership Tip
First identify and then renovate and repair your organization’s shortcomings to achieve full employee engagement.
Here are three common areas to look for shortcomings plus suggestions that will strengthen employee engagement.
- Communication: Ensure the organization’s communication is effective. Provide continual feedback and eliminate surprises, conflict, gossip, and the rumor mill. Share information. Be upbeat, helpful, encouraging, and supportive. Listen.
- Fairness: Ensure decisions and treatment of your employees are consistent and fair. Provide competitive compensation levels and put a process in place for professional development and advancement.
- Promise of Future Success: Have a plan for the company’s future that makes sense. Ensure employees know what it is and how they can contribute to it. Make it exciting enough for them to want to be part of it.
In addition, ask these questions about your own involvement:
- Am I eliminating or causing stress?
- Have I created an environment that is fun, energizing, and empowering?
- Do I demonstrate that I respect, appreciate, and care about everyone I work with?
If your goal is to never lose a good employee to a competitor, then take action to make sure that won’t happen, knowing there aren’t many good ones out there. Let me know if you need help.
