Tuesday, January 1, 2008

True Retention

This is an article that is being published in a journal called "HR Views." I thought for those interested in improving their retention at work this article would be helpful.

Over the years I have attended several training sessions, read books and listened to what others are doing to help in their retention efforts. I have heard all sorts of creative approaches such as higher salaries, morale dollars, “culture cops,” short term incentives, free popcorn and bus passes. I don’t have all the answers but I am certain these types of things are not what make me work, management work or any other normal person.

I propose if we think about what really makes us tick we will be able to find the retention plans that would retain us and therefore help in retaining others as well. Walter Lippmann stated the power of introspection best when he said, “We forge gradually our greatest instrument for understanding the world—introspection. We discover that humanity may resemble us very considerably—that the best way of knowing the inwardness of our neighbors is to know ourselves.”

So, what is it that makes me tick and that I suspect makes others tick as well: rewarding and fulfilling work, growth, freedom, recognition, relationships, and an environment of mutual respect. What is it I need to make these things work for me? Essentially, I need to have my basic needs satisfied through a competitive compensation package that represents my skill set in the market and company and relative security.

Let’s take each one of those points and determine how to build a truly rewarding place to work that can therefore, with ease, retain its employees.

Rewarding and Fulfilling Work & Growth

Work is not just the task (i.e., stuffing tacos, counting numbers, assembling things, etc.), but it is also the non-task related functions such as working with a good team, making intellectual contributions and other things such as this. For the sake of this section on work, I am referring to the task part of work. So, what is it that makes “work” meaningful and fulfilling? In my opinion, there are two things: the satisfaction and pride we take in and derive from our work, and the personal growth the work provides us.

People who are driven by a personal sense of excellence and quality are more likely to find their work rewarding because they have a feeling of satisfaction within themselves about their work product. Regardless of the task, someone who strives to do it well finds a level of fulfillment in it when it is completed. People who don’t have this, I argue, are going to be very difficult to retain – regardless of the free popcorn and bus passes. Furthermore, if they don’t have a personal sense of quality in their work, these aren’t the kinds of people you generally want in your organization anyway.

Finally, the work we do is often most rewarding when it is challenging to us and provides growth opportunities – for the sake of challenge and growth – not just titles. The titles and hierarchy will come naturally in an environment of respect to someone who is climbing the ladder of personal growth and development for mostly intrinsic reasons. When HR has not provided clear guidance on growth and career paths they have failed at one of their most important functions. The best and the brightest can add extremely high levels of value but if they cannot do what they know they can and go where they need to go, they will soon grow dissatisfied and will most likely look for a more promising opportunity elsewhere. The ladder when placed against the wall of hierarchy is sufficient to retain someone only inasmuch as the company can offer those titles. Rewarding and fulfilling work is a function of the person and the company they work for. A company should seek to find ways for employees to find pride and personal growth in their work.

Jean de La Fontaine said, “By the work, one knows the workman.” If the workman is truly engaged in his work, the product will show it. Finding ways to help this to happen is not only integral in retention, it is integral to the very purpose our organizations exist.

Freedom

There is something so natural about the desire to choose one’s own course I would suggest it is found in nearly every child of all cultures. It is only after culture and education have their effect on the growing mind that we learn to leave that love of freedom behind.

People can act in only varying degrees of freedom. Some people, when given too much freedom, fail miserably with that accountability to self only. Others succeed best when given the freedom to direct their own work and paths. Regardless of who we are or where we fall on the spectrum, there is a balance within us of how much autonomy and freedom we need vs. how much direction and guidance we need. Freedom is relative to the individual and therefore you must have a management team which is aware of the need to be flexible and has the skill set to be flexible in their level of oversight.

RenĂ© Descartes stated, “I think, therefore I am.” The ability to think for ones self – to choose and to act – is the fundamental of existence. When a company seeks to control its staff excessively, the quality of work declines and turnover rates rise as workers become increasingly dissatisfied. True individuals will leave while less-inspired workers remain. Give all employees the level of freedom they are comfortable abiding by with the full expectation to give more and more freedom as they perform in line with the trust given them.

Recognition

Recognition is an end result of a company that truly respects and therefore appreciates its employees. All of us need to hear from time to time statements that validate our already formed opinions about our work. Such statements come in several forms such as: (a) words including compliments and public recognition for contributions. Give credit where credit is due – always, (b) some type of profit sharing. Success is not the result of a senior management team. It is also not the result of the workers. It is the result of all employees working together for the success of the idea, plan, model & product. All have worked together and deserve the recognition, (c) promotions, (d) growth opportunities, and (d) a fair and equitable compensation package.

A culture of recognition is a culture which will provide fertile ground for continued motivation and retention.

Relationships

The Smiths wrote a song with lyrics that really illustrate this point well. The song was “I’m Miserable Now.” The lyrics go like this: “I was looking for a job, and then I found a job and heaven knows I'm miserable now. In my life why do I give valuable time to people who don't care if I live or die?”

Wow, how is that for a statement on work? If we work with people and we feel they don’t care whether we live or die of course we would be miserable. However, people do care. By our very nature we care – we are people first and employees second. When I think about what it is that makes work rewarding for me, I must honestly say one of the key factors is the positive relationships I have with many of my co-workers. Companies should not discourage people from talking, going out to lunch, or spending time in someone’s office just shooting the breeze. These seemingly unproductive moments are much more important to an organization than most would think and will be a type of glue which will hold your employees together and to the company. Who wants to leave friends? Who wants to bail on a team that really cares about them as a person? Who wants to ditch their friends and leave them in a bind? A friend wouldn’t. Foster friendships and don’t discourage them.

An Environment of Mutual Respect

Essentially everything I have mentioned in this paper comes to respect. My favorite definition of respect comes from Kant, “So act as to treat humanity, whether in thine own person or in that of any other, in every case as an end withal, never as a means only.” We should not treat people as a means to an end – but rather an end unto themselves. They have come to work for ABC, Inc. to not only add those skills which do have value but also those things which are uniquely theirs – their mind, their heart and their talents.

In addition to what I have already covered, respect also includes having a culture of accountability. It is disrespectful to punish one employee and then do nothing to another employee committing the same offense simply because “we can’t afford to lose him.” Rather, the attitude should be “we can’t afford to compromise everyone else by neglecting our value of respect.” Failing to discipline staff, not letting people go or failing to find better suited positions for individuals shows a lack of respect to them as well as others within the organization.

Your key people usually are motivated by real things of substance – things I have already mentioned. All of the normal retention tactics – long term “incentives,” short term “incentives,” recognition and rewards, bonuses, heck even pet insurance – all are generally used to get people to do something. However, these tools of motivation don’t work at unlocking potential and they don’t help at retaining your top performers. These “incentives” take the approach that people – including your top performers - are motivated extrinsically - by money. “Golden handcuffs” however resemble a tool of the jailer more than they do a key to unlock potential. Carrots and gold stars are fundamentally disrespectful – the same tools can be used however with different motives to truly honor and respect employees. The fundamental problem with typical retention and recognition programs is they use people as a means to an end rather than recognize the truly human in each of them.

When we treat people with true respect, this is motivation enough by stirring within them all that is fine and good – such treatment will really unlock their full potential.

Conclusion

Retention begins long before an employee is dissatisfied. It begins with knowing what it is that makes people tick and then having the people in place who are able to make those things happen. A management team that believes employees are extrinsically motivated and “FTEs” rather than people will never be able to create the environment that is central to not only retention but to becoming a truly innovative and successful company.

Retention also begins before you hire people – you have to seek people who are truly intrinsically motivated by the work and are properly placed in the right job with the right type of manager. They also must be in tune with the emotions of others and able to respect themselves and others. Retention is about the people.

A company that is attuned to the needs of their employees and is there to support them will succeed. Such a management team that allows its people to find rewarding and fulfilling work, have the freedom to choose and grow, be recognized for their contributions, find growth opportunities, make positive relationships and work in an environment of mutual respect will truly be serving the shareholders, owners and the staff and will have the greatest chance of success and longevity. In my opinion, surely this is the key for a company to turn from good to something special and great.

Competitors can easily copy your compensation system, they can copy your benefits package, they can copy your rewards and recognition program – but they can’t just copy and paste your culture of respect. Respect - this is the key to retention.

Resenting My Job Title...

Several years ago my mentor and friend Pat Freston told me, "Never worry about the title." I have often taken that advice to heart but I am not resenting my level of title, but the very nature of my title which contains the words "Human Resources." Those of you who know me probably understand my deep love for humanity and the inherent value and rights contained in each and every one of us. For this reason, I resent that title: Human Resources. It implies that people are some kind of resource for a business to use such a natural resource, tool or piece of equipment. Some companies and even people within my profession have the audacity to call it "Human Capital Management."

Mankind is not a resource for someone else's gain and an employer should never look at the people that have chosen to work for them as such. We should be looked at as fellow humans, brothers and sisters in the human race with Divine parentage. Too many employers look at their people as just another resource they purchase and attempt to do so at the lowest possible cost - just the same as they would any other "resource" such as a part, computer chip, software code, metal, plastic, fabric or dirt. I refuse to agree with that mentality however and consider it base and inhumane.

When viewing the people that have chosen to work with you it is critical to remember that the way we view each other will determine how we treat each other. When we view one another as brothers and sisters we will be likely to treat them as much more than "human resources."

Don't get me wrong, I love my job and have a passion for what I do - but it is because I don't view my job as Human Resources - I view it as "Resources for Humans and Humanity." God be thanked for the individual dignity and unalienable rights he gave us as His children.