How to make sure your employees don’t have one foot out of the door

A seasoned executive of a global search firm recently shared an insight with me — purpose, leadership, and culture stand as the leading reasons for employees to join, as well as reasons for their long-term associations. Even in the current market environment of the talent war, turnover, and attrition, these surprisingly remain the biggest differentiators for prospective employees, he added. Reflections from a few colleagues who have completed over a decade in our organization validated this insight. My husband has spent more than fifteen years in the same organization, and counting. He brought home a very pertinent point, “It is not about how many years I have served, it is about why I spent a significant portion of my professional life in this organization, and about how I have spent that time”. This topic to me is a dynamic one and under constant study, with no clear conclusions, especially because it changes with business environment and context (industry, country, size of companies, etc.), but perhaps this article could provide some guidance to those navigating through their careers, and for organizations who are struggling to hold onto their talent. 

Passionate leadership: Passion comes from who we are and our empathy for each other as human beings. Great organizations are led by leaders that bring this passion to life. Contrary to popular belief, leadership is not about delivering a certain outcome but about caring for the people who are in turn, caring for an organization’s customers and consumers. This attention, empathy, and care translates to desirable outcomes. Great leaders preach the cause, making employees believe in the impact they are out to make, thereby, giving power to people. Their ability to instill their passion into their employees comes from their genuine intentions and their own feeling of purpose.

The ‘why’ is more important than the ‘what': As Simon Sinek says in his famous “Start with Why”, every organization knows what they do, some even know how they do it but very few understand why they do it. Our own careers work like that, as it is how our brains take in information and process it for us to make decisions. While it is important to know all three, those who understand why they do what they do, are those that stick on. The ability to put the purpose out there and articulate the why, at a very human level, rather than what it does and how it does it, keeps the inspiration alive for employees. They feel this purpose, and want to continue to be a part of it. For organizations, this is a competitive advantage.

‘I am valued’ versus ‘my job is important’: The truth is, it should always be about people, about the individual, and the power to be. One of the common reasons for exits from organizations is how line managers value their people, their personal values and their life journeys, and their empathy towards personal sacrifices. The fact that a significant part of an employee’s life is shaped by the time he/she spends in building careers, while also managing other life events, is one of the key interests. A female colleague appreciated the organization’s unconditional support during her critical life choices, such as, marriage, maternity, and motherhood. Situations like these are a win-win for the employee as well as the company. She was reassured of her value as an individual to the organization, and was given clear growth and development opportunities, hence, was not prompted to look for an outside opportunity. Meanwhile, the organization gained as well by being able to retain a high potential talent, a role model, and an ambassador forever.

As per a survey by Deloitte India, pan India, the average attrition has increased from 15.8 percent in 2020 to 19.7 percent in 2021, with voluntary attrition going up by more than 5 percent between 2020 and 2021. Another survey points out that people are not merely moving on for the sake of making money. Instead, employees are now increasingly re-evaluating their values, interests, and career options in the aftermath of the pandemic. Organisations’ response to COVID-19, flexible working, job security, vision, and growth are a few factors that have influenced employees to look out for change. The only way for an organization to ensure a consistent vision and maintain their output is to understand how to truly drive the purpose. Making employees feel the passion, understand their purpose, and feel valued are some of the key ways to ensure that employees do not have one foot out the door.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views of exchange4media.com