Simple tenets of employee retention

High-performing staff are 400% to 800% more productive than employees who hover around the average. Even if McKinsey is only half-right about that, there’s no question that harnessing the power of top talent depends on keeping them motivated lest they take their talents elsewhere. Millennials swap jobs at a rate that makes some Baby Boomers tut‑tut: 38% plan to switch roles in the next two years.

Allow us to briefly review some fundamental wisdom when it comes to keeping good people on board.

The common management pitfall

Brigette Hyacinth has garnered over forty-six thousand likes for writing ‘People don’t quit jobs; they quit their bosses’. ‘Micromanagement is a complete waste of everybody’s time,’ she laments. ‘It sucks the life out of employees, fosters anxiety and creates a high stress work environment.’

Micromanaging your workers reduces their creativity and makes them less engaged. It’s an obvious platform for spurring people to look elsewhere. Leadership coach Kristi Hedges helps hopeless helicopter bosses change their management style by focusing on staff outcomes rather than their processes. Trust their judgement, she insists, and let them be accountable for their own mistakes as well as successes.

Keeping talent loyal and happy

What is just good basic management to some is ripe ground for improvement on the part of others. Scott Stiner outlines a few tenets of retaining employees through communication, training and value for Forbes. If these seem novel to you as an owner or manager, may we humbly suggest you think on them carefully:

• Communication: make sure there is open communication throughout the company, regardless of seniority. There should be an easy and judgement-free way for staff of all levels to talk to management. Quarterly progress reviews can improve communication and show staff that their work is valued.
• Training: a combination of mentorship, skill development and access to training courses means staff can invest in themselves while burnishing their value to the business.
• Value: good staff cost money. Make sure to at least match competitor salaries. Don’t underestimate the drawing power of holidays and performance-based bonuses.

On top of a fair salary and good training, talented employees usually want to work for an organisation that acknowledges their ideals or passions. As the CEO of customer-service-centric Metro Bank, Craig Donaldson has something to say about fit. ‘From the outset,’ he tells the Telegraph, ‘hire people who align to your organisation’s culture, then train them to build on the skills they need to succeed in their role.’ Metro Bank finds people who are temperamentally fit for good customer service day in and day out and then trains them to do the job better.

It seems a lot more sensible than shoehorning someone in, however talented. A productive but miserable workforce is an ethically questionable way to go.