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Opinion: 6 ways to retain employees you can’t live without

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A few years ago, while attempting to express the value one of my clients had for certain employees, his comment really resonated with me: “They’re just those kinds of employees you can’t live without.”

It’s true. High-performing employees are indeed people you wouldn’t want to live without. Such individuals have great worth in organizations because they are dependable, loyal and consistently deliver first-rate work. Undoubtedly, they are rare finds, and managers must do everything sensible to retain them. Sometimes, however, losing a great employee to another company is unavoidable because the career path or the compensation isn’t doable.

In today’s tight labor market, managers are stepping up efforts to retain their talent by increasing career development and benefits and improving boss-employee relationships.

Here are six mistakes to avoid that can drive people away too quickly.

1. Not holding everyone accountable to clear standards. High performers want to be part of an organization whose leaders insist on, reward and expect everyone to fulfill exceptional standards. Your standards must be crystal clear, not open to vague interpretation. Providing exacting, clear standards will appeal to your best performers.

2. Micromanaging performance. To keep high performers engaged, grant them as much work independence as possible. If a top employee feels their work is overmanaged, it will eventually create low morale, disengagement or even resentment. It’s wise to grant autonomy to your best people because it galvanizes their commitment.

3. Mismanaging underperformers. In my experience, more than 50% of employees believe that management handles poor performance ineffectively. Even though a leader might recognize the dangers of accommodating or mismanaging lagging performance, it doesn’t mean they will handle it effectively or promptly. Without decisive action or putting in place the essential consequences for substandard work, more problems surface, and dissatisfaction intensifies among the ranks. Top employees must know they can trust management to hold everyone equally accountable and, when necessary, make a change for the good.

4. Tolerating problematic employee attitudes. A difficult employee may perform fine, but their mindset can stir up conflict in the organization. One manager I coached had a top salesperson with the worst attitude on the salesforce. After months of allowing the salesperson’s negative attitude to affect others because he didn’t want to lose the results, he dealt with the issue by firing the individual. Everything worked out fine, and sales increased.

5. Lack of encouraging feedback. Most companies have a file for employee write-ups, where they retain violations of policy or procedures. What’s interesting to me, and unfortunate, is that few leaders keep a file for employee praises to include notable efforts or achievements. I believe too many managers are quick to criticize but slow to praise and express gratitude. To sustain exceptional performance on your team, balance your feedback and correct insufficient work results, but also encourage individuals with well-deserved praise and appreciation.

6. Clogged communications. When a client had a costly problem losing talented technical professionals and wanted to stop the turnover, I interviewed employees. I learned the main problem was clogged communications regarding organizational direction and goals. The employees told me they were “investing their careers here and wanted to be informed” but were in the dark regarding company plans. But the president considered this information privileged, and he didn’t trust them enough to clue them in on the future. Without a strong sense of belonging, the employees didn’t feel valued. Even when he gave out thousands of dollars in extra bonuses, the turnover continued. It’s essential to have open communications about the goals and direction of your company.

As managers, we must constantly evaluate our preferred employer status with people, gaining insights into what they value while avoiding what drives them away.

Consultant, professional speaker and author Mark Holmes is president of Consultant Board Inc. and MarkHolmesGroup.com. He can be reached at mark@markholmesgroup.com.

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