When survey after survey indicates that employee satisfaction is at an all-time low, then it is clear we as business leaders have a problem. When people feel stifled, uninspired, without a path to grow and succeed, this breeds dissatisfaction and creates a toxic atmosphere and attrition
That’s why we have to build our organizations smartly to inspire loyalty and ensure resilience.
The starting point is to get to know our own people and to see them as individuals. We can’t expect people to conform to a single template. It’s been tried time and again, and it has not worked.
While we cannot fully customize things all the time, we have to recognize that people have different aspirations, pursuits and points of view. Spending time with your team members beyond the confines of their daily tasks, even if it’s just for five or 10 minutes before or after a meeting, for instance, is an investment in them. Creating open channels of communication with your people will establish trust and insight.
Many companies do performance reviews on a yearly basis, but that’s not enough; in fact, it is quite harmful. It is more effective to be part of the journey with your employees. Both parties should clearly define expectations – what you expect from your team, and what team members can expect from you to help them grow.
Obviously, we need to be realistic: Organizations don’t have endless resources, and it can be hard to accommodate all the distinctive things that people will want. This requires transparency on your part. If as a leader, there is fear of losing employees by being honest and transparent with them, and instead information is withheld from them, then you’re creating a huge problem for yourself, thus, they will leave regardless. You need to build trust into your organization and rally your people behind you to weather tough times and share in the good times.
Another key to building a resilient organization is to encourage team members to learn about the work their colleagues are doing. Not only does this cross-pollinate across distinct functions, but then your people can step in to help in times of crisis because they’ve developed other skills.
Team building must be done effectively. If you can perform a function with one person, don’t go out and hire two people to perform that function, because that second person will be cut loose when the belt-tightening comes. That second salary could be reinvested in training or team-building activities, which I passionately believe in. It can be streamed into something that can benefit all employees. This builds morale and loyalty and encourages employees to go the extra mile because they will feel valued by the company.
Now, there will be times, even in an organization that fosters professional development, when an employee will seek a different path elsewhere. We should see that as a positive, not a negative. It shows that you, as a leader, have instilled ambition into your employee. I’d even encourage you to help that person find another position if you can. If they’re discontented, that negativity can infect the team environment and undermine your organization’s resilience.
It’s tough to carry out these goals in a vacuum: Chances of success are higher if other departments and senior management are on board. You don’t want a situation where your employees think you have their back but that senior executives don’t care or do not know your methodology
Build a partnership with the human resources team to work within the bounds of what you can realistically accomplish. Encourage open channels of communication with your own boss to strengthen your organization and do your due diligence of keeping your goals aligned with those of your boss as well.
Organizations where I’ve seen high employee retention encourage people to express themselves all the way up the hierarchy.
Lastly, there is a generational divide at play here. Older generations are more reticent about speaking their minds. Younger people have no such inhibitions. If they do not like something, they’ll leave. When people sense that their bosses have their backs, then that’s a major inducement to stay and it exemplifies good leadership overall.