I’m Bob Wendover. I have a tendency to complicate things. So much so that I have a coffee mug on my desk that reads, “Hang On: Let me overthink this.” This was brought home to me a couple of days ago while explaining the hidden costs of employee turnover. I was in the middle of a big, long explanation and the other person finally put their hand up. I stopped and they said simply, “So if you don’t retain, you go down the drain.” That’s the point of this post.
The past couple of years has seen tremendous upheaval in the labor market. In 2021, we were all fretting over the “great resignation.” There were stories of people making a few phone calls and moving to a new position with a $10,000 increase. While those stories were actually few and far between, it scared the crap out of a lot of employers. Two years later, however, restless employees are discovering that the tables are turning and employers are now adjusting their headcounts, in some cases by sizable percentages.
But my colleague’s simple observation holds true regardless of any labor market conditions. If you don’t retain, you go down the drain. Good economy or bad, turnover is a bottom-line issue. In other words, if the person hadn’t departed, the money you spent to replace them would have been added to profits. For one person, that may not seem like a lot. But how about for 10 or 50 or 100?
I’ve been helping employers recruit and retain employees in a range of industries for more than 30 years. If there is one shift I have seen that is more profound than any other in retaining good employees, it is the transition in beliefs about how people view the role of work in their lives. I spent the 1990’s and the early 2000’s teaching employers that older generations lived to work and younger generations worked to live. This is no longer true. EVERYONE is working to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. But their job role is no longer how they primarily view their identity.
In short, every employed person, regardless of position, views their job as a contract. The only exception to this might be business owners. But even there, there is some debate. So how does this change the retention equation in 2024 and forward? Here are two critical factors, of seven, I have identified. (If you would like the rest, send me an email and I’ll send you the paper.)
First, there is demonstrated trust. I say “demonstrated” because simply saying, “I trust you to do the right thing,” is not something many people believe any more. They’ve seen too many examples of the opposite. In a simple statement, actions speak louder than words, not just for the person or people involved, but everyone made aware of how you handled the situation or incident. An awful lot of the time, having someone’s back, eating your own words, or arguing on behalf of a subordinate’s actions involves a modicum of reputational risk. But, if I can be so bold, that’s part of a boss’ job. There is an element of truth behind the saying that people go to work for companies, but leave managers. Dodging these risks is a primary cause of turnover.
Then there’s empathy. Thirty, twenty, even ten years ago, if you didn’t like your job, your boss, or the people around you, you learned to “buck up.” You may have complained to associates, friends and family, but most people endured the discomfort, at least for longer than they thought they would. But the proliferation of digital technology and social media has made everyone aware that poor managers seem to outnumber good managers by a factor of five. At least that has become the general perception. When Pew Research reports that 75% of people are unhappy in their jobs, this emboldens everyone to take comfort that it’s not just them. But it also engenders a sense of restlessness. Add to this the impact of the great resignation, quiet quitting, and a bunch of other euphemisms for being restless and dissatisfied and we have a recipe for people thinking that they should be in job search mode 24/7/365 regardless of their present position.
Three years into this post-pandemic upheaval, it has become abundantly clear that the need to attend to employees about their personal concerns is not going to go away. This can be everything from a need to work from home because of daycare issues to the desire to bring the dog to work. In truth, many of the workplace’s traditional conventions and parameters are no longer viewed as relevant. While some of this angst will subside as managers learn to deal with it, a part of supervising people will continue to be about helping them balance work and personal responsibilities.
The solution to all this? Clear and consistent and reasonable parameters adjudicated at the managerial level. While corporate policies certainly have their place, rules about dogs, hours, location, personal work routines and other accommodations are best dealt with at the team and supervisory level. Rules from above, by their very nature, appear arbitrary a good portion of the time. If the work gets done within the expectations and parameters provided, should the way it is done be a factor? And this from someone who’s been in the workplace for 52 years.