5 Tips to engage employees and reduce unwanted turnover.

The actions and attitudes of your people make or break your company’s success. When companies invest in leadership development that strengthen bonds of trust and mutual respect, productivity goes up and unwanted resignations become rare. 

A recent Gallup study found that half of all Americans have left a job to “get away from their manager at some point in their career.” The same study also showed that only 30% of employees are engaged at work and only 35% of mangers are engaged. A recent Harvard Business Review issue reported that only 17% of workers felt resilient, and only 14% trusted their senior leaders and their team leaders.  

The social contract between employees and the companies they work for has evolved. The pandemic accelerated trends that were already visible. Knowledge workers especially are expecting adult to adult relationships rather than a hierarchical boss to subordinate style of management. 

Here are my 5 leadership tips to improve employee engagement and reduce turnover:

1.    Have quarterly 1 on 1 conversations with each team member. 

• The time these conversations take (30 to 60 minutes) pays big dividends in greater company loyalty and stronger employee engagement which results in higher productivity. 
• Ask open ended questions like “what do you like most about your job? and “How can I help you do your best?”
• Leadership programs (on-line) are often necessary for successful and sustained implementation.

2.    Provide the freedom for employees to produce work on their schedule.

• Autonomy is a sign of respect.
• Encourage attendance of school/family gatherings or medical appointments during the workday.

3.    Measure results, not the time it takes to produce these results.

• Performance reviews can focus on how to maximize future success with mutually agreed upon leadership development actions.
• Ask questions like, “What are you most proud of accomplishing?” Or, “What do you think you could have done better?” And, “What would you like to be doing in 3 years?”

4.    Teach business coaching on-line, with strong endorsements from senior leaders.

• Leaders have a responsibility to coach performance and support learning that leads to professional growth.  
• A best practice is for trained leaders teaching these communication skills to others, which will improve the company’s culture. 

5.    Use short surveys to periodically measure levels of engagement and track trends. 

• Use simple platforms like Survey Monkey.
• Follow up with visible actions and improvements.

Today, employees want to professionally develop themselves, whether going from expert to manager, or acquiring more professional skills. Time needs to be set aside for learning and personal growth. Person to person conversations continue to be critical for aligning the passions of employees with the values and principles that company authentically demonstrates.