One of my very first questions for a new client is: Why do their employees work for them?” Seldom can they give me even one specific reason. Most of the reasons I am given are general and vague. I then guide them through a 15-30 minute conversation which leads to 5 specific reasons – which will be the cornerstones to recruit and retain employees. The 5 reasons were always there – but they needed an expert to help identify and understand what they are and how to use them.
The five reasons are different for each company and are very organizational specific. Once they have been identified they will be the cornerstones of the recruiting and retention strategies which will impact your employee turnover. Before the strategies can be developed we will have to validate the reasons. The organization needs to interview a few employees. I always suggest you start with your very best and work down through some average employees; but don’t forget the bottom third. All different levels of employees will help validate the 5 reasons. But they will also help identify the reasons why the bottom third also come to work for you and will show you the antithesis of your 5 reasons. Knowing what attracts the bottom third is very important.
The reasons can be all over the board and you need to be open to anything. When I was the VP of Human Resources we were able to attract a large number of our competitors’ employees. They generally came to work for us for the same amount per hour which they were making at the other company. We would review how much they made and what skills and experience they had and how much we would pay someone for those skills and experience. Seldom did we have a major problem with their hourly rate.
So why were they coming to work for us? One of the major problems which this classification of employee dealt with was problems in the field. Employees in this classification would have daily problems with a job and getting the result the customer was requiring. The company I worked for had an excellent Technical Support department. They had over 50 years of combined experience and were just A PHONE CALL AWAY from the technicians in the field.
Our competitors did not have this in place and so their technicians WERE ON THEIR OWN to figure it out. This meant the world to the technicians - they had a life line to solving their problem. For this reason they were not concerned about a pay raise as they were getting a solution to a major problem they had.
Do you know what your 5 reasons are? Would you like some help?
