In today's job market, it can be difficult to fill open positions.
Given that, leaders may be tempted to keep a non-performing employee around, as opposed to having them leave, meaning there is now a vacant position. Because surely anyone is better than no-one, since it's currently difficult to find people, especially if your culture is not what it could be? Think again: 💠 Any minor benefit you may get from keeping a low performer, is offset by the cost of them staying. 💠 Holding onto someone who is unhappy, stops them from finding somewhere they can shine. 💠 Having fewer employees is likely better than having a poor performer, with more actually getting done without them. Because productivity isn't just about the number of people you have, but rather about the quality of employee. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙚, 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨. So, the longer they stay, the deeper the disengagement, leading to other great employees leaving. From their perspective, why should they give it their all, if a non-performing employee isn’t expected to? Additionally, you're jeopardizing accountability in your culture. Know too that everyone notices and wonders why no action is being taken. Causing even more disengagement, further undermining your culture. ✅ Because having the right person in every single seat is critical to employee engagement. Even if it means that occasionally a position is left empty, as you wait to have it occupied by the right person. Since allowing even one poor performer to stay is undermining your business success. And you’ll keep losing additional employees and find it difficult to recruit great candidates as long as it continues.
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In the past couple of years, employees took the time to reflect, questioning whether the work they were doing was what they wanted to do long-term.
Now, with organizations hiring again, employees are taking advantage of new opportunities, including the now numerous remote work opportunities. And they are leaving in record numbers: 💠 In December 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 4.3M employees quit their jobs. Whereas in the past people were tied to local jobs, now employees can consider jobs with companies anywhere. As they search for better treatment, better pay and benefits, more purpose, and more flexible schedules. Meaning that if employers don't want to lose great employees, retention should be top of mind. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢! Of course, being fairly compensated is a minimum requirement, and flexibility is certainly important to large numbers of employees. But these things by themselves are not enough to engage employees. Rather, it is critical to put the core, fundamental practices that drive engagement and improve culture in place, in the right order, such as: ✅ Recognition, ongoing feedback and career development opportunities. ✅ A job with purpose and meaning is also critical ✅ Plus leaders who genuinely care, who are willing to hold people accountable, and make difficult decisions if necessary. In short, an organization with a great culture. Because it’s an employee’s market, and if their current employer is not providing all of the above, employees will find a company that will. One that has already realized that engaging employees and having a great culture is the core differentiator in today’s market. Stop for a moment and consider your organizational structure.
How many direct reports do your managers have on average? The optimum number that a single manager should have has long been a topic of discussion. But there is no consensus as to what that perfect number should be. Various academic studies, however, agree that the ideal span of control for any manager should be seven, plus or minus a few. The exact number will differ due to several variables, specific to each organization, including the following: ✅ Complexity of the work ✅ Use of technology ✅ Employees’ skills and experience ✅ Manager’s experience managing Nonetheless, in general, a good rule of thumb is a maximum of six-to-eight direct reports for any one manager. Because managers’ responsibilities include assigning work, reviewing deliverables, and tracking performance. 𝙄𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚𝙨, 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙣𝙤-𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙖𝙩. Employees, in turn, want on-going feedback and support, plus mentoring and coaching, in addition to a chance to get to know their managers. So, don’t set your managers, employees and organization up for failure by assigning any one manager too many direct reports. In addition to managing, they have their day-to-day work to do, so don’t make their jobs any more difficult than they have to be. Or you will create a situation Managers themselves won’t be engaged, and when that is the case, there is no way that employees will be either. And disengagement and a bad culture is something you want to avoid at all costs. No-one would ever go to a doctor or accountant who hadn’t been properly trained.
Because most skilled jobs require some amount of formal training. Yet, when it comes to managing people, employees are frequently promoted with no training at all. Often, it happens because employees are good at their regular job, such as sales or engineering. So, they’re asked to manage sales employees or engineers. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙮𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚. And just because someone is great at their current job, does not mean they will be good at managing others, who do that same job. Because managing people is hard work, it doesn’t come naturally to most people, and everyone makes a lot of mistakes while learning. Yet it is one of the jobs that is most key to an organization’s success and bottom line. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚𝙨’ 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙨. On the other hand, bad managers drive away good people, and hold teams back from achieving what they otherwise could. ✅ Managers need to be trained in management skills, as well as in engaging employees, especially nowadays when so many are working remotely. ✅ Some employees are not sent to even one class, and they are left to figure things out by themselves, with little to no guidance or support. ✅ Some companies provide some help and send managers to a one-or-two-day manager training to learn the basics. ✅ A one-or-two-day class should not be the entirety of the training that new managers receive, as it’s just not enough. ✅ It’s a long, on-going learning process, and it takes on-going mentorship and advice from experienced managers, in addition to specific training. Bottom line, it is critical to appreciate that management is a skill of its own, and to recognize that a transition to managing people is required. So, for those employees who want to manage, provide training to set both your managers and your organization up for success. Otherwise, bad managers will continue to flourish, and organizations will not be as successful as they could be. DM me if you would like some advice on training your managers and engaging your employees. Think about how long and hard most parents work on teaching their children manners.
In fact, some children as young as 18 months can already say a form “please” and “thank you”. Because good manners are considered an important life skill, integral to being a functioning member of society. Yet sometimes the manners that parents worked so hard to instill, get left at the door when it comes to work. For example, have you ever given a project at work your all, yet not received any recognition at all, not even a quick thank you? 𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠, 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙤𝙣-𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣? It doesn’t feel nice, and it won’t engage or motivate employees to go above and beyond again, and certainly if it happens more than once.
So, if there’s one thing you can do today to engage your employees, it’s to thank them for something recently well done. Do it either by email or by calling. 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡, 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮’𝙨 𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙣𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙, 𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙖 𝙗𝙤𝙭 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚 “𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙔𝙤𝙪” 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙-𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙩. So, for today, send an email, or call them. But once you have those Thank You cards to hand, use them often, and make it a habit going forward (just ensure you don’t over-do it to the point of meaninglessness). Remember that no matter what form it takes, your “Thank You” needs to: ✅ Be specific ✅ Talk about the difference they made ✅ Tell them as close to the event as possible Coming from a manager, and especially the CEO, engagement levels will soar. And engaged employees stay longer, are absent less, are more productive, and provide better customer service. In addition, they become your brand ambassadors, making you an employer of choice, where great candidates want to come and work. So, let’s stop leaving them at the door, and putting those long-ago-learned manners to work in the workplace. People typically think of recognition as coming from their boss or the CEO, but there’s an important component that is often overlooked:
𝙄𝙣 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩, 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙖 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩, 𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙧-𝙩𝙤-𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩. People are working together each day, often on overcoming obstacles and challenges, creating a deeper understanding of the day-to-day work, making this type of recognition especially meaningful. Employee recognition software makes it easy to design and manage recognition programs. However, just because you might not yet have that in place, doesn’t mean that you can’t get started on peer-to-peer recognition right away: ✅ Decide on a very basic program structure, including what co-workers can be recognized for. ✅ Announce how the program will work. ✅ Once underway, if you have a company newsletter, print the good news there. ✅ Send out a company-wide email blast. ✅ Make it an agenda item at company meetings, and set-aside announcement time. ✅ Post the winner’s headshot publicly on your company’s social media account. ✅ If you have Slack, designate a channel for team members to share the great work or idea of a co-worker. Then, progress to employee recognition software, and design and manage a great program. Including a peer-to-peer component, which will make it even more effective and meaningful. In short, a robust recognition program is a must for engaging employees in today’s world. I was sitting in on a new client’s all-hands meeting.
Agenda item: “Employee of the Month”. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙢, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩. A gift card of not insignificant value was offered to the recognized employee, or to each team member, if a team was recognized. However, employees had described it to me as a meaningless ritual, and had predicted what would happen: ✅ The IT team, which had been working on a major company-wide software implementation project, for two months straight, would not even get a mention, because it was not ‘their turn’ this month. Instead, they dejectedly told me, it would be someone from Finance or Marketing. Because no-one from those departments had been ‘recognized’ recently, and someone from IT had been, so it wouldn’t be IT’s turn for another couple of months at least. 🚩 They called it! IT was not recognized, and a Finance employee was. We never found out what happened in subsequent months, because the “Employee of the Month” program was disbanded right after the meeting. What is relevant here though is that the recognition program that the leaders were so proud of, was a complete waste of time. 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙, 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚𝙨 – 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙. Because recognition has got to be genuine, and employees know when it’s not. So, yes, recognize employees, but do it the right way, which is not through a ritualistic, meaningless program. It’s simple to do, and it costs nothing, although later, if you want, you can consider a recognition system of some kind. But, for now, you just need a few minutes:
Start with telling people 1:1, so train your managers on how to do it: Specific; Difference they made; Immediate. And Zoom with those who may be working from home, who may already be feeling isolated and cut-off. If you later want to recognize publicly, make sure everyone is comfortable with that, and avoid programs like the one described above. But, for now, start small, do it right and do it consistently, and see the difference it makes. |
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