From Best Place To Work to Biggest Loser

At a local coffeehouse recently, I overheard an informal job interview taking place.  I grew queasy listening to the story that the early career job candidate told.

“I’m looking at other opportunities because I’m not challenged. I don’t understand what my growth prospects are, or if they exist at this company. We’ve been bought. That was a year ago and everything is still in upheaval. I’ve excelled at everything that I’ve been handed, and I’ve asked for more, but no one will talk about that. I’m ready to go where I can grow.”

​Ironically, the candidate’s currently employer is formally recognized as a Best Place to Work. *sigh*

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Let's think for a minute about the impact of this dynamic of this working-but-looking individual.

• The employee was clearly frustrated and even sounded hurt and disappointed. She was having this conversation in the middle of a workday morning. Likely, she’s not entirely engaged with her work, and not nearly as productive as she could be.
• Her role is customer-facing. Although she exuded commitment and a strong work ethic, given her sentiments about her company, I doubt that she is able to serve her customers fully. What is the financial impact of that on her employer?
• This was a bright, articulate, motivated individual. Her colleagues likely are not reaping the benefits she can offer internally when she is confident, engaged and feeling in synch with her company.
• She showed all of the signs of being a true “high-potential” individual who can contribute a lot now, and more significantly in the future as she grows. She will be very hard to truly replace, and she likely will not be recommending the company to friends.

Although her current company is listed as Best Place to Work, they might top the Biggest Loser list quickly with strong talent like this leaving.

The individual’s desire for growth is common. In SHRM’s report on Millennial Job Satisfaction & Engagement, career advancement showed the 3rd largest gap between importance and satisfaction. SHRM’s similar survey across all employees found career advancement having the 7th largest gap.

What if her current employer could turn back time?  What might they have done differently that would have led to her being highly engaged today, rather than bitter and looking for a new job?

Even during a chaotic period of growth and acquisition, and even if resources are scarce, a few simple moves can keep top employees engaged.

• Have a clear strategy – Employees received mixed, fuzzy message when leaders don’t have clear direction and solid plans in place. This leads to decreased commitment and confidence in the company.
• Share the strategy – Simply share what the plans are. If the path ahead isn’t clear, share that and explain why. In times of upheaval (e.g., mergers, acquisitions, rocketing growth, contraction), be even more transparent.
• Stay in touch – Managers need to have an accurate pulse on how each team member feels about their work and the company. For high-potential and other high-value employees, leaders above the immediate supervisor should also keep tabs on this talent, and reinforce their value to the company.
• Find growth opportunities (not necessarily promotions) – Promotions are great, but they are not always practical. It may be more feasible to help a high-potential employee identify and tackle projects that stretch them. For example, you could give them a problem to solve; data or a process that needs to be cleaned up; a matter that needs to be researched and analyzed; or a new employee to mentor.  Common leadership skills that must continually be developed are change management, quality improvement skills, and facilitation.  Where could an eager employee build these skills?
• Introduce individual learning – Help a go-getter identify what learning or skill development they want. Meeting management? Having difficult conversations?  Closing sales?  Embrace contemporary learning options like high-quality, interactive eLearning (my favorite provider is VitalLearning) to help them pursue their interests.
• Reinforce the learning – All learning needs reinforcement for it to “stick” and have value. Managers can debrief with an employee a training, seminar or book.  A learner could be asked to offer a short presentation/summary of their learning, including how they want to use it.

A common thread through these ideas is personalization.  Each suggestion requires a meaningful connection between a leader and a high-potential employee.  The connection has value itself – employees feel valued and not just like a cog in the wheel.  In turn, the connection leads to meaningful guidance and support as well.

A second common thread is low cost. The biggest investment in these strategies is a leader’s time thinking about an employee’s interests, connecting with the employee, and providing ongoing support.

As a manager, would you rather spend time supporting a top employee, or conducting a search to replace them?

I wish this early professional all the best as she navigates her next career move. Some company is going to hit the jackpot by hiring her – I hope they make the most of that opportunity.

I also wish her soon-to-be-former employer all the best as they (sooner or later) work to better retain talent.

And I wish your company all the best on the continual quest to become and stay and employer-of-choice, and not the biggest loser of top talent.