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Don’t beg employees to stay as they leave

Stop begging at work. Quite frankly, it’s really not a good look for you anyway. We’ll get to that. What I’m talking about specifically is when employers beg employees to stay only after they leave, or threaten to.

Whether an employee is asking for a raise or some other work environment change, their supervisors or HR do not usually take them seriously until they are about ready to leave or worse, already left your organization. So, what’s the big deal? Well, it’s actually quite disrespectful.

  • It’s disrespectful to the employee. When employers don’t consider an employee’s request for something to change to make their work environment better, the employee feels devalued. I’m speaking, of course, about high performers. You may not ever be able to make everyone happy but the worst thing you can do to your highest performers is to make them feel less than what they really are to you. Waiting until they threaten to leave to make a change doesn’t help. It takes a lot of energy for them to look for another job and go through interviewing processes. It is completely disrespectful to them when you make them an offer to stay only when you realize they can go somewhere else.
  • It’s disrespectful to the other organization that is ready and willing to hire your employee. If you wait until your employee has another offer on the table, you’re wasting the time of the organization that has invested resources in hiring your employee. It takes time, money and other resources – someone to source the applications, a recruiter, a hiring manager, an onboarding staff, trainers, etc. You wouldn’t want this to happen to you so don’t put this burden on others.
  • It’s disrespectful to your team. Your team is not just going to think that you do not value people but how are they going to feel when they find out you made a higher offer or change for the employee who was leaving? The message you are sending is that the only way someone can get a higher salary or positive change on your team is if they threaten to leave. Everyone will start looking for another job!
  • It’s disrespectful to yourself. As leaders, you have a responsibility to support your teams and like it or not, you have a reputation to maintain. If you beg employees to stay only after they leave, you look like a fool and that is not a good look for a leader. Respect yourself enough not to do this.

I’m not suggesting you give employees everything they want, not even your highest performers. The point is you need to take off the blurry glasses and at least take a hard look at what’s going on in your workplaces, how you are treating your best employees and consider making meaningful changes before you lose them. Take this as a way to look in the mirror at yourself and do a quick reality check because you often don’t realize the impact of your decisions and actions especially if no one tells you or you’re in the midst of a busy work schedule. Be proactive in making appropriate changes for your team instead of waiting until you feel forced to do it because they are looking for another opportunity.

I get it. Depending on where you are on the hierarchy, you may or may not have as much power as you would like in order to impact change. Before you give up on fighting for your employees though, answer this question honestly: did you even try fighting for them or did you just give up? Ask the right questions to your HR departments. Take the time to put a business case together to present to your senior leaders. Draft a well thought-out proposal for your boss. Use your connections. If you lose the battle, at least you know you went down fighting for what you believe was the right thing.

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Take ownership and stop blaming your predecessors

One of the greatest problems I see in organizations is a lack of ownership. The most popular excuse I hear for this problem is, “[My predecessor] should have done this but didn’t and now it is too big of a mess to cleanup.”

Guess what? It’s your job! Most of the time, I find that the predecessor did not mess anything up but the successor just doesn’t understand how things worked before and why things were done the way they were done, which is a totally separate issue. It’s a complete cop out to blame someone who cannot even defend themselves.

If you don’t like the way things are, don’t just sit there and blame someone else for your problems. Take ownership of your role! But, how in the world are you supposed to do that? Start with five “knows.”

Know that not everything that was done before is bad. Have an open mind and don’t shut everything out and try to change it all just because you wouldn’t have done it that way. This is a horrible epidemic in leadership. Every new leader comes in and changes everything. It’s rarely ever a positive thing. You think you’re making things better but all you’re doing is making your staff suffer. Before you start changing everything, do a diligent evaluation of what is working well and what is not before making a single change.

Know that it’s okay to change and how to do it right. Not everything you inherit will be gold. Once you do a thorough evaluation, begin the change process for things that need improvement. Don’t just sit there and whine about how your predecessor screwed it all up for you and how it’s impossible to change. Do something about it! Make sure to include your stakeholders though, particularly your employees and your customers. A new leader who storms in and just starts tearing things apart is not going to get much support.

Know that you’re not alone so build some relationships. New employees have what I like to call the “freshman syndrome.” They act like they’re in high school again and become paranoid that the more veteran employees are automatically going to pick on them. Well, get over yourselves! If you’re a new leader, I can assure you that your employees are just as weary about you as you are about them so why not make them feel better? You are the leader, after all. Make them feel welcomed and comfortable. Get to know them. Ask them questions, seek their feedback and involve them in changes.

Know that trust is earned – not just trust with you but trust in you. You’re not going to immediately trust everyone you encounter so don’t expect them to trust you right away. Show your team that you’re worthy of leading them. Embrace those who question you and challenge you; don’t punish them for it.

Know that you can make a difference. So, you don’t understand how or why things were done before and it just seems completely backwards to you. Then, fix it. Don’t be afraid to take some risks and turn things around for the better. If you do it right, you and your team can be extremely successful. Don’t blame anyone for the problems you think you inherited. Take ownership of it and you can make a real and lasting impact.

Here’s a bonus piece of advice – people who take ownership don’t flaunt it. They don’t need to talk about it – about their predecessors not doing a good job, about them turning things around or about how hard it is to be them.

Ownership is very noticeable. There’s no hiding it. Take ownership and stop blaming your predecessors!

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Dare to be quirky at work!

I was asked to speak at a memorial recently for a coworker of mine who passed away. As I thought about what I appreciated most about her, I realized it was her quirks. I remember every day at 2:00pm, without fail, she would let out a big, loud yawn that half the office could hear. It was as if she was our human alarm clock. There is such a void for us at that time now. She also had a collection of doggie beanie babies above her desk to showcase her love for animals. She wasn’t afraid to be herself and let us all into her life even though we were at work.

So many people are afraid to be themselves at work. They’re rigid and quiet and constantly trying to be whatever their boss or their organization wants them to be. Yes, organizations need to do a better job of creating a safe environment for employees to be themselves.

Be yourself, right from the start when you apply for a job. Yes, you want to be appropriate with your resume but you don’t have to follow all the traditional guidelines. The most popular question I get from jobseekers is whether or not they can have more than one page to their resume. They are so concerned with that. It really doesn’t matter in the end. If there really are recruiters out there who will throw your resume to the side (or in the trash) if it exceeds one page, well, they’re the one with the problem, not you.  They’re probably missing out on many great candidates, including yourself. So, just be you.

Do it again in your interview. If you get that opportunity, ask questions to your recruiter or hiring manager that you really care about. Then, tell them about you. When answering interview questions, don’t think about what the other person wants to hear; just answer honestly and if there’s a funny story that shows your character, share it! I’ll give you an example. One time, I was in an interview and I was asked what my proudest accomplishment was at my previous job. I half-joked that it was convincing 100% of my team to try sushi. The recruiter and I got into a conversation about how she’s the only one in her family that likes sushi. Trust me, that’s not why I got the job but it gave people an idea of what it is really like being around me – my sense of humor, what I like to eat and my inclusion of and influence on others. It also allowed them to relate to me better and ask me better questions.

I’m always looking for quirks and unique characteristics when I interview people. I once did a group interview for a candidate. He answered every question bluntly. When asked what his biggest motivator at work is, he said money. My peers were offended and brushed him off as a potential hire right away. I loved his answer! It was honest. I am so over cliche answers during an interview. I get so bored hearing the same thing over and over again. I’m looking for someone with something new, something exciting, something to prove, something to fight for. I don’t care how many awards someone won or how many projects they completed. I want to hire someone real, someone who will think for themselves and produce new, even wild ideas! I want to hire someone who isn’t afraid to be quirky, different or silly at work. I don’t want to hire someone who hides behind a fake persona of what they think I’m looking for.

I encourage you to go on and be YOU at work. Show your personality, your character. Dare to be quirky!

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Right isn’t always easy

Doing the right thing often means doing the difficult thing. If it was a piece of cake, we would all be doing it. As our work became faster paced and our to-do lists became never-ending, did we forget about ethics in the workplace? Did those values we post around our walls just become blurry pieces of decoration?

We continue to see a lack of ethics training for both front-line staff and leadership. Many of these programs were cut from organizations’ budgets during a recession and have not made an appearance since. We need to invest our resources back into these programs if we want our employees to do the right things.

It goes beyond just ethics training though. It also means having difficult conversations, embracing accountability and developing a culture where people feel comfortable doing the right things.

When we build culture and programs around ethics, morals and values, there are many things to take into consideration. The most common mistake is that organizations focus only on the technical concepts like what’s illegal – sexual harassment training, anti-theft policies and information security protocols.

Helping people to do the right thing requires supporting them to speak up when something is wrong, conduct difficult conversations with others who may not be compliant, and incorporate values into team cultures. Once there is a culture of accountability and ownership, employees will be living out the values of the organization.

Getting companies to do the right thing isn’t always easy. It takes time, energy and genuine buy-in at all levels. But it’s worth it.

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Focus on one: Quick transformations that stick

Have you ever been part of an initiative to make a change and it fell apart, did not last very long or was not enforced (so no one actually did it)? Silly me, right? Of course you have! We all have! Change is not easy. It is something that organizations have been trying to do forever and most have not found anything that works.

First, let’s talk about some methods that do NOT work but many organizations still insist on doing. Let’s save you some time because as my mother says, “You can often learn as much from others’ mistakes as you can from your own.”

  • Change it but don’t say it. It’s hard enough for people to experience change but to make a change and not tell them about it is even worse. Ask employees for their feedback, include them in the change and inform them throughout the process.
  • Say it but don’t change it. This happens too. Don’t say you’re going to make a change (especially if it’s a positive one) and then not maintain the change. This happens a lot with process improvement initiatives where organizations will make some efficiency changes and then a few months down the road, everyone resorts back to the way they used to do things. This can be frustrating for the staff who put a lot of work in making the improvement changes. Get buy-in and ownership and hold each other accountable.
  • Put it in the 3-5-10 Year Plans. Why is everything is a three, five or ten year plan? Successful transformations can happen in a lot less time than that. What usually happens with the 3-5-10 year plans is that by the time the deadline hits, there are new leaders in charge of the plans who end up making brand new 3-5-10 year plans. Therefore, nothing gets done, everything is a blame game and it becomes the cycle of operations.
  • Change it all. Organizations try to change everything at once. When you have too much change going on or too many initiatives in motion, people get confused. You cannot blame them for not buying in when they can’t even understand what is going on. You cannot change everything and expect it to happen quickly.

So, how do we solve this problem of unsuccessful change management? I have one solution and only one solution for you to try. Transform one thing at a time. For example, if you’re trying to shift the culture of an organization to be more team oriented, start with one department or one manager’s team. Survey only that one team, see if you can get to the root of the problem and implement your solutions with them. The problem is not usually with the plans or solutions that people come up with; it’s the fact that they are trying to implement that plan or solution at too large of a scale.

The same concept works when we’re trying to make transformations, in people or in organizations. If you can get one team to make significant transformations that last, other leaders will be knocking on your door begging you to work your magic on their department or team. Then, the larger impact will be felt and it will last longer. Plus, if you only make one transformation at a time, you can probably do it in less time. Forget the 3-5-10 year plans for change; make 3-6-9 month transformations one at a time. Focus on one to make quick transformations that stick!

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Break the rules, set some standards

I was at the Empower conference presented by CareerBuilder this week and had the amazing pleasure of hearing Coach Mike Krzyzewski, also known as Coach K, speak about the importance of obtaining great talent. Now, let’s get one thing out of the way – as some of you may know, I’m a very proud graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison so there’s no doubt I was rooting for the Badgers to take the men’s basketball championship this year. And, that’s exactly what it looked like was going to happen until Duke made a jaw-dropping comeback.

I’ve always been a Coach K fan even though I’m a Badger at heart but I became an even bigger fan after hearing him speak.

Ownership: You don’t work for something; you are something. – Coach K

He talked to us about how he recruited the best players to Duke, reminding us that hiring for character is just as important as hiring for talent or skill. One of the most important lessons I took away from Coach K’s presentation is that strong teams don’t have rules; they have standards that they agree to. Some of the standards that Coach K has set with his teams include:

  • No excuses.
  • Always be on time.
  • Always be honest and tell each other the truth.

This got me thinking about my own team and field of work and what type of standards I would set with my teams. So, I talked to them. Leading a training team, here are some standards I feel are important:

  • No excuses; always be on time; always be honest and tell each other the truth. Why wouldn’t I steal those from Coach K?
  • We don’t always have to be the best but we should always try to be our best. We strive to be better every day.
  • Never stop thinking. If we stop thinking, we stop creating, innovating and improving.
  • Share our ideas and our knowledge. No one likes an information hog.
  • Be proactive about learning. Don’t wait for someone to teach us something but rather, seek opportunities to learn.
  • Hold each other accountable. Don’t be afraid to call each other out. It makes us better.

Developing standards for a team allows everyone to be on the same page, work towards a common goal and be accountable to each other. What standards would you add to this list for your team?

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Engaging a Free Agent Workforce

We’re all free agents. We always have been but more and more, we’re seeing people take advantage of their free agency. So, how do you engage a workforce full of free agents?

It’s not going to be easy but employers need to start thinking about customization and personalization. Each generation, each profession and each person may want something totally different out of their companies. The most forward thinking companies are trying out some different tactics to keep their best employees around. You should too!

Flexible Scheduling

Don’t just enforce a 4-day work week policy on everyone and call it a day. Flexible scheduling means that you allow for employees to flex their schedules as necessary so that they can have a better integration of their work and life. It’s about empowering people to do what they need to do and connecting the different pieces of their lives to make it whole rather than separate parts.

Service Initiatives

Offer financial and other resources for employees to support the nonprofit organizations and causes that they care the most about. Allow them to volunteer together. It builds teamwork and makes people feel like their values are aligned with the organization’s values.

A Sense of Place

With so many differing opinions, perspectives and values in the workplace, it’s never been more difficult to provide meaning for people at work. It’s the key to engagement, though. We need to be able to provide employees with a sense of place, a sense of belonging. Companies need to work extremely closely with leadership to ensure that employees feel connected to their work.

Regardless of the methods you choose to achieve the above factors, make sure that you are always re-evaluating to make sure that your practices are changing as your workforce changes. Customization and personalization are difficult things to accomplish but they are extremely important to engaging a free agent workforce.

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How to turn candidates down and still have them love you

As I ponder all the changes in the world of recruiting and hiring, I resort back to one of the best experiences I’ve had with a company. I interviewed with Kohl’s Department Stores years ago for an internship and I did not get the job. Yet, I would recommend their stores to anyone looking to shop and their company to anyone looking for an awesome place to work.

After applying for the job, I was invited to to an interview with a recruiter. She made me feel very comfortable and was not intimidating at all. I was extremely fresh in my career so I was not used to interviews where the employer wanted to know about me personally. It was as if we we’ve been friends forever.

I got a call the next day inviting me to the last round of interviews which was held at Kohl’s headquarters. Amazing! That’s quick turnaround if I know it. I was told it would be an all day event. I thought they were joking at first but they said they would pay for me to come into the city the night before, enjoy a dinner on them and stay in a four-star hotel they paid for.

After a wonderful night, I showed up to my day of interviews with a free breakfast, a session with the CEO and other candidates and free gifts from Kohl’s stores. After I interviewed with two people, I was taken on a tour of the building and provided a free, delicious lunch. The tour included meeting all kinds of employees and hearing about their projects and stories. After my last two interviews, they paid for my ride home.

The next day, the recruiters were communicating with me already. To say the least, I was extremely disappointed that I did not get the job but I have no hard feelings towards the company because they treated me with great respect and really let me get to know their company.

This is a prime example of how to turn down a candidate and still have them love you. You don’t have to do everything that Kohl’s did but don’t leave a bad taste in candidate’s mouths. They may not be the right person for the current job but they might be the perfect person for another opening you have in the future. It’s all about creating an experience and building relationships.

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Ignite Their Passion!

I wrote a post a while ago about how passion makes our work worth doing. There was a pattern in some of the comments and emails I received that broke my heart. People asked, “What do I do if my manager doesn’t support my passion?”

There are a lot of options to answer that question and each person has to do what’s best for them at the time. My response is more so directed to all the leaders out there that these employees are referring to: start paying attention to what you’re employees’ passions are and empower them to do great things with those passions.

It all starts with simply talking to people. Formal leadership may not be for everyone. It’s for those who understand how to connect with people and push them to achieve the best possible things in work and in life. Leaders care about employees on a personal level and assume the responsibility of helping them reach far and high.

Once you know what your employees are passionate about, try to empower them to use their passions to take risks at work, try new projects and make decisions. When they succeed, fight for them to grow within the organization so that they can continue the momentum rather than let their passion and energy go stale.

Don’t diminish people’s passions and don’t let them go to waste. People who are passionate about their work are out to make you look good as much as they are out to make themselves look good. It’s a win-win situation that too many leaders miss out on because they’re afraid of failure, pushback and employees passing them up in the race to the top.

Now, level of passion and how passion shows up is going to be different for everyone and that should be respected as well.

Things are changing at lightening speed these days and there are plenty of people willing to leave a leader or organization that won’t allow them to succeed. I maintain my belief that passion makes our work worth doing but we also need great leaders who allow us to continue our passion for our work. Luckily, there’s a great way to keep our teams energized, motivated and inspired and that’s to ignite their passion and don’t let the flame burn out!

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Opportunities are the key to value-based loyalty

If you’ve been keeping up on recent studies and news, you’ll know that the world of work is changing dramatically. Once upon a time, loyalty was a mutual desire for employees and organizations. Employees wanted to just stay with their organizations until retirement, slowly working their way up the corporate ladder. Human Resources (HR) departments revolved their initiatives – recognition programs, benefits, perks, etc. – around keeping employees around for the long-run (e.g., years of service parties and gifts).

Things are picking up fast though. All over the internet, you’ll now find advice from thought leaders and career experts telling you not to stay in a job too long. The specific advice varies but experts say that most people are now staying in jobs for only two to five years. Some are only staying in their organizations for that long.

So, should the goal of leadership and organizations still be to keep people around longer? Not necessarily, but loyalty should still be a goal. Loyalty does not always equate to staying with an organization for a long period of time. Loyalty can mean that even when an employee leaves your organization, they rave about it. They send their best coworkers, friends and acquaintances to work for your organization. They recommend you with sincerity and passion. They might even return one day if the right opportunity presents itself in your organization.

Organizations need to focus on providing opportunities for people. Opportunities include much more than promotion into a management position:

  • Lateral transfers allow employees to learn new skills and do a new job.
  • Promotional opportunities don’t always have to be into management. Create senior level positions for employees who excel at what they do and want to continue doing it at a higher level.
  • Sending employees to conferences allows them to expand their knowledge and network with other professionals.
  • Sending employees back to school to get a new degree shows your investment in their future.
  • Giving employees special projects that challenge and mean something to them will help them grow and help the organization grow.
  • Providing specialized and meaningful training for employees helps them gain confidence in doing their jobs better.

These are just a few examples of how to provide opportunities within your organization to great employees. The idea is to focus on helping employees achieve their personal career goals. Leaders often fear that if they offer these opportunities, employees will leave the organization. This is totally possible but it is not what management should be focusing on. As I mentioned, it’s the new reality that employees will be switching jobs and companies more often. Your goal should not be to keep employees around longer but to grow them and gain their loyalty.

You won’t always have the right job for the right employees at the right time. They may leave but if you don’t offer them opportunities to learn and grow while they are with you, you may be closing the door on them so that they never come back. That’s where leaders and organizations fail: not maintaining an alumni network.

Some of the opportunities I mentioned allow employees to network with other professionals. Leverage the relationships they build at these events. They may be meeting amazing people who are willing and ready to take their places once they leave your organization. Make sure you give them a reason to recommend your organization and your leaders to other great professionals. As times change, we need to change our definition of loyalty from a time commitment to a value commitment. To maintain loyalty that means something more than time, we must provide employees opportunities and play a role in their professional growth and success.

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