Many companies blame headhunters for recruiting away their best employees. Thus they go to great lengths to keep names of employees secret.
One company stated it no longer would list the names of its key executives on its Web site for fear that they will be contacted by a recruiter. They try to hide and shelter their people. Many companies won’t transfer incoming calls without a contact name.
These tactics may deter a recruiter. But if a recruiter wants to get to an employee, he or she will. So just assume that employees are talking to recruiters and exploring other opportunities.
Instead of trying to stop recruiters from getting to employees, focus on motivating employees to want to stay. Some companies use better pay, benefits, promotions and training. Yet many of these factors are out of a manager’s immediate control. So how can one make a business recruiter-proof?
The immediate manager is the key to attracting and retaining good employees, as Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman of the Gallup Organization discuss in their book, “First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently.” And regardless of a company’s generous benefits package and reputation for valuing employees, it is an employee’s relationship with the immediate manager that will determine how long he or she stays and how productive he or she will be.
Additional studies show that managers think employees most want good wages and job security. However, employees state that being appreciated and involved in what’s going on are the two most important factors to their happiness.
There are many good books written on ways to motivate and show appreciation for employees, but there is more to it than just using techniques. One has to really buy into the belief that genuine care and interest for an individual is the power behind appreciation. Genuine caring and appreciation are more effective and will have the greatest impact on an employee’s level of commitment and productivity.
Most employers are afraid to build the relationships necessary to get the most out of their people, for fear that they will need to reprimand, demote, lay off or terminate an employee.
If an employer builds a strong, trusting relationship, the work environment becomes one of mutual respect. Threats are replaced by encouragement. Employees give a full 100 percent and enjoy being at work. Dialogue becomes less strained and more open. Employees are committed to their manager, not just the company. That personal bond becomes one of the most important factors in employee retention.
Here are some retention building blocks:
Have a genuine interest in employees and build personal relationships. One probably spends more waking hours at work than with family and friends, so make the best of it. This one thing can do more to impact retention and an entire team’s quality of life than any other factor.
Build upon each person’s strengths rather than trying to fix weaknesses.
Define the outcomes expected and then let each person find their own way toward those outcomes.
Keep employees informed and involved so they feel they are a key part of the business.
Empower employees to make decisions.
Get to know employees – their goals, aspirations, likes and dislikes, personal lives, hobbies and families.
Have trust and faith in employees.
Build a team. Make it “we” instead of “us vs. them.”
Praise and reward employees regularly.
Recognize progress and remember accomplishments, birthdays and anniversary dates.
Though front-line managers most affect retention, leadership starts at the top and filters down. When senior management adopts this approach with its own direct reports, it will begin to improve productivity, morale and retention throughout the entire organization.
Some will argue that business is business and there should be a separation between business and personal relationships. The reality is that business is a people business. It’s a business of emotions, feelings, and communication.
If one wants turnover, keep doing things the old way. If one wants higher retention, increased productivity and commitment, show employees they are genuinely appreciated for who they are. Employees may still talk to recruiters, but they will be less recruitable. Most likely, a company will gain a reputation as the company everyone wants to work for. Recruiters will want to recruit for, not from, an employer.