3. What leadership style do you have? Authoritarian Ideal Leadership Delegates Participative Soul Leadership “By making a soul connection, your true purpose in life will become the foundation of everything you do”. -Deepak Chopra
4. What’s leadership got to do with talent retention – what the research shows! Based on information gathered over a thirty year period, the Gallup organization reported the following reasons for leaving: Career advancement or opportunities for promotion (31.5%) Pay and Benefits (22.4%) Poor job fit (20.2%) Management or the general work environment (16.5%) Flexibility or scheduling (7.7%) Job security (1.7%)* Since leaders have a direct impact on the majority of these areas, it becomes apparent that your leadership can make or break any retention program you devise. Source: Leadership as a Talent Retention Tool By Gayla Hodges - http://www.changeagentsinc.com/CAI_Article_-_Leadership_as_a_Talent_Retention_Tool.pdf
5. What the research shows! In another study by the Saratoga Institute, the following reasons were given (based on almost 20,000 interviews) for talent loss : Job or workplace was not as expected Mismatch between job and person Too little coaching and feedback Too few growth and advancement opportunities Feeling devalued and unrecognized Stress from overwork and work-life imbalance Loss of trust and confidence in senior leaders.** Again, leadership can and should have significant impact on all of these areas. Source: Leadership as a Talent Retention Tool By Gayla Hodges - http://www.changeagentsinc.com/CAI_Article_-_Leadership_as_a_Talent_Retention_Tool.pdf
6. People respond differently People respond differently to the different leadership styles Autocratic Those who want lots of structure and decisiveness feel comfortable in this environment But some people will not be open and honest and neither will they be loyal to the leaders (they might be to their job) Delegates Some people like to take on delegated work Some don’t like to be micro-managed Some reject taking on additional work delegated to them Participative Some people don’t like to engage – unless it is at a level that addresses their needs and interests Many people like to be invited to participate in management processes
7. Why do people join you? Five key reasons Attraction to your business – your reputation Attraction to the job opportunity (what’s in it for them) Attraction to your culture Salary and benefits Circumstances and timing
8. Profiling and assessment Conduct personal interviews Host a day at work Do case Study analysis and testing Beware of the traps Good skills – wrong attitude Good attitude – weak skills Remember - attitude trumps skills (skills can be taught – in most cases)
9. Create the right environment for people to be happy? Set clear direction Be clear in what you stand for and what you are trying to achieve as a business Match their strengths to their role Try to match people’s roles to their strengths – and then find opportunities for them to grow Guide them but don’t spoon-feed them Provide direction and examples – but do not spoon feed Entrust them to do their work – and be prepared to live with their mistakes Manage their performance Give feedback regularly (formal and informal) Communicate about the good and the difficult things Let them grow Give them space to grow Engage them in challenging and stimulating work
10. Create the right environment for people to be happy? 6. Treat them with respect Treat your team as you would like to be treated Be open and honest about everything Set a good example – live your values and deliver the results You should be ready and willing to learn from your team as they from you Be flexible with their work conditions (where appropriate) 7. Reward them when reward is due Share with them when the business does well Reward them for good work 8. Encourage them to create their own business opportunities through your business
11. Will they stay forever? …….No! Timing and circumstances will influence when good people want to move on – And you cannot do much to stop them!! Keep good relations with you ex staff – the industry is small and you need each other Encourage continuous contact for references and referral work
Editor's Notes
Attraction to your business – your reputationThe reputation that your business has in the market will play a crucial role in who you attractThis takes time to build but Brand awareness is very important Attraction to the job opportunity (what’s in it for them)The job must be interesting (exciting), stimulating and something that the person wants to doYou need to try and keep them stimulated and interested in the job – not always easy – so expanding peoples scope of work; changing their roles etc. can all helpAttraction to your cultureYou represent your culture – to some extent so do your teamPeople must feel some connection with you (your values, your reputation, your style of leadership and management) Culture needs to be made tangible – you must live your values and this must be evident to the people you are trying to attract Salary and benefits A fair salary is very important but you need to set and manage expectations about this carefully – in a small business you do not have the means to pay very large salaries and so you need to attract people using other means (help them to complement their salaries with other work they can do for you) Circumstances and timingYou cannot do anything about circumstances and timing – sometimes people who you really want to have join you don’t and sometimes people who you really want to keep, leave? This is something you have to learn to live with and you must always be prepared to let people move on
Set clear directionYou don’t have to have a detailed strategy and plan – but you should always be able to articulate what you are aiming to achieve and by when – people do buy into a journey Match their strengths to their roleQuite often, you recruit someone only to find that their real strengths are not what was on their CV – you should be flexible enough to move them into different roles or even to change the nature of their role so you can play them to their strengthsGuide them but don’t spoon-feed themPeople always need some direction but once you spoon feed them they feel disrespected and they stop thinking for themselves in that matter (it can be insulting) – encourage people to think for themselves all the time – let them make decisions and be ready to deal with their learning's from mistakes they make – you also learned by making mistakes Manage their performanceRegular informal feedback (praise and constructive criticism) work best for me - people do need to know how they are doing – but sometimes it’s the informal feedback that is most important (however you should never send out mixed messages) Communicate about the good and the difficult thingsLet them growGive them space to grow Engage them in challenging and stimulating work
Treat them with respectBe courteous – greet people the way you would like to be greeted etcAdmit to problems when they occur but don’t burden your staff with your problemsYou must always lead by example – I believe you should always keep your hand in at the work your staff do so you can speak with experience always – having said that, you should always be willing to learn from them and you should encourage them to learn from you Let them work from home if necessary – don’t watch the clock – its not helpful – watch the outcome Reward them when reward is dueYour staff must always feel that their efforts and contributions to your growth are appreciated – so share with them when you do well (bonuses) and recognise their good work always – when things are tough you cant share as much – they will understand Encourage them to create their own business opportunities through your businessIf your business attracts the self managing entrepreneurial person then if you don’t stimulate this need you will lose the person – learn to use it to your mutual benefit
