How to rewind the resignation and stop staff from leaving
It has long been said that people don’t leave companies, they leave their manager.
This is more true now than ever before. Years ago, during the “job for life” economy when the businesses that were in operation were better able to dominate their space, managers held a significantly higher level of power over the career trajectory of an individual.
Now, the scales lean towards the individual having a great deal more say over their destiny. And January is the month when most people decide to pursue new careers.
While the level of talent available will fluctuate, business leaders must think more progressively about losing the people that their company has invested so much in.
When this is coupled with the fact that leavers can write negative reviews of your business on staff satisfaction websites such as Glassdoor (which could make it more difficult for you to attract talented people in future), you might need to rethink how you handle the leaving process.
Here are a number of tactics that you can use to keep hold of talent.
The encore
Why not subtly re-interview the member of staff at the point of them handing in their notice?
By having a senior member of staff re-qualify the individual on their aspirations and expectations, it’s a chance to show that you care about losing them. It’s also an opportunity to ask the individual what they feel the company could improve on.
Also consider having an internal “celebrity” manager conduct the interview – this makes people feel valuable, and might even prompt them to think twice about their decision to leave.
Staff swap
If you think that it’s worth working hard to keep the talent in question, it may be beneficial to transfer them to a department where they can have more of an impact.
New and personalised incentives could be the catalyst for greater levels of performance. Very often, if the candidate still likes the company and its internal values are aligned with the culture that they signed up to, they will consider your proposal.
So if possible, try to arrange a department swap.
Fix the leak
If one staff member leaves because they have been offered an incredible opportunity elsewhere, there is nothing to worry about.
But if – through analysing turnover data – you see a pattern developing and people are leaving because they are unhappy, it is likely that the department is leaking staff through management’s inability to connect with them.
Maybe the manager could use some emotional intelligence coaching.
Head over heels
Whatever your organisation’s process is for reviewing performance, try scheduling a 10-minute off-the-record chat with your staff once a month.
Not only does this build serious personal rapport, but it will also give the manager an excellent picture as to how the staff member is constituted emotionally. Are they an “up and down” person, or are they fairly level?
This will allow you to anticipate staff frustration before it hits boiling point and they decide to hand their notice in.