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Keeping Good
People
(adapted from
The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave by Leigh Branham)
Keith Starcher
DayStar Consulting, Inc.
If I’ve learned one thing in
recent years, it’s this: keep an eye on the demographics. For
example, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by
the year 2012 there will be 3 million more jobs in the U.S. than
people to fill them. Message to company owners and managers:
work hard to keep your people. There will soon be a “seller’s
market” for jobs.
The author of “The 7 Hidden
Reasons Employees Leave” analyzed a database of 19,700 exit and
current employee surveys that had been conducted from 1999 thru
2003. His analysis uncovered four fundamental human needs that,
if not met, cause employees to begin to disengage and think
about leaving an organization.
·
The need for
TRUST: Expecting the company and management to deliver on its
promises, to be honest and open in all communications with you,
to invest in you, to treat you fairly, and to compensate you
fairly and on time.
·
The need to have
HOPE: Believing that you will be able to grow, develop your
skills on the job and through training, and have the opportunity
for advancement or career progress leading to higher earnings.
·
The need to feel a
sense of WORTH: Feeling confident that if you work hard, do
your best, demonstrate commitment, and make meaningful
contributions, you will be recognized and rewarded accordingly.
Feeling worthy also means that you will be shown respect and
regarded as a valued asset, not a cost, to the organization.
·
The need to feel
COMPETENT: Expecting that you will be matched to a job that
makes good use of your talents and is challenging, receive the
necessary training to perform the job capably, see the end
results of your work, and obtain regular feedback on your
performance.
Take a moment and rate your
organization as to help well you are doing in meeting each of
the four “needs.” Where do you see the need for improvement?
Schedule some time to think about next steps in making positive
changes.
The Psychological Contract
This is the implicit contract
between an individual and the organization which specifies what
each expects to give and receive from each other in the
relationship. As you can imagine, mismatches here lead to job
dissatisfaction.
Write It Down
I like what Allstate has done.
This company has written down its psychological contract. I’ve
provided a segment of Allstate’s psychological contract below.
You should expect Allstate
to:
·
Offer work that
is meaningful and challenging.
·
Promote an
environment that encourages open and constructive dialogue.
·
Recognize you for
your accomplishments.
·
Provide
competitive pay and rewards based on your performance.
·
Advise you on
your performance through regular feedback.
·
Create learning
opportunities through education and job assignments.
Allstate expects you to:
·
Perform at levels
that significantly increase the company’s ability to outperform
the competition.
·
Take on
assignments critical to meeting business objectives.
·
Willingly listen
and act upon feedback.
·
Exhibit no bias
in interactions with colleagues and customers.
·
Behave
consistently with Allstate’s ethical standards.
·
Continually
improve processes to address customers’ needs.
Someone in your organization
needs to be thinking through the psychological contract you have
with your employees, looking for and fixing any “mismatches.”
I was thinking about the above
in the context of a Christian working in the marketplace for God
and came up with this:
You should expect God to:
·
Love you no
matter what your role in the marketplace.
·
Equip you for any
task that He has called you to in the marketplace.
·
Work out His
greater kingdom purposes through your life in the marketplace.
God expects you to:
·
Love Him with all
your heart, soul, mind and strength.
·
Love your
neighbor as yourself.
One of your competitors has,
is, or will be looking to lure an employee of yours away. What
will you do this week to ensure that you “Keep Your Employees?”
Keith
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