Retention and Recognition Strategies

You get the knock on the door, “Got a minute”? One of your star performers walks in and starts telling you that they are leaving the organization. Ouch, this was quite unexpected and this person is an integral part of the team.  What should we do next? How can we prevent this of type of “bad turnover” from happening again?

Which comes first, employee retention strategy or recognition? Voltage CEO Jeff Smith and I did a recent radio show, Illuminating Leadership on this very topic. Below are some of the tips and tools we talked about.

For answers to the questions above and a deeper dive into Recognition and Retention Strategies please click this link:

                                                Recognition IS a Retention Strategy                                                                                             The Big “3” F-R-C

1.  Feedback – “Retained” employees want and need consistent honest feedback about how they are doing.

2.  Recognition – Ignoring star performers paves the way for them to be recognized by another employer.

3.  Caring – “Retained” employees feel a real sense of integrity from their reporting relationship.

                                     How to practice Recognition as a Retention Strategy

• Find out what do employees want from their culture. It’s your job as a leader to create space for the retention discussion to consistently happen! Be inquisitive, get behind the Manager’s closed door and understand their satisfiers and dissatisfiers.
• Don’t get hung up on trying to have the “perfect” retention program. Don’t delay on starting to recognize top performers and keep it simple. Even with little or no budget just do it.
• Avoid the “Iceberg of Ignorance” - Ask staff and teammates, “what should we be doing differently”? Some data suggest that only 4% of “true” organizational problems are understood at the “C” level while 75 – 100% of the front-line managers and staff live with them every day!
• Practice Re-Recruiting – Treat them as if you wanted to join your Team. What would you do differently?

Recognition ideas:

• Lunch with the boss – Make it about them, not a defacto session
• Don’t forget their birthday – simple, but many forget this simple opportunity
• Peer to peer recognition – Build esprit ‘d corp by setting the example to follow
• Hand written notes to the employee’s home / spouse, (with gift card / dinner etc)
• The Travelling Trophy -Simple, fun and never goes out of style, (take their picture with                       it)
• Give Time Back – ie, Time off to let them participate causes they care deeply about
• March Madness – For fun only, tap the passion and excitement of the road to the final                       four
• Let vacation be vacation -  And when they return, let them adjust a little as they                                        “re-enter”
• Work from Home day – Trust them to do what they need to. Give them the freedom to be who they are.