How to Keep the Employees You Spent the Time and Money to Hire

Are your employees searching for other jobs in their free time? If they’re not happy, as in feeling empowered and engaged in the workplace, there is a good chance that they are.

And yet we all know that searching for and changing jobs is stressful. It’s not easy to find the perfect position amid the seemingly endless black hole of online postings.

Still, lots of people aren’t loving their work, a fact that drives performance and productivity downward. Left unaddressed, it can be costly to your company’s bottom line. In fact, the Society of Human Resource Management estimates the cost of losing an employee can be up to double that staff member’s salary.

Enter leadership development. Research shows that managers and other staff members, given the opportunity to develop their soft skills in the area of leadership, tend to stick around. These employees tend to be happier, more engaged, productive and loyal—exactly what your business or organization needs to thrive. To achieve that “Zen,” however, where do you start?

1. Know your turnover rates. Keeping your finger on the pulse of turnover is one of the best ways to gauge whether or not your people are happy in their jobs and if the workplace culture is sticky enough to keep them. High turnover is anywhere upwards of 25%. If people are leaving, the costs aren’t just damaging financially but culturally.
2. Access the skills gap. At MAP, we use diagnostic tools to survey and really learn what aspects of leadership can be improved with our clients and their teams. In particular, we can determine the strengths of their managers and executive teams, as well as areas in which they can be skilled up for greater success. When you access the skills gap, you’ll find the transparency and truth not just informative but powerful.
3. Invest in leadership development. People really want to learn, grow and feel like they’re contributing to a healthy workplace, not just being productive, but being real drivers in making it a better place to be employed. In fact, research shows 86% of professionals say they’d change jobs if more professional development was offered to them. The same study concluded that 66% of professionals said there isn’t much support for those wishing to take on leadership roles in their workplace.

Clearly, investing in leadership development, whether through onsite training, workshops, or customized coaching, is one of the most cost-effective ways to attract and keep the right talent. More importantly, using a proven system to hold people accountable to implement what they’ve learned delivers ROI that will balance out the investment and produce a more empowered workforce. This creates a culture that sustains a more competitive marketplace edge, pushing profitability to new heights.

Don’t lose your managers and other high-level staff to the competition. Use leadership development to keep them for good. Contact MAP today!