GETTING TO THE REAL ISSUES ON AGENT RETENTION
So you have taken on someone new. Now what? There is much more than just bringing on the most talented person. You must now create an environment conducive to retaining your talent, engaging a new agent or employee, and inspiring all those on your team.
But why is it much better to get a new agent engaged rather that having many who are just there? If they are disengaged they are just waiting around to see what happens. On the other hand engaged workers have "bought into" what your organization is about and are trying to make a difference. This is why they're usually the most productive workers.
Strong engagement produces successful business outcomes including a loyal customer base. And this leads to increasing sales and profits. The reverse is also true. Those who are not engaged have no passion for their work, they are frequently absent, they make mistakes, and they cost the organization its customers. Understanding what engages them involves connecting with them. We can’t make a universal supposition of what engages people. Instead, we need to understand the diversity of people which includes gender, culture and the different generations.
Many companies with retention problems tend to focus on the compensation issues. Compensation is definitely important. However, it loses its importance as a person moves up the career ladder. It certainly is important for a business to understand the competitive compensation plans. However, business is making a mistake by paying extra money to buy loyalty. Let’s consider Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. In that context we would consider money to be a basic hygiene factor, especially with mid-career employees. Once money is satisfied other factors such as work environment matter more. An employee’s work must represent meaningful value to him or her and must take advantage of individual talents. If an employee in this latter category were to leave for another company you probably cannot turn that around by offering the employee more money to stay. If nothing changes in the employment environment the employee will leave again.
What action would you take if your employees were to give a negative answer to the statement, “At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?” Of course, you would want to give them work that made use of their skills. But do you know how to do that? Meaningful work means different things to the different people. It is affected by preference, personality and also generational and cultural differences. Get to know your people and what is important to them. A baby boomer’s (born 1945-1964) wants are different from Generation X (Born 1965-1979). And Millennials born 1980 and after are different from the other two. The engagement solution does not involve pushing a round peg into a square hole but rather matching each employee to a position where he or she can be the best.
If your organization is suffering from a retention challenge this can be costly in expense and lost customers. When you consider recruiting and training, lost customer service, lost productivity, and lost morale in others who are left, the cost is at least two times the employee’s salary. An engaged agent or employee becomes more valuable as he or she grows. In addition, high-performing companies have loyal customers because they have loyal employees.
What is the engagement strategy for your organization or your team? This should be a line item on your P&L. This is an investment rather than an expense. The strategy should include careful selection process, an assessment process to identify key strengths, and a development plan to leverage those strengths. Read a similar blog on our web site titled KEEPIN IT REAL: EMPLOYEE RETENTION AND ENGAGEMENT.
Would you like to always have engaged workers?
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Business Coach - Strategic Plans - Sales and Marketing Coach
Grant Schneider - Leadership and Business Coach Creating Successful Business Outcomes
President Performance Development Strategies
- Business Performance and Strategic Business Plans
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914-953-4458, Armonk NY 10504 grant@pdstrategies.com
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Helping businesses go from "good to great"
Retention, something I have been working on improving since the beginning.
A few we have kept for decades, others leave much sooner.
Thanks for the advice for my never ending quest to improve on this Grant Schneider .