A recurring human resources challenge that every growing company faces is retaining the top talent you worked hard to recruit and develop.
This is especially true in today’s business environment, where the high-tech job market is returning to its near-frenetic state. Many talented people who weathered the storm during the economic downturn are starting to explore new job opportunities. You may also have some team members who have been with you for several years as you built the company who are now interested in diversifying their careers.
Losing an employee is always tough. There are clear financial ramifications due to lost productivity and having to recruit again. And, depending on the circumstances, there might be an impact on morale. Occasionally, employees leave for reasons beyond your control, but generally I have found there are many factors involved in whether an employee stays that you can directly influence.
Say ‘thank you’
While money is a “satisfier,” it often is not the only — or even the most important — motivating factor for many people. At the end of the day, we all want to believe that what we’re doing matters. Make it a point to regularly let your people know when they have done a good job and help them feel like their contribution is important.
Genuine appreciation costs nothing but yields significant benefits. By recognizing your people frequently for their accomplishments, no matter how big or small, they will value their work even more and want to strive for even greater accomplishments. Also, public praise not only empowers the employee being recognized, but it also raises the performance bar across the company.
Establish open communication
One of the cornerstones of my management style is open and frequent communication. Keeping employees in the dark only makes them feel disconnected. By making sure your employees are kept in the loop about the company’s progress, issues and successes, they will become more vested in the company and want to help make it succeed alongside you.
The larger your organization becomes, the more difficult it is to keep in touch with all of your employees, especially if you have multiple, geographically dispersed offices. For this reason, you will want to over-communicate. My philosophy here is to repeat details to employees until you are almost sick of hearing it yourself. You can do this by establishing regular company meetings, sending companywide emails, having managers repeat the details to their teams and, most importantly, walking the halls.
By setting aside time to roam your company’s halls, a concept Hewlett-Packard Co. used to refer to as management by walking around, you will be more accessible and likely have interactions with employees who you don’t get to see regularly. When employees feel like their voices are heard, they will become more loyal to you as a leader and to the company overall.
Deal with nonperformers, cultural misfits
One thing my experience in the corporate world has taught me is that nonperformers and cultural misfits impact the happiness of other employees and can eventually demoralize the entire team. Establishing an open dialogue policy within your company enables you and your management team to be clued into these types of issues from the get-go. Once these situations escalate, it’s important to face them head-on. And after identifying that someone doesn’t have the skills or attitude to succeed, it’s important to make a change and move on. In the long run, this is usually best for the employee, their co-workers and the company.
It’s OK to fail
For many employees, there is nothing worse than coming to work every day fearing that you’ll be micromanaged or, worse, criticized for trying your best to do your job. In the startup world in particular, it is important to encourage your team members to work independently and give them the time and space to come up with new ideas and approaches to problems. As a leader, you know that creative freedom means that some ideas might fail, but allowing for that creativity motivates employees and ensures that some great ideas come out that never would have otherwise.
And some failures are OK because they can lead to a better answer in the future. Does anybody remember the Apple Newton long before the Apple iPhone? In general, if you criticize your employees for trying and failing, they will learn to “play it safe.” Encouraging your employees to “think outside the box” enables them to act independently, make sound decisions and, ultimately, feel they have the respect and support of the company and its leaders.
Avoid the drudgery
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, is to establish a company culture that fosters an environment where people truly enjoy coming to work. Colleen Barrett, president emerita and corporate secretary of Southwest Airlines — a company I greatly admire — famously said, “Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun.” I could not agree more.
There is nothing more motivating as an entrepreneur than the opportunity to work with a great team. I truly believe that what sets up a company for success, regardless of its industry or business model, is its people. It is critical that your employees want to come to work because they are respected, treated like adults and have goals they believe are attainable. A positive, fun-loving, yet accountable work environment can be one of the key factors in keeping your team highly motivated. By building a supportive, open environment, you will be able to attract the best and brightest employees, and ensure that they stay with you every step of the way.
Mark McClain is CEO and co-founder of Austin-based SailPoint Technologies Inc. He was finalist for the 2011 and 2012 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards for Central Texas.