Building relationships to boost retention

Staff retention is a problem across all sectors. A quick Google will show articles and opinions on issues facing construction, the NHS, the energy sector, the wider public sector and more. I have seen first hand many of my clients in the professional and financial services sectors struggle to recruit the people they need, so retention is more than ever a key focus.

Retaining your people is certainly less expensive than continually recruiting. But this is more than a ‘cost’ issue – poor retention is often a reflection of your leadership style and internal culture. So, in addition to having an impact on your staff turnover, it could also be affecting your wider brand reputation.

Taking an objective look at why people are leaving your organisation, and then putting plans in place to do something about it is critical to workforce stability. Focusing on your internal relationships will help you to build an internal culture and structure that supports your people, encourages loyalty and starts to build your brand as a go-to employer.

Why do people leave?

There are several reasons why people choose to leave an organisation. Some of these are practical issues – such as relocating, for example. But in most cases, there’s an element of dissatisfaction – either with the role, the pay and benefits or the management style. All these things are influenced by people in the organisation – so it’s easy to see that if people can cause the problems, they are also the root to solving them!

According to an article by indeed.com, there are several common reasons for leaving a job. These include:

·       Feeling uninspired

·       Seeking a better management relationship

·       Needing more of a challenge

·       Wanting more feedback and structure

·       Looking for more recognition

These are all internal issues, linked to how you reward, develop and manage the people in your organisation. Get this right, and you will keep the talent, knowledge and expertise that you need to succeed – and put you in the right place to hire more.

What helps retention?

Based on my work with leaders and organisations who are either already committed to retention or are working to improve it, there are some clear steps that organisations can take to improve internal professional relationships and structure – which in turn improves retention:

A good all-round package – compensation matters, but for many people, work is not all about the money. If you can put together a package that includes pay, benefits, wellbeing support and development opportunities – and offer this to existing employees as well as new recruits – you can make your organisation stand out from the competition.

Commitment to career development – your people want to feel that they are contributing to the business and developing their own careers. This means that you need to be genuine about your approach to satisfaction and development within current roles, and ongoing career progression. People must feel that they matter to your organisation.

Making time – this is one of the things that people appreciate most. By building an authentic relationship with your people, you can start to understand their individual concerns and motivations. We don’t all fit in the same box – so take the time to talk and listen to your teams, allowing you to support them in the best way.

Improve your personal relationship skills – often, leaders are promoted for their technical abilities, but it is your softer skills that are the key to management success. For example, learning how to listen well is a sophisticated and critical skill – it can make all the difference to your teams and how they work with you. Take a look at my 5 levels of listening graphic, which helps you to see what sort of listener you are.

Training and development – you want to keep the best people in your organisation and equip them with the skills to take on more responsibility and have more impact on growth. So a targeted and consistent training and development programme shows your commitment to learning and expanding skills and helps people to see that you are willing to invest in their future.

Mentoring – this has been proven to be a key factor in retention. I have recently worked with a finance team to support improved career development by running training for both mentors and mentees. Both sides of this relationship gain significant value from a mentorship programme.

Building a positive culture – do you know why people are leaving your organisation? If you don’t ask, you’ll never find out. Work with people who are leaving to see what you could do better and then work towards positive change – it will show your current teams that you want them to stay, and it will help you when you are recruiting new employees.

I believe that building and maintaining positive professional relationships brings significant benefits to your organisation – so much so that I’ve devoted a third of my book Getting On: Making work work to talking about the relationships you need – including a focus on the importance of internal relationships. You can find out more and order the book here.