People couldn’t believe he jumped to another company.  Tom was an all-star salesman who won multiple sales awards over the last 5 years.  He earned sizable raises year after year and large bonuses.  It didn’t make sense to some.

Tom called me multiple times during his final 6 months with the company.  He did not call to discuss his salary, bonus, or benefits.  His frustration was with his boss.

Employee Retention

Through the years, I watched some teams consistently keep their best people while other teams seemed to have a revolving door.  Same salary, bonus and benefit structure…different leaders.

Periodically, I sat in meetings with other leaders discussing the best way to ensure our most talented people stayed with us.  We were handed fact sheets about our top compensation system and world-class benefits.  The message was, “Share this with them.  They won’t want to leave if they realize these facts.”

After these meetings, I would often sit with my good friend Kevin who always led winning, low maintenance teams.  Retention was not an issue on his teams.  He was a leader.  His people knew they were in a special place and leaving was the furthest thing from their minds.

4 Keys To Kevin’s Low Employee Turnover

1.  Kevin Created -A Cohesive Team

Kevin’s team felt like they were in it together.  He helped them see a bigger purpose for everything they did.  They weren’t just trying to earn more money. They were part of something special and doing something special.

This team celebrated each other’s victories and aided each other in times of challenge both at work and on personal issues.  When tornadoes ripped through a teammates neighborhood, his coworkers were the first one’s their helping clean up.

2.  Kevin Communicated -Often

He held frequent conference calls to keep his people informed.  When a strategy was rolled out, Kevin over-communicated the key points throughout the sales campaign to ensure retention and implementation.

A common statistic in sales is that a customer will not remember a sales message until you deliver it 7 times.  Kevin used this same statistic to communicate important information to his team.

3.  Kevin Challenged -His People To Grow

Kevin frequently and consistently challenged his people to grow professionally and personally.  He used books and other tools break the tyranny of the status quo that can often develop on successful teams.

By challenging each individual to grow, Kevin guaranteed his teams were always moving towards new goals versus relishing the successes of the past.

4.  Kevin Cared -About Each Person

At the heart of it all, Kevin cared.  He believed his role was to ensure each person reached his/her potential.  Kevin felt responsible for more than sales numbers.  He was responsible for each individual and their families.

His people were not the tools that brought Kevin success.  He felt God’s calling for him to be a servant leader so his people succeeded.  His own success was a side effect of other’s success.

The Bottom Line:

Salary, bonus and benefit concerns are usually symptoms of larger issues that often boil down to failures in leadership.  As a front-line leader we can all lead like Kevin, but we often can’t change employee compensation or benefit plans.

As a front line leader, I may not have the power to change policies, but I do have the power to lead my team well.

  • Imagine being on a team that cared about each other and worked together for a common purpose versus personal agendas.
  • Imagine having a leader that kept you informed so you were always inspired, kept on track and rarely surprised.
  • Imagine being in a position where you were consistently not just growing better at your job, but also becoming a better person.
  • Imagine having a leader that saw their role was to help you accomplish your goals and not just squeeze more productivity out of those they lead.

Working in an environment like that would be difficult to leave for a little more cash or the promise increased benefits.  Surveys and studies have shown over and over again that the #1 reason people leave an organization is their direct supervisor.

As a leader, I am the best employee retention strategy my company has.

Question:

When have you left a job due to your supervisor?