Ask the Geezers

Attrition

Question: One of my staff told me that he's being aggressively recruited by a competing company. The recruiting is very targeted, and it is apparent that the caller had internal information about the teams, structure, functionality and even ratings. How can I deal with it? Is there something I can do to stop it?


Amiram Hayardeny: It happens sometimes, that people who left the company are being put in hiring positions in different companies. Naturally, they will try to use their knowledge of the old place to get skillful, talented, hard working staff to work with them or for them in the new place. Indeed, a clause in the contract warns against this behavior. Up to one year, depending on the situation, the departing person is not allowed to actively recruit from his or her old team. However, very little can be done to really prevent it. The person can make lists of targeted staff and hand it over to HR, he can give it away to a friend or a colleague. What can be done is completely internal, and mostly up to the junior managers. It's called a retention plan.

For many, retention means something monetary, something tangible, hard cash or stock. Indeed, making sure the staff are reasonably happy from a financial viewpoint is important. But there are many other ways to ensure that staff are happy and satisfied in their jobs. You must remember that people have choices. Your objective is to make sure that your staff chooses you. Every single day.

As a manager, it's your job to make sure that the people reporting to you work in a pleasant environment, that the job they have to perform is interesting, challenging and not tedious, that their contribution is significant and recognized. You must look in the mirror and ask yourself "when people leave the company, is there any chance that they are leaving on my account?".

In short, you have to make sure that your staff is satisfied. Job satisfaction is comprised of many elements, it is imperative to address ALL elements, on a timely basis. It is highly recommended to not wait for times when staff give notice to evaluate your staff's level of satisfaction. In fact, it's really important to do it on a regular basis. You can use one one one meetings, 360 surveys, and other tools provided by HR. Remember, when people leave companies, it's most likely that they leave their manager...

Read the this article (http://www.enotes.com/business-finance-encyclopedia/job-satisfaction) and you shall find the different elements of job satisfaction. It's important to address them all. Regularly.

Mike Hayden:

Sin-Yaw Wang:

Yes, try your very hardest to be a good manager.  Be creative in looking at processes to improve; be encouraging for interesting ideas to cultivate; be brave to do the right things, even if they are not popular; be good at project management so that the deliveries are at their best.  Good engineers need good manager to shine and they will stay with you.

Question: A staff member gave a 30 day notice.  She said that she was offered over 20% raise over what she makes with us, or  a promotion, more responsibility, and more challenging work.   Is there a way to convince her to stay?

Amiram Hayardeny: You must ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do you want this person to stay on board? Sometimes when a person wants to leave it isn't such a bad thing. Go back to her performance reviews, analyze her contribution, relationships with peers and managers, and don't be afraid to say: "yes, it will take time to hire and replace her, but truthfully, her departure may become an opportunity.
2. However, if you are happy with her performance and contribution, you have to verify the following: is she correctly leveled, correctly paid? Is she frustrated with her peers? managers? Try to isolate the reason why she wants to leave and see if you can mend the situation. For example, if you realize that she was skipped for a promotion or for a raise, try and fix it. Even in retrospect. Keep in mind, if she is underpaid, or mis-leveled, then you will not be "giving in to pressure", but actually correcting an error.
3. Is it within your means to mend the situation? What are the consequences with regards to other staff?
4. Does she understand the forces of the marketplace? A person is usually paid his or her market worth. Higher pay most likely means that she will get to cut a corner, but eventually, the new employer will equate her pay with her market worth. So she should be aware that this raise is temporary and not permanent.
5. Make sure she understands her growth opportunities, challenges, peer relationships etc.
   
6. If after all she decides to leave, it's always best to part as friends. The world is small, and burning bridges never helped...

Mike Hayden:  

Sin-Yaw Wang: 

The game is almost over when the person resigns.  Wish her the bests stay in touch.  At the same time, be the the best manager as you can (see above).  The rest of your staff will grow, hopefully faster than the departed employees, and find it difficult to trade a short-term gain with long-term prosperity.

By the way, if they cannot grow faster, then you will lose the rest of your staff eventually.

Posted at 08:28AM Nov 08, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in General  |  Comments[0]