Michael Jordan's Weblog

I remember the time when, leaving my first job ever (staffer for U.S. Congress Committee on House Administration) for my second job (as a sys admin for a law firm) that I was pretty nervous to tell my manager that I was leaving. I thought "what if she gets upset how will I handle it? What if she tries to bribe me to stay would I have the strength to resist in favor of this new career interest?"

Neither happened. She gave me this kind of annoyed look and then said something like "Fine."

As a manager, sometimes you're in the position to keep an employee from walking out to take a different offer. (However, once it gets to this point with an employee you want to keep, you've probably already failed in your retention effort.) What is an interesting question is How to handle soliciting commitments from employees to prevent them from seeking other opportunities.

Ever ask an employee to commit to a certain period of time?

I've seen this happen a few times, especially when organizations are going through a lot of upheaval. Staff gets nervous, starts looking for other jobs. Managers want their people to stay. Normally, management teams' discussions of retention planning center around bonuses and other perks, formal initiatives. These are necessary, certainly.

But so is appealing directly to valued staff. It's a risk because managers can't make promises they may not be able to keep. But it can be an effective option when there is a high level of trust between a manager and their staff. It signals, often explicitly, a commitment on the part of the manager to help the employee with their career (whether or not in the same group). And there is something empowering to both manager and employee when destinies are hooked together in this way. The manager feels a stronger commitment to the employee and vice versa.

Tips on asking for a commitment from an antsy employee:

• Put yourself in their shoes; handle the discussion openly
• Make it clear that the commitment is something mutual but be honest about how far you can go
• Ask for honest feedback on how far your staff is willing to go
• Talk time limits based on what's going on in your business that made this conversation necessary

This can be an effective way to avoid surprise resignations, build trust, and, most important, work together between manager and employee on a win-win career decision.

Don't take it lightly.