Over the last few years, all kinds of new jargon have entered into our vernacular.
Take, for instance, The Great Resignation, Presenteeism, Quiet Quitting, Quiet Hiring, Quiet Firing, Quiet Promoting, and most recently, The Big Stay.
In most cases, these are catchy monikers for employee practices that have always existed in one fashion or another. The titles perhaps capture more attention in the minds and hearts of managers and leaders. They certainly make for sexier headlines.
Regardless of what you decide to call the trends, we know that turnover is a thing, and the point is, you need to keep re-recruiting your team.
According to Mercer, overall turnover dropped from 24.7% in 2022 to 17.3% between 2022-2023. That’s the good news (hence, “The Big Stay”). But research by Job Seeker Nation, indicates that 30% of new hires quit within 90 days.
Remember last week when we talked about leadership being a contact sport? Here’s a perfect example of when you need to get in the game vs. stand around on the sidelines.
For example, I used to support a service center. Internal data indicated that turnover typically happened once an employee hit 18 – 24 months.
While it’s always important, this reflected a critical time for managers to know what was going on with their teams. Who needed support? Who wasn’t being challenged enough? Who was showing a different pattern of behavior that might indicate a flight risk?
That window, however, seems to be shrinking. According to recent research conducted by my friend and colleague, Shuba Gopal, the turnover period has constricted to 12 – 18 months.
Further, a study by McKinsey indicates that 25% of those who left the “traditional” workforce and then returned, are likely to pursue a new position after just 3-6 months. One of the biggest reasons? Lack of career development.
It’s not uncommon for managers, even the best-intentioned of them, to dismiss the need for one-to-one meetings or routinely not make the time for them.
Yet this is a great way to not only offer your team support, but also to keep a pulse on where peoples’ heads are at.
You can re-engage employees by checking in, openly discussing points of frustration, or offering opportunities for skill development.
While it’s not a panacea, re-recruiting people and reminding them of why they joined the company in the first place, gives you a chance to fix what is fixable and ultimately reduce turnover.
If you’re not sure where to start, here’s a simple exercise that may help you.
Imagine that an employee gives you their notice. What is your reaction to this news?
- You are internally jumping for joy. This person is a PIA ,and you think to yourself, “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” 🙂
- You sigh. It’s not the best news you’ve received and also not the worst. The employee is a decent performer but isn’t setting the world on fire either.
- You feel yourself starting to sweat as the abject terror seeps in and the voices in your head are screaming, “OMG WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITHOUT THIS PERSON!”
Your response above should help guide the type of conversation you may need to have with different people on your team now. Don’t wait for them to give their notice.
For example if your response was a) above, your action is a) below. And so forth.:
- Set clear expectations about roles and responsibilities and what strong performance looks like. Then hold people accountable to those standards.
- Better understand this person’s strengths and motivators, and see how you can help them increase their contribution to the organization.
- Now is a good time to tell this person how much you value them and why*, ensure you are clear on what energizes and motivates them, which skills they really like using, and to the degree possible, match this to their job responsibilities..
What do you do to re-recruit your team
*Please be specific. People like to hear they “do a great job” but it’s not particularly helpful to them in understanding how they are contributing to the organization. Focus your comments on behaviors and the things you’d like to continue to see – their skill at working with irate clients, their track record developing their team, their deftness at navigating complex and challenging negotiations, etc.
