Relationship Woes?

Good relationships aren't difficult -- bad relationships are! In a business environment, poor relationships are also expensive. An Adecco Staffing survey of 1,000 workers reports that 49 percent of employees say yes, their relationship with their boss directly affects their productivity.

Yeah, it's that important.

Many managers don't really understand what motivates and matters to their employees. We sometimes assume, or think we know, but we don't. Let's look at another study, this time ranking the factors that most influence employee performance. In this study, not only were employees polled, but managers were also asked to predict what those employees' rankings would be. Were the managers right? Take a look.

What Managers Expected Employees to Say

1. High wages
2. Job security
3. Promotion within the company
4. Good working conditions
5. Interesting work

What Employees Really Say Influences Them

1. Full appreciation of work done
2. Feeling of being in on things
3. Help on personal problems
4. Job security
5. High wages

Feeling appreciated and clued-in ranks higher than wages largely because to be appreciated and well-informed prepares us to make outstanding contributions, meet critical goals, and make smart decisions that will result in career growth.

Think of the stereotypical editorial assistant, fetching coffee and doing front-line work -- the pay's not high, the prestige isn't high, and he hasn't chosen that environment to learn different blends of coffee beans. He's learning the business, making a contribution to the big picture, and working toward a fulfilling career.

Make time for important conversations...

Do you have to know the names of your direct reports' pets? Of course not, but knowing your employees' life and career goals helps you leverage what you and your employees have to offer one another into a healthy, productive relationship. A global consumer response survey of 1,625 workers gave some insight into welcome conversation. What aspect is most important when employers communicate with workers?

• Giving insights on how to be more effective (52 percent)
• Showing how to fit into the company's vision (47 percent)
• Explaining the company's vision (45 percent)
• Engaging on a personal level (41 percent)

Build those relationships. To your direct reports, you are the company. The company's strategic goals and how it all fits together comes from you. If you can't sum up those strategic goals, go to your boss, who may go to her boss... It's a conversation that may have unexpected benefits!

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Retention, Retention, Retention!

We often hear the truism that the three most important factors in real estate are: location, location and location. A less well-appreciated truism is that one of the most important factors in profitability is one that bears repeating: retention, retention, retention. After all, how can you build intellectual capital, maintain an integrated, functioning workforce, and rapidly adapt to changing market forces if you're continually finding, selecting and training candidates? Capitalize on the investment you've made in the training of employees, and the value you receive from those employees' accumulated knowledge -- don't let the good ones go if you can possibly avoid it.

You will lose at least 6 months' salary -- and up to 18 months' salary, for knowledge worker positions -- to recruit, hire and train a new employee.

No company or manager can control all the forces that might cause employees to leave. Spouses relocate, taking your good people with them... a whole host of other reasons companies cannot control. And of course, if an employee simply cannot meet expectations, both you and that employee would be better served by their finding a new role, either with your company or elsewhere.

However, many, many valuable employees leave for reasons that we can, and should control if we know what's good for business.

Why Do They Leave? Managers might be surprised to find out why workers change jobs. What would your guess be? More money? Nope. Although 97 percent of workers think financial compensation is one of the most important aspects in the workplace, it is not the main reason they change jobs. A Spherion study asked 1,996 randomly selected employed workers what the most important reasons were to change jobs. They answered:

• Growth and earnings potential (30 percent)
• Time and flexibility (23 percent)
• Financial compensation (22 percent)
• Culture, work environment (22 percent)
• Benefits (12 percent)

More cited growth potential than any other single consideration. Just as many listed work culture and environment as important reasons to make a job change as listed financial compensation. Flexibility on time and location is of great importance to those aspiring to excel both professionally and in their family lives. Employers are now facing the challenge of generations interested in self-actualization in both their work and personal lives.

Some managers might be tempted to throw up their hands and roll their eyes, wondering, "Just how far am I supposed to go to keep people happy?" That frustration is understandable, given today's "do more with less" culture.

The good news is that it is well within your power to increase retention -- and the performance of employees who stay -- with some fairly simple interpersonal skills.

• Pay attention to the career arcs of your direct reports, because they do.
• Be flexible when you can be, any way you can be, so employees can have careers and lives.
• Check out salary trends for your industry, so you don't lose $20,000 trying to save $3,000.

Paying attention can really pay off.

Barr Corporate Success is a consultancy firm dedicated to producing amazing results for businesses from Mom & Pop shops to Fortune 500 corporations. If your business is experiencing retention difficulties, it's likely a sign that a change is needed. Barr Corporate Success can show you the way.

For more information, please e-mail Krissi Barr at:

krissi@barrcorporatesuccess.com

or see our website at www.barrcorporatesuccess.com

Appreciate...Communicate... Accelerate!

You know your business better than anyone, so here are some useful questions you might want to consider. Would it surprise you to learn that "high wages" ranks halfway down employees' list of factors that most influence their performance? For some it's counterintuitive, but "Show me the money" is only a small part of the equation.

Managers predicted employees would rank wages highest, but the most important factor listed by employees as influencing their productivity was "Full appreciation of work done."

Stop and think about that for a moment. What is appreciation? Sure, a raise is a good indication that you value an employee's work, but does it communicate "full appreciation"? What about the second most important factor, "a feeling of being in on things?"

• Does everyone on your team feel that they know what's going on, when, and why?
• Can employees make a clear connection between their work and the company's vision?
• Have they had the company's vision explained to them in real-world terms?

A second study asked, "What aspect is important when your employer communicates with you?" The top answers:

Giving insights on how to be more effective (52%)

Showing how to fit into the company's vision (47%)

Explaining the company's vision (45%)

Engaging on a personal level (41%)

When you drag out the company checkbook, or better yet, before, share the company vision with employees, offer them concrete examples and guiding principles for decision-making and improvement in their performance, demonstrate sincere appreciation for the work they do, and show you care how work fits into their lives as a whole.

It's relatively easy to do on an individual basis, but increasingly hard to build into an entire company's culture.

Barr Corporate Success has improved teamwork, profits, retention, productivity and profits throughout organizations from family businesses all the way up to Fortune 500 companies.

Call Krissi or Jodi today to find out how we can help you hardwire amazing performance into your company!

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