This employee retention speaker and employee retention expert is often amazed at how some leaders treat their employees. When I work with clients, this employee recruitment expert advises HR Leaders to remind other leaders in the organization to “think like an employee.” This will make them conscious of some the stupid, inconsiderate and disrespectful things they do when dealing with their employees. I ask leaders to imagine how it would feel if their boss did some of those things to them. How would they feel? Unfortunately, many times leaders have been in leadership roles so long they forgot what is like to be just a “regular” employee. Some of the best leaders I have seen have come up through the ranks and remember what it is like to be a “regular” employee. Here are some of the big mistakes leaders make.
- Not keeping people informed about changes that could impact an employee.
- Not asking for input when considering changes that could affect someone so they come in the next day and get the bomb dropped on them.
- Stealing credit for something their employee did.
- Throwing someone under the bus in a meeting.
- Micromanaging them.
- Constantly changing expectations.
- Not listening when their employee has a concern or an idea.
These are just a few I thought of when writing this blog. If you want to come up with more things try this exercise. This employee retention author used to do this when I was an HR Leader. I would sit out on my back patio having a vodka tonic with a note pad and a pen. I would think about all the things former bosses had done that really made me angry or got me thinking perhaps the grass was greener on the other side of the fence. Some were recent events and others were from the distant past. This employee retention expert had an advantage because I came up through the ranks to become an HR Leader. I was a “regular” employee.
This exercise is an easy one to do. If you are a leader, it will help you get better. It should be a part of your employee retention strategy. Remember 75% of the people in this country say the worst thing about their job is their boss! If you want to be in the 25th percentile that people view as a Great Boss…think like an employee!
Is your organization desperate to retain people? If you are an HR Leader, General Manager or an owner of an organization, call me of email me at jeff@jeffkortes.com to learn how the C.R.A.P, (Caring, Respect, Appreciation, Praise) process can reduce your employee turnover by 40-80%.
