With the high cost of employee turnover, there is never a good time to lose someone on your team. But with the Great Resignation or Great Reshuffle (depending on who you ask), it feels more critical than ever to hold onto your employees. This is especially true if you have directly felt the effects of this latest labor challenge, either by having staff leave or by struggling to find qualified (or any) applicants for a new position.
You may be so focused on holding on to employees that you hesitate to address performance problems or cringe when you have to introduce a new goal or procedure. What if that is the last straw for someone? Now is not the time to be tough – it’s the time to be everyone’s favorite manager, right?
It might be tempting to tiptoe around issues and put off difficult discussions in the hopes that things work themselves out. Here’s the problem with that strategy: things rarely work themselves out.
Not being transparent about what’s happening in the company and department can lead to confusion and disengagement.
Not dealing with performance shortfalls often has ripple effects. Other employees may see that standards are lax and follow suit. Or other, better, employees will have to pick up the slack, feel taken advantage of and leave; after all, there are a lot of other opportunities out there for them. Now you’ve lost a great employee to avoid losing one that’s underperforming. Or you will have to do double the work, which sort of defeats the purpose of having the employee in the first place.
So, what can you do to keep managing confidently when you feel anything but confident about the situation?
Communicate:
- Check in with your team and see if they’re motivated and their needs are being met.
- If you foresee new situations that might lead to discouragement (an increase in goals or workload, potentially unpopular policy changes, or new/unfamiliar leadership initiatives) make sure the team is informed in advance and prepared. Let them know the reasoning behind the decisions, their parts in the plan, and what specific changes are being made.
- Listen to their concerns and brainstorm solutions. Feeling heard and respected is critical to employee engagement.
Be an advocate:
A manager’s most challenging job is being a liaison between top leadership and employees. The leadership team may have ideas about processes/policy changes that should be made or targets that should be reached. Ideally, a company’s goals and plans will always be growth oriented and ambitious. Change is a necessary part of success, but the leadership team does not always have an exact picture of day-to-day operations. It’s the manager’s job to provide realistic information about what’s possible, not only in terms of what the employees are capable of, but in terms of what would turn an engaging, fulfilling career into pure drudgery and despair.
A manager should also be an advocate for pay, incentives and rewards for the team. You are the one who knows firsthand what your employees are worth, and you are the one who can help make sure that is what they are receiving.
Maximize talent:
No matter the hiring climate, there shouldn’t be a situation where your department will be sunk by one person leaving. Make sure every person has sufficient knowledge and training to cover an opening if needed. This has the benefit of increasing engagement by giving an avenue for growth to those who want one. Note: Maximizing talent does not mean doubling someone’s workload. This is about being ready to address a temporary situation.
Be prepared to start the hiring process before you need to:
Make sure your job postings, job descriptions, and training materials are up to date. Research the market and confirm your proposed salary ranges and benefits are competitive. As amazing a manager as you are, you can’t control everything. People retire, relocate, develop new interests, or encounter new opportunities. Also, if you’re not currently hiring but just barely keeping your head above water staffing wise, it might be time to start hunting for candidates now.
And yes, address those performance problems:
If you have communicated expectations and they are not being met by someone on your team, there is no alternative but to deal with it. Discuss the concern, explore the reasons for it, and come up with an improvement plan. Make sure you are following up and holding the performer accountable. This could absolutely lead to the loss of an employee, either via resignation or termination. And of course, this is a terrible time for that to happen. But it is a necessary part of leadership, no matter what the latest labor-related challenge is.
So, how should you be managing during the Great Resignation, Reshuffling or Re-whatever this is? Well, really, no differently than any other time. Your goals as a manager should always be to keep employees engaged, do what you can to reduce turnover, be fair, and communicate effectively. There are situations you can’t control, for example *gestures vaguely everywhere*. The one thing you or any of us can control is our own response. Be that favorite manager all the time, not by being a pushover but by being fair and dependable. And if you need help preparing to hire, assessing candidates, or tackling leadership issues, your Omnia Success team is here for you! Reach out any time for help navigating these or any other management challenges. We have tools to help you!
