Keeping Good Employees
Posted on July 24, 2008 Comments (3)
Understanding Why Good Workers Quit
“Ask them directly: What can we do to keep you?,” urges Kaye. And don’t be shy or dishonest. If the employee asks for things you cannot deliver, be direct in acknowledging it but also indicate what you can do. Know, too, that just by talking to employees in this way you are scoring points because it’s something that just does not happen in most companies.
More concretely, Karen Fink, vice president of human resources for Edmunds.com, said that the glue her company uses to keep top IT workers is as simple as interesting work. “Technical workers tend to remain with an organization where they have the opportunity to contribute to interesting projects that stretch their skill sets and where they have the opportunity to be educated on the latest technologies.”
Good advice. I like direct, simple, questions. What can we do to keep you? What do you enjoy about your job? What do you dislike? What can I do to increase your joy in work? What one thing would you most like to see changed? What do you want to see continue? Would you like help in some aspect of your career development? What can I do better? Am I providing too much oversight, not enough?
Give honest straight forward answers to questions. If someone wants to move ahead and needs to work harder to advance their career tell them that. If they need to be more cooperative, develop certain skills… tell them. The idea is not just to make the person happy in that meeting. If they need to work on certain things to get where they want then help them do that. Give your best advice and say what they can do to improve.
Related: People are Our Most Important Asset – What 1 Thing Can We Improve? – IT Talent Shortage, or Management Failure? – Silicon Valley Style Hiring – How to Improve – Respect for People, Understanding Psychology – The Joy of Work
Categories: Career, IT, Management, quote, Respect
Tags: commentary, respect for people, Software Development, tips
3 Responses to “Keeping Good Employees”
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July 28th, 2008 @ 3:22 pm
it is better to be thought a pointy haired boss than to ask for feedback, then ignore it, and prove you are a PHB…
February 5th, 2009 @ 10:32 am
The right people do need management to do their job: to provide guidance, to work on improving the organizational system, to coach employees when needed, to plan for the future, to determine where to focus the organizations resources…
February 12th, 2009 @ 10:18 am
One aspect of managing people is to provide positive feedback and show appreciation… In addition to just telling them, take action to show your appreciation.