A friend of mine who owns a construction business told me, "We lost our receptionist right before the holiday weekend."
I asked, "What happened?"
"She said she wasn't challenged, and no one ever asked her about all the extra skills she brought to the receptionist job. She said she had very strong technical skills that could have really helped our business - but no one ever checked in with her and asked her what she could do outside of her job description."
When my friend hired this person, she told him she "wanted to work hard, stay busy, learn and grow on the job and contribute her talents." Sounds ideal, right?
So he hired her. She settled into her new position fast, and the following
4 months went smoothly.
Until she resigned!
As an HR consultant, specializing in recruitment and retention, I saw that several things went wrong from the beginning of the process:
No one "rethought" the job to see if it should evolve with the times.
There was no updated job description.
My friend heard what he wanted to hear - an applicant who wanted to "work hard and stay busy" and ignored the rest of the sentence - "learn and grow on the job and contribute my talents."
There was no follow-up communication from him -- she learned the job and did it very well. Because there was no problem, there was no communication.
There was no follow-up communication from her -- she didn't push the point. Her dissatisfaction festered until she felt she had to leave.
The Millennial Generation - hooked on stimulation, comfortable with multitasking and hungry to learn the next new thing - is entering our workforce in droves. Managers need to learn how to take the "working pulse" of their employees.
One tool that's helpful in taking this "working pulse" is an Employee Engagement Discussion.
An Employee Engagement Discussion is the cure for the under-challenged, the talented, the "flight risks" -- exactly the employees you want to retain!
The Employee Engagement Discussion is the opportune time to share talents and strengths that will benefit the manager, the department, the company. The two-part process begins with the employee completing a Talent Showcase Plan, the tool used to facilitate the discussion between the employee and the manager. It includes:
o A list of self-identified talents the employee wants to exercise on the job
o A list of ways those talents can be used from the employee's point of view
o A list of expected results
o A date for a progress update
The second part is the manager-employee meeting:
o The employee presents each self-identified talent they want to either exercise more or put into use.
o The employee and the manager discuss how the talent can best be used to contribute to the department and the organization.
o Jointly, the employee and the manager formulate the expected results for the use of the talent.
o A date is set for a follow-up meeting to review the progress and results
A tool to increase employee engagement and retention!
Having talent attrition challenges? Talk to our talent management & HR advisory consultancy in Singapore. Visit here. A internet marketing article for small business by Scotts Digital.I asked, "What happened?"
"She said she wasn't challenged, and no one ever asked her about all the extra skills she brought to the receptionist job. She said she had very strong technical skills that could have really helped our business - but no one ever checked in with her and asked her what she could do outside of her job description."
When my friend hired this person, she told him she "wanted to work hard, stay busy, learn and grow on the job and contribute her talents." Sounds ideal, right?
So he hired her. She settled into her new position fast, and the following
4 months went smoothly.
Until she resigned!
As an HR consultant, specializing in recruitment and retention, I saw that several things went wrong from the beginning of the process:
No one "rethought" the job to see if it should evolve with the times.
There was no updated job description.
My friend heard what he wanted to hear - an applicant who wanted to "work hard and stay busy" and ignored the rest of the sentence - "learn and grow on the job and contribute my talents."
There was no follow-up communication from him -- she learned the job and did it very well. Because there was no problem, there was no communication.
There was no follow-up communication from her -- she didn't push the point. Her dissatisfaction festered until she felt she had to leave.
The Millennial Generation - hooked on stimulation, comfortable with multitasking and hungry to learn the next new thing - is entering our workforce in droves. Managers need to learn how to take the "working pulse" of their employees.
One tool that's helpful in taking this "working pulse" is an Employee Engagement Discussion.
An Employee Engagement Discussion is the cure for the under-challenged, the talented, the "flight risks" -- exactly the employees you want to retain!
The Employee Engagement Discussion is the opportune time to share talents and strengths that will benefit the manager, the department, the company. The two-part process begins with the employee completing a Talent Showcase Plan, the tool used to facilitate the discussion between the employee and the manager. It includes:
o A list of self-identified talents the employee wants to exercise on the job
o A list of ways those talents can be used from the employee's point of view
o A list of expected results
o A date for a progress update
The second part is the manager-employee meeting:
o The employee presents each self-identified talent they want to either exercise more or put into use.
o The employee and the manager discuss how the talent can best be used to contribute to the department and the organization.
o Jointly, the employee and the manager formulate the expected results for the use of the talent.
o A date is set for a follow-up meeting to review the progress and results
A tool to increase employee engagement and retention!
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