ah, the damocles sword of staff retention.
by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals: practical guidance for today’s accounting firms
there is an old adage: “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone.” this covers everything from people to technology and things in between. some people might make the argument they know or knew what they had, they just always thought they would have it – whatever “it” is.
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this situation reveals itself in the work environment. you have done all you could (or so you think) to attract and recruit a high-performing team; created programs to keep your team members enthusiastic and jazzed about coming to work; and spent vast sums on training and education.
but one day your star performer tells you he or she is leaving. what gives? what, if anything, did you overlook? was there a miscommunication, an incorrectly interpreted situation, a supposedly innocent offhand remark that took on a life of its own? will you ever find out the real reason?
maybe. but most likely it’s too late, the person’s decision is irreversible.
by some measures, it will cost three to four times the departing individual’s salary to get a replacement up and running. the real tragedy is that it would have cost you much less to do what was necessary to keep that person. then again, you were under the impression you wouldn’t lose what you realized you had. oops.
senior leaders and managers must discover approaches or practices that resonate with a mobile workforce. those may require sucking it up and making compromises. the notion of work flexibility is not new, yet why is it that employers still require “presenteeism”? this term was addressed in the book “why works sucks and how to fix it.” part of the thesis is that less time is lost from people staying at home than from them coming to the office or facility and not performing at full capacity. this book (and others that cover the challenges of the new employee in a new work environment) is worth reading. there are a variety of practices, programs and processes that are easy to implement, making the workday less stressful. this can contribute to a higher retention rate.
“hire for attitude and train for skills.” – tom peters
office hours have become mere suggestions. as grownups, if we have projects, proposals, reports and other deadline-driven work, the idea of office hours being 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. is really meaningless. have a long train ride and good internet connection? think of what you can accomplish by working in a different surrounding. and if work can get done on an hourlong train ride, think how much can be accomplished from a home office.
we have such busy lives and weekends are often just long lunch hours. using audio and video capabilities, no one needs to be going to the office every day, especially if there are no clients to meet. if you haven’t already, consider instituting flextime and telecommuting. the latter can be an effective bargaining tool to offset additional travel costs for an office that has relocated, or if there is an appreciable increase in client travel.
your employees are your most effective advocates and promoters to entice new talent to join the firm. they can boast about a schedule they are in control of and the convenience (also cost savings) of working from anywhere.
don’t just jump in – have a plan
you may be hearing or reading what other firms are doing but you need to resist the “us too” temptation. think carefully about creating a flextime, telecommuting or any other innovative program designed with the goal of an improved work environment. there are eeo, insurance, human resource and liability issues to consider. also, if your firm’s internal communication apparatus is suspect, you must make every effort to keep the telecommuters up to date on firm actions and decisions.
the grass always appears greener, but after a while, those who telecommute may feel a sense of isolation or disadvantage because they don’t have face time with those who can be a positive influence on their career trajectory. these employees should not feel out of the loop. be sure to provide them with timely and relevant information. more important,
- work with your telecommuters on goals,
- communicate workflow and deadlines and
- create a process by which to assess their performance against expectations.
communicating with your telecommuters is important; however, avoid giving the impression you are micromanaging. an occasional and well-timed email should suffice – selecting mondays and fridays to communicate probably works best.
if the horses are still inside, shut the stable gate
when things are (apparently) going swimmingly in your firm, this is time to build a bond with your staff. this goes beyond the evaluation meeting. set aside time for one-on-one discussions about the firm in general and address specific issues. talk about what interests the employee has for career advancement, and work on a plan for personal development via workshops, conferences and in-house sessions. also, if your firm is charity-minded, get these people involved in events. they will feel good about the firm and themselves.
when someone announces his or her departure, some cpa firms will try to repair a situation; others will consider the loss a cost of doing business. but why endure this cost when you can conduct “retention interviews”? take the temperature of your people. determine what they like about the firm and what they think needs improvement. find out what benefits and rewards inspired them to stay and whether there have been moments when they seriously considered leaving.
it takes work to keep your best people. as a leader, it is dangerous to be both complacent and presumptuous. departures can happen anytime. why not be proactive to eliminate the risk?