Here is where to start when dealing with the current wicked problem related to recruitment and retention. First, implement a targeted relationship building strategy. Building on the important insight that Margaret Wheatley shared years ago, namely that “People are the solution to the problems that confront us,” those involved in dealing with this wicked problem also need to remember something John Kotter wrote about in his book, The Heart of Change: Real-Life Stories of How People Change Their Organizations (Harvard Business School Press, 2002). As he explained, "... those who are most successful at significant change begin their work by creating a sense of urgency among relevant people.” In particular, I would add that they consciously choose to create clarity and focus amongst these same key people.
Putting together the two aforementioned insights of Wheatley and Kotter, we need to understand that certain people, who may or may not have positional authority, have the respect and influence amongst certain groups of people. Their commitment to lead and/or participate in change related to this problem, and their ability to communicate a new way of working together can significantly influence the outcome of a variety of proposed solutions and interventions related to this wicked problem
Furthermore, as Gallup research notes, people rarely quit a company. Most of the time, they quit their boss or their team due to some level of dysfunctionality. When there is no trust, poor communication and/or burnout, employees quickly exit their job.
Retention, on the other hand, happens because of healthy relationships. When people at work feel like their supervisor knows them and respects them, they stay. When people feel like their job matters and that they are able to make progress on a daily basis, they stay. As Patrick Lencioni reminds us in his book, The Truth About Employee Engagement: A Fable About Addressing the Three Root Causes of Job Misery, formerly The Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Fable for Managers (and their employees) (Jossey-Bass 2007): “People want to be managed as people, not as mere workers.”
With this important choice in mind, I am reminded of a key point from Jim Collin’s book, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap. . . and Others Don't (HarperBusiness, 2001). As he explains, “The good-to-great leaders began the transformation by first getting the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) and then figured out where to drive it.” As he continues, “The key point … is not just the idea of getting the right people on the team. The key point is that "who" questions come before "what" decisions - before vision, before strategy, before organization structure, before tactics. First who, then what - as a rigorous discipline, consistently applied.”
The challenge with this particular wicked problem is that we are not asking the “who questions” before we focus on the “what decisions” and actions. Therefore, now is the time to think deeply about the following two questions: Who are the key people in the company who will help us deal with this wicked problem? And are we building the right kind of relationship with these people to help solve it? From my vantage point, it is the lack of healthy relationships that is causing the retention problems we are having. And we all know that retention and recruitment issues are interconnected, i.e. one is constantly influencing the other and vice a versus.
Once we have figured out the answer to the “who” questions, then we need to implement the relationship building strategy. This is a proactive choice to build better relationships with certain key people. But, from my vantage point, we must do this work within a framework of understanding three concepts, i.e. supervision, coaching, and check-ins. First, we need to recognize that supervision is necessary and important. It is not secondary when dealing with this particular wicked problem. Good supervision is based on the the ability to observe, direct, and/or oversee the execution of a task, project, or activity.
Second, good coaching is a structured dialogue and development process to improve the professional competence to execute the aforementioned task, project, or activity. It is not a routine period of time where I solve all the problems you do not want to deal with or an hour long period of venting. Instead, it is a structured improvement process. Along this line of understanding of the differences between supervision and coaching, it is essential that leaders recognize that coaching is not supervision, and that supervision is not coaching. Still, elements of both are within each action.
But, I believe the third concept is the most important one when implementing a relationship building strategy. Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall in their book, Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World (Harvard Business Review Press, 2019), call it a “check-in.” Here a person engages in “a frequent, one-on-one conversation about near-term future work between a team leader and a team member.” During this check-in, the leader asks the team member two questions: “What are your priorities this week? How can I help?” As Buckingham and Goodall explain, “This leads us to one of the most important insights shared by the best team leaders: frequency trumps quality…. The data reveals only that those team leaders who check in every week with each team member have higher levels of engagement and performance, and lower levels of voluntary turnover.” And improved engagement and lower turnover is one of the desired outcomes when dealing with this particular wicked problem.
Therefore, I believe a relationship strategy based on weekly check-ins with key people is a great place to start. Furthermore, when all involved receive a combination of excellent supervision, coaching and weekly check-ins, we are then building a foundation for healthy relationships. As Patrick Lencioni reminds us in his book, The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business (Jossey-Bass, 2012), a healthy work environment is one where there are “minimal politics and confusion, high degree of morale and productivity, and very low turnover among good employees.” And this a solid first step to dealing with the current wicked problem we are experiencing.
FYI: To be continued on Friday.
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