Employee Retention Strategies Start with Value and End with Success
For entrepreneurs who recognize the importance of designing a reward program for their employees, it really comes down to the values that emanate from the management team.
For example, I was watching an interview with David Kelley, founder of IDEO, on 60 Minutes – and he is really a great example of this. When he started IDEO, he was very focused on building a culture where diversity thrived in an atmosphere of creativity, freedom, and play, where individuals were encouraged to contribute and enjoy the process as true team members and collaborators. He wanted to always keep the customer foremost in any product design process. Those dynamics are still in play at IDEO, over 20 years later.
To retain loyal and valuable employees, start with the basics:
– Acknowledge individuals often for their unique strengths and contributions.
– Reward employees in ways that are meaningful to them personally, whether that’s flexible hours, more time off, special projects, etc.
– Give them responsibility and then celebrate their achievements publicly.
The Ever-Changing Road that Drives Us
I have observed that many millennials are driven by peer acceptance; they are motivated by what their peers are doing and how they will be perceived. So the next generation of leaders wants to be seen as doing right by their teams, empowering them, and reinforcing individual passions.
Daniel Pink’s book, Drive, is very effective in describing what motivates us:
– Autonomy (self-direction),
– Mastery (which compels people to work all hours on their passions), and
– Purpose (which drives individuals and keeps them on track, even more so than money).
As young leaders you would do well to pay attention to these elements. The road to success is ever-evolving, as are the motivations of the employees on that road. But one thing remains the same: People who feel valued are more valuable. Making sure that your employees are very much aware of their worth makes for a well-oiled machine, and the more frequently motivated the employees are, the greasier the machine will stay.
How do you retain good employees? Let me know in the comments section below.
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A highly sought-after consultant, mentor, speaker, producer, coach and author, Kelli Richards is the CEO of The All Access Group. She and her team facilitate strategic business opportunities in digital distribution between technology companies, established artists and celebrities, film studios, record labels, and consumer brand companies in order to foster new revenue streams and deliver compelling consumer experiences. Kelli is also the author of the best selling eBook, The Magic & Moxie of Apple –An Insider’s View.
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