S7 E13-16 Retain your People- 'Engaging Your People for Success'- Lisa Askwith

S7 E13-16. (Engaging Your People for Success) Retain you People


Lisa Askwith- Engaging Your People for Success

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Retain your People- 4 Part series
INTRODUCTION
By the end of this series we would have covered a range of ways that you can diagnose and address these gaps in employee expectations and needs in your business, including;
     

• Key Employee Needs, that will lead to developing simple programs for retaining them
  
• A deeper understanding of the Key Triggers for Employee turnover, that are specific to your business
  
• Learn how to develop a Culture that is supportive and encourages people to stay
  
• Have a range of best practice options that you can start to employ today, in your business that will help you Retain your people. The surprising thing is, a lot of these are not difficult or expensive, they just need understanding and focus.
  

Part 1- ‘Why am I losing so many Great people?’ Healthy habits to retain your people.
Part 2- Culture to retain your People- It's more than just a positive workplace
Part 3- L&D to retain your people- the 8 steps you may be missing
Part 4- Leadership to retain your People- 4 must do requirements

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Retain Your People
Part 1 (EP 13)-  ‘Why am I losing so many Great people?’ Healthy habits to retain your people.

Have you reviewed your business in the context of what you people actually want?

The new generations of workers are value focussed. They want to be valued, and be able to give value. Has your business adapted and developed ways to incorporate this critical need into the way your strategy, structure and culture handle this? IF not you are missing out and will not be achieving the level of success needed to understand what you people want and and offering it. Instead you will be losing great people.

The 4 key needs to address are;

1. Value creation
   
2. Skill development
   
3. Workplace ethics
   
4. Leadership ability
   

These all come before salary considerations- is your workplace able to adapt to the new needs?

Most businesses and leaders need help to really see this key area with ‘fresh eyes’. If you have reached this point do contact me directly at lisa@apexbrs.com for a free no obligation discussion of just where you are and how we may be able to help.


Part 2 (EP 14)- Culture to retain your People- It's more than just a positive workplace

So often we see the needs behind developing a positive culture that empowers people through engagement forgotten in the rush to do business and make money. Now don’t get me wrong, you definitely need to make money in the business otherwise you fail yourself and your people, but there comes a point in every business's lifecycle where the culture is critical for either long term success, improvement, or revenue generation. Typically once a business is up and running and the original founders are moving into defined roles and more employees come on board the culture really starts to solidify……..for better or worse! 

Similarly in an established business, culture needs constant monitoring and engagement to keep it at a high and beneficial level……..culture whilst self-sustaining for a period of time needs exceptional leaders, and a sound long term plan to stay valuable and positive……just as a good business strategy needs constant reviews and discussion to be successful, a culture is the same. This is a key point that many business leaders miss………and hence great cultures often only last for short periods of time, as they are often sacrificed to the focus on strategy. When I say sacrificed, I am not saying it is a deliberate shift of focus, more often than not it is an unconscious one, as the leadership team have become used to working in a great culture and don’t realise that it needs constant attention to keep it that way. When this happens people start to revert to type, and the highly driven leaders start to focus on metrics, and forget to put a similar level of focus and time into maintaining and further developing a great culture that can drive the business forward. This is when I start to see the phrase of Culture eats strategy for breakfast flip around and become strategy eats, and often steamrolls culture and leaves the business in a mess

 
2 Key tools

Use Culture Surveys and 360 degree leadership feedback to diagnose where you are now. The results from these 2 key tools will allow you to really understand the pain points, as well as identify those that may not be talked about in the open. Then you can start to understand the scope of the problem, and have the opportunity to be able to turn it around and allow your culture to once again flourish backed by a strong and supportive strategy.

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This is the piece of the puzzle that most businesses and leaders need help with. If you have reached this point do contact me directly at lisa@apexbrs.com for a free no obligation discussion of just where you are and how we may be able to help.


Tags; strategy and culture, aligning culture and strategy, strategy implementation, strategy vs culture, culture and strategy, business strategy, strategic planning, strategy software, humantelligence alignment, organizational culture, cultural change, strategy cascade, strategy, culture, align team goals, objectives, technology, people

Part 3 (EP15) Learning & Development to retain your People- The 3 key steps you may be missing.


A recent survey by PWC, of millennials which asked what characteristics make a company compelling to work for, found that 52% value career development, and 35% value excellent training programs, these were items 1 and 3 at the top of the list with good pay and conditions sitting at 2. Learning and Development is critical to retain your new workforce. Your leadership team is the glue that will hold this together, but only if they are supportive and engaged.

 Key Issues:
 
1.     How do I determine my company’s training needs?
 
2.     What are the intended outcomes of the training program? 

 
3 key Steps

Learning and Development options must be provided and supported for;
 
1- Job Demands
 

• Should support business needs and growth
• Should be broad where possible,
• Should be part of the Job Description steps and growth

 
2- Career Development- further chance to engage your people and retain them
 

• Linked to JD and KPI’s
• Linked to a clear succession plan throughout the company, and possibly cross function if possible
• The more programs that you can offer the better your staff becomes, and the more they can give back.
• Training is seen as one of the best retention tools, as staff are very mobile now.

Sometimes staff will leave as they develop and no longer have a pathway in the company. Try to support this and see it as a win-win, as what they give back before they leave, and potentially may work together with you again in the future.
 
3- Organizational development- the final key area 
 
You need to know your company's key technical needs, you need to understand the people’s development needs, then you need to make sure that you are preparing your business for its future too. So this is where the final component comes in- Organizational needs. You need to have training provided around the next step of the business, not just the current direction. This upskils your people, retains them for future roles and improves your culture and revenue.


Tags; strategy and culture, aligning culture and strategy, strategy implementation, strategy vs culture, culture and strategy, business strategy, strategic planning, strategy software, humantelligence alignment, organizational culture, cultural change, strategy cascade, strategy, culture, align team goals, objectives, technology, people


If you would like more information on any of these key topics I can be reached at lisa@apexbrs.com, where you can book a free discovery call



Part 4 (EP16) Leadership to Retain your People- 4 key strategies

Never underestimate the need for yearly leadership training and regular feedback and support to ensure they are meeting the people's needs in your business. This is a key step to not only ensuring you have a great culture but in retaining your people and slowing down the attrition you have seen increase. 

4 key steps to keep your leadership team on track and as capable as possible;
 

1. Yearly leadership training- no excuses (if your leaders don’t embrace this you have a bigger problem)
2. Core foundation leadership training in Coaching
3. Core Foundation leadership training in Servant leadership
4. Core Foundation Leadership training in Authenticity

 
Then to hold all of this together parts 2-4 need to be regularly updated too, you need to ensure your leaders are moving with the generational shifts and needs, that is why this training needs to be yearly, and not avoided. After all great leaders know they have blind spots and embrace regular training to remove them. Great leaders also know thy have to walk the talk, and will encourage their people to access further training if they are leading by example.


Tags; strategy and culture, aligning culture and strategy, strategy implementation, strategy vs culture, culture and strategy, business strategy, strategic planning, strategy software, humantelligence alignment, organizational culture, cultural change, strategy cascade, strategy, culture, align team goals, objectives, technology, people

Tip- Exceptional leadership is the glue that will hold all of this together- without it you will not achieve the levels you desire.

This is the piece of the puzzle that most businesses and leaders need help with. If you have reached this point do contact me directly at lisa@apexbrs.com for a free no obligation discussion of just where you are and how we may be able to help.
 
Shows
●      Previous: Episode 3 Season 7 - Build your Core- People- Engaging your People for Success
●      Next: Episode 5 Reinvent Performance Appraisals to be Positive and Rewarding! Season 7- Retain your People- Engaging your People for Success
 
Written by Lisa Askwith

Director of ApexBRS | ApexBRS, Regional Director of See Global Media, Chair of  EGN Singapore, and Associate Professor Cambridge Corporate University | At the Age of Change, providing the HR component of the Global Executive MBA and BBA. Lisa has worked for some of the largest companies in the world and successfully led restructures and change management programs in order to improve the bottom line through engaging the people for success, while developing exceptional leaders who can make a positive impact on Culture and long term business sustainability.

You can connect with Lisa on any of her platforms

LinkedIn Lisa Askwith - Director - Apex BRS
https://www.apexbrs.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ApexBRS
Shows
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