HBR On Leadership: Are Your Best Employees Eyeing the Door?
Release Date: October 23, 2024
In this insightful episode of HBR On Leadership, host Amy Gallo engages in a compelling conversation with Kate Tyler, Development Manager at Shell’s oil and gas business in Argentina, and Rachel Spivey, Director of Google’s Stay and Thrive team. The discussion centers around a critical issue facing leaders today: retaining top talent. Through sharing personal experiences, strategic insights, and actionable tactics, Kate and Rachel illuminate effective methods to ensure that your best employees feel valued, engaged, and motivated to stay.
1. The Reality of Employee Turnover
Kate Tyler opens the discussion by recounting a pivotal moment early in her supervisory career. She shares her experience of a high-potential employee announcing his departure for Facebook, highlighting her initial inaction and the lessons learned from that oversight.
“When I look back on my career, I had one high potential employee come to me. He had worked for me for about two years and he came to me and he said, I'm leaving. I'm going to Facebook. ... I just let him go. Like, I didn't.” (01:39)
Rachel Spivey empathizes with Kate’s situation, emphasizing the challenges managers face when equipped with limited tools to address employee departures.
“I see it. I understand if you're not necessarily equipped with the tools as a manager or like how to have those conversations. It's tricky.” (02:13)
2. Proactive Retention Strategies
Amy Gallo introduces Kate and Rachel, emphasizing their expertise in employee retention. She outlines the episode’s focus on tactics to make employees feel valued and respected, alongside approaches to career development for high-potential staff.
Kate Tyler responds by explaining her proactive stance in monitoring employee engagement, especially in a post-pandemic environment where many are reassessing their career trajectories.
“I'm actually thinking about it all the time. ... So people are questioning, you know, whether or not they see a future here.” (03:51)
Rachel Spivey identifies career progression as a crucial yet underutilized tool in retention strategies. She advocates for managers to co-create holistic career paths with employees, aligning both personal and professional goals.
“I think people underestimate the value of career progression. ... creating that path really helps employees clear up and make sure that they know what their future looks like at the company.” (04:57)
3. Aligning Career Paths with Company Strategy
The conversation delves into the importance of aligning employees' day-to-day roles with the broader company strategy. Kate Tyler discusses the challenges at Shell, where the transition to cleaner energy sources has led employees to question their long-term fit within traditional business models.
“... people want to go and work in hydrogen or wind or solar businesses that we've started, and they're still very small business part of our company.” (06:13)
Rachel Spivey shares Google’s approach to supporting managers in these conversations, emphasizing flexibility and personalization in career development discussions.
“We have encouraged touch points around time frames when we are supposed to touch bases with employees around career development. ... which really helps me lean in, build relationship and rapport.” (07:09)
4. Understanding and Addressing Employee Motivations
To effectively retain employees, understanding their underlying motivations is essential. Kate Tyler reveals her strategy of asking direct questions to uncover what would cause employees to leave, leading to deeper and more meaningful conversations.
“I asked them, you know, I'm doing this podcast about retention. I am curious on what it would take you to move to another company. ... they were very specific.” (13:22)
Rachel Spivey reinforces the importance of direct communication, sharing how asking straightforward questions can prevent unexpected departures and clarify employees' true interests.
“Asking direct questions to direct employees can be uncomfortable, but it can save you so many surprises down the line.” (16:35)
5. Tailoring Retention Efforts for Diverse Groups
Retaining employees from underrepresented groups requires a nuanced approach. Rachel Spivey advises managers to "know your audience", understanding the unique drivers and challenges faced by these employees to create effective action plans.
“Know your audience, know what they want, what are their drivers, what's gonna keep them here, what's gonna cause them to leave, and then also start to make an action plan based off of that.” (17:26)
6. Navigating Retention in Large Organizations
Kate Tyler discusses the complexities of implementing retention strategies within a large company like Shell, where policies and procedures can slow down the ability to act swiftly. Rachel Spivey offers practical advice on maintaining transparency about processes and leveraging peer support to expedite retention efforts.
“We have to be transparent about the process. ... and work within your sphere of influence to also help accelerate things.” (22:28)
7. The Role of Compensation in Retention
The duo explores the impact of financial incentives on employee retention. Kate Tyler argues that while competitive compensation is important, often the real reasons employees consider leaving go beyond monetary factors.
“... the money is a convenient excuse to not have to actually tell you the truth of sort of what has been happening for the last several months.” (30:30)
Rachel Spivey concurs, emphasizing that while cash remains a significant factor, micro-engagements and recognition can mitigate the allure of higher salaries elsewhere.
“I think the micro engagements, ... money is not as big of an attractor.” (31:31)
8. Implementing Retention Bonuses and Counteroffers
Rachel Spivey discusses the strategic use of retention bonuses and counteroffers, highlighting their effectiveness in preemptively addressing employees' intentions to leave.
“Yeah. ... counteroffers as an effective tool. I know a lot of people, ... what? I've got this money, so what? And stay at the place where they really want to stay, then it's just, it's a perfect marriage.” (32:04)
Kate Tyler acknowledges the challenges posed by bureaucratic red tape in large organizations, which can hinder the timely implementation of such incentives.
“I do use the proactive bonuses that we have at our disposal pretty, pretty extensively. ... all this red tape in order to actually just offer the bonuses.” (34:07)
9. Retaining Talent in Smaller Organizations
Addressing the concerns of leaders in smaller or mid-sized companies, Rachel Spivey underscores that significant impact on retention can be achieved even with limited resources by focusing on personal relationships and engagement.
“The first lesson is you can make impact even with the small or the few resources that you do have. ... don't underestimate your value or the impact you can make.” (27:28)
Kate Tyler complements this by highlighting the importance of micro engagements and maintaining constant, meaningful conversations with employees to foster a sense of purpose and belonging.
“... it's in the micro engagements, in the day to day and the constant conversations that you have.” (28:53)
10. Personal Reflections on Retention
The episode concludes with personal reflections from both Kate and Rachel on how their approaches to retention influence their own experiences within their organizations.
Rachel Spivey emphasizes her alignment with the company's purpose and financial stability as key factors in her long-term retention.
“I have a purpose driven. ... It is also a part of my retirement plan.” (34:20)
Kate Tyler echoes the sentiment of purpose-driven work, noting her commitment to making a difference and the challenges faced in the oil and gas industry.
“... I am making a difference in the world or for those around me that I'm working with.” (35:42)
Conclusion
This episode of HBR On Leadership offers a wealth of strategies and insights into employee retention, emphasizing the importance of proactive engagement, personalized career development, and understanding the deeper motivations that drive employees to stay or leave. By integrating these approaches, leaders can foster a work environment where top talent feels valued, engaged, and committed to the organization’s long-term success.
Notable Quotes
- Kate Tyler: “I just let him go. Like, I didn't.” (01:39)
- Rachel Spivey: “I see it. I understand if you're not necessarily equipped with the tools as a manager or like how to have those conversations.” (02:13)
- Rachel Spivey: “I think people underestimate the value of career progression.” (04:57)
- Kate Tyler: “I'm actually thinking about it all the time. ... whether or not they see a future here.” (03:51)
- Rachel Spivey: “Asking direct questions to direct employees can be uncomfortable, but it can save you so many surprises down the line.” (16:35)
By implementing the strategies discussed by Kate and Rachel, leaders can enhance their ability to retain top talent, ensuring sustained organizational success and a motivated, engaged workforce.