Today, Michelle posted a lovely picture on LinkedIn, about how you hang onto employees. Here it is:
We loved this, of course. Not only in our hearts, but also on LinkedIn.
So did our client, Dr. Melanie Cain Gallo, who added some insight that took things to a whole different level. Melanie commented:
Love this graphic! And ironically, the feeling of satisfaction that people get from having good pay is the quickest to fade away compared to #s 2-9. A great reminder to companies who think that just giving a raise or enticing with a good salary will do the trick. You need all of those things to keep them. (And it’s cheaper to keep’em than it is to hire someone new).
As the kids say on the Interwebs: “This! So much this!”
Paying people what they’re worth and what they deserve is a good business practice for so many reasons. It establishes a relationship that’s much more likely to last, and results in a serious commitment by both parties. It makes it possible for the employee to pursue the life he or she wants, which makes them appreciate the employment situation that much more.
We could go on.
But we know from experience that Dr. Melanie is right. You get a paycheck every couple weeks. You live the experience of your job all day, every work day. If people don’t feel they’re valued, trusted and appreciated, it becomes a slog to go to work. If they don’t feel they can be involved, challenged or mentored, it eventually gets harder to think of themselves as valued members of the team. If they don’t see the potential for empowerment or advancement, they’ll eventually feel frustrated in the spot where they find themselves.
Also: If your efforts are worth a certain amount in a job where you don’t get these other things, then they’re also worth that much somewhere else, where you will. People will figure that out over time.
That said, we wonder if it’s really possible to make this understood by people who don’t understand it inherently. There are those in business who simply don’t have the personalities to give their employees this type of experience. Even if you proved to them the business value of it – and even if they believed you – could they actually do it? And sustain it?
We’re not sure, but the exchange above can at least speak to the minds of those who do have the wherewithal, and maybe just haven’t really thought it about it like this before.
Deliver all nine of the experiences shown in the picture above and you’re not going to have a lot of people running out on you. It takes a little more effort and a lot more attention. But as Dr. Melanie says, it’s better than constantly churning new people in and out.
You might even find that you take some satisfaction from treating people well.
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