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Losing your best employees? Here’s how to change that

3 min read

Losing your best employees? Here’s how to change that

If you're losing your best employees, something needs to change. This article offers advice from Dr. Marla Gottschalk on what to do next.

Taking the temperature of your organization is important. Are your people happy? Do they feel recognized? The best leaders are connected to their organizations - they know if things are going well or something is awry. Furthermore, if something is awry, they're ready to take the steps to fix this.  

The thing they don't do, is nothing. If something is wrong, if employees are unhappy or looking to jump ship, good leaders gather the strength to make changes. Dr. Marla Gottschalk recommends starting small; make a small, people-centric change. In a recent article, Marla explains why - and how - to start breaking the broken framework of your organization.

It’s no secret: Here’s why organizations lose their best people

By Dr. Marla Gottschalk | originally posted here 

I've written previously concerning why people and organizations struggle to change. When we miss opportunities to do so — we fail to unlock an enormous amount of potential.

There is an enduring theme that must be acknowledged (and added) to that conversation. Organizations are made up of human beings. As human beings, we often struggle to let go of old product frameworks and notions concerning our customers. When organizations face persistent people problems such as low engagement, depleted morale or rising turnover — they also struggle to make progress — and there is a clear reason why this is the case.

Let me elaborate.

If there is a single, worrisome story that I observe it is the following:

Company finds great thing. Company begins to rest on its laurels concerning great thing. Company neglects great thing. Company eventually loses great thing. Company begins to decline.

Sadly we are not talking about customers or products — this story is about people. (Please know that I do not view people as "things".)

Lamenting declining people-centric metrics will not solve people-centric problems. Identifying sub-groups of contributors in the gravest danger of jumping ship — is not the answer. Quantifying the high cost of turnover, is not the answer. (See a great discussion addressing employee engagement here.)

The answer lies in action.

The advice is simple.

Invest in people.

Invest in their experiences (from on-boarding to departure).

Invest in their aspirations.

Invest in their development.

Invest in their managers.

Invest in their observations.

Invest in their ideas.

Invest in their concerns.

Invest in their successes.

In many cases, the most powerful solution is taking that first step.

Start now. Start small. I encourage you do so.

Has your organization recently taken that first (or second) step? Please share your strategies in comments.

About the author

Dr. Marla Gottschalk is an Industrial & Organizational Psychologist. A charter member of the LinkedIn Influencer Program, her posts on workplace topics have appeared at The Huffington Post, US News & World Report, and The World Economic Forum.

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