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Industry Insights 8/3/2018

Love Your Staff. If You Don’t, Someone Else Will.

Rohan Christie
By Rohan Christie
Love Your Staff. If You Don’t, Someone Else Will.

Candidates are in demand and one of the primary reasons people are leaving their job can best be summed up by Taylor Swift’s song “Bad Love”:

“Cause baby now we got bad blood. You know it used to be mad love. So take a look at what you’ve done. Cause baby now we got bad blood. Now we got problems. And I don’t think we can solve them. You made a really deep cut. And baby now we got bad blood.”

For those of you from the older generations, Depeche Mode singing the following is a classic take on the same theme:

“People are people so why should it be. You and I should get along so awfully.”

Plenty of people fall out of love with their Manager at some point in time, and it is the most common reason that people seek a new job.

So where does the fault lie and how (if possible) can it be avoided?

  1. Lack of emotional intelligence, empathy and genuine care
    Emotional intelligence is defined as “the capability of individuals to recognise their own emotions and those of others, discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, use emotional information to guide thinking and behaviour, and manage and/or adjust emotions to adapt to environments or achieve one’s goal(s).” In other words, don’t get upset and react poorly by yelling back when someone is yelling at you, first try and understand why they are yelling in the first place. A common theme in bad managers is that they react to the situation, and not look at what is behind it.
  2. Moving targets and volatility
    Most people like structure and a clear vision of what they need to do to be successful. To have someone that expects a lot without explaining why, and then changes the plan all the time along the way is inherently frustrating. Additionally, whilst people like being around passionate people, they don’t like aggression. When the leader of a business or group of people starts to yell, rant and be abusive, expect that group of people to start considering their options.
  3. No plan for further staff development and growth
    Employees want to know what they are working towards, rather than being expected to be in the same position in 10 years’ time. Taking time to understand aspirations and helping people work towards realistic goals keeps them motivated and happy. Clear communication about what is on offer is also key.
  4. The business culture
    A phrase John McGrath used 10 years ago was “The culture of a business is caught not taught.” He grew a great business as a result, but may have forgotten to pass the message on when he spent more time on The Block than selling homes. Businesses have a retail brand and an employment brand and they need to be aligned. You may be great at servicing customers, but not so great at servicing the needs of your staff. Not meeting your staff’s expectations of being who you say you are, will lead them to be disillusioned and demotivated.

Our view of the world is that everyone has the ability to make the workplace a better place to be. For Managers and Business Leaders this is particularly important. Employees look to business leaders to guide, coach, mentor and develop. It is important that true and genuine care is shown to your businesses most important asset.

Your employees will ultimately define your business success; ignore them at your peril!