Today we ponder the age-old problem of employees – how to get them and how to keep them. People are complicated and policies are inflexible; the execution of said policies often loses sight of the people they are meant to promote and protect.
Lots of “experts” have lots of advice about how to keep employees happy and productive, most of it contradictory. Amenities are all the rage, in development and in the firm – look to the tech industry for examples of nap pods, free food and open bars (all of which are designed to keep employees working longer and harder so they can’t take advantage of those open vacation policies).
Much depends on the individual and why they have made the choices they have. A career in residential real estate affords a flexible schedule and at least the illusion of being your own boss. A career in the highly structured field of banking offers a clear path up the ladder. Those are two very different personality traits.
Though recruitment strategies may vary by industry and the perks available are different in every field, it all comes down to only one thing: treating employees like humans.
A corporation’s culture has a lot to do with this. If you think of your coworkers as friends, almost family, you’re less likely to leave that comfortable place. Moreover, most workers spend far more time with their colleagues than they do with anyone else, including their own families and friends – better they should actually enjoy who they work with instead of merely tolerating them.
Sometimes that bond is formed through fire – many a bar has seen the bonding between workers in the trenches of a high-stress work environment – but that is, obviously, not an ideal way to build a team or a healthy corporate culture.
There’s nothing wrong with having high expectations, but corporate support to achieve those heights must be freely offered, and truly meant. Mentors and managers are an important component of that support – and they should have equal support from their own mentors and managers.
Teambuilding and cross-departmental cooperation are vital to creating a truly supportive environment for employees. So is open and communicative leadership. Perhaps we should just be grateful to have jobs at all, but in truth we’ll be working for most of our lives; much better that we should enjoy coming to work every day.
It’s a charge often lobbed at a Millennial, who has (supposedly) been told their entire life that they are a special snowflake, which often doesn’t translate well in the business world. While there’s a line between supporting and enabling, everyone, no matter their generation, wants to feel valued.
When employees feel valued and respected, they are far more invested in their job and in the company as a whole – and far less likely to leave it.
