2021 November/December

You’ve likely heard the terms “the great resignation” or “the big quit” to describe the incredible staffing challenges that we face across the nation. In the HR field, we have certainly been looking at the many creative ways we can recruit new staff to join our organizations – however equally salient has been the importance of focusing on staff retention. Below I wanted to share some of the ideas circulating in the HR space and my own thoughts on how we can retain staff during this trying time.

First – an easy one: Acknowledge the good work being done! I saw an article from Harvard Business Review that said that employees need 6 positive pieces of feedback from every one negative bit of feedback. It’s worth all of us thinking about what our ratio is of positive to negative feedback with the staff that work with us on a daily basis. A little positive feedback often goes a long way towards staff morale and belonging.

Second, ensure managers have the right training and philosophy on work. It’s been said 1000 times before but the most oft-cited reason that staff tend to leave an employer is their boss. Ensuring managers have training on policy and procedure and that managers are clear about the organization’s and their own philosophies around leadership goes a long way towards keeping staff from looking elsewhere.

Third, focus on wellness. Staff need to know that we care and need to know that we understand that there is nothing normal about the time we have living in right now. It’s important we emphasize that staff take time off as they need, they focus on their mental and physical health, and that staff find some way to turn as much of the chaos and stress related to work off at the end of a long day.

Lastly, connect values and mission to each person’s work. I’ve seen some argue that we’re not seeing so much the great resignation as much as the great realignment. Across the country, we have reflected deeply on our lives and asked important questions about how we want to spend our time. Every employer has a new found opportunity to draw a connection between their organizational values and mission and the values and missions of the staff who work there. We have a particularly strong case around values and mission in the non-profit space as the work and the people we serve are a particularly strong force for those who go in mission-driven organizations.

I have the privilege of meeting with a lot of prospective employees and a question I often get asked is – how would you describe the culture at Family Services? I usually answer this question in the following way – I start by saying that almost every new employee stops me at some point to say just how nice everyone is that works at Family Services. I usually follow this with the observation I’ve made over the last 8 years that the glue that holds all the diverse employees of Family Services together is a strong connection to our Agency’s mission. I can say at Family Services we’re truly blessed with staff who care so much about our mission that instead of having to worry about staff staying until 5:00 we usually have to focus on how to get them out the door as many would just keep working late into the evening. It has been said that if you find a job you love you’ll never work a day in your day – I think this sentiment is certainly reflective of nearly all of the dedicated staff at Family Services. That is certainly something to be grateful for and something to reflect on during this challenging time. Hopefully, some of the ideas above can drive us towards a brighter future at work in the year to come.