As a tech exec, one of the key priorities is to retain your staff. Think about how difficult it was finding just the right people for your organization. You have a team that’s jibing and delivering the level of work you expect. However, you don’t talk to your team. You are not aware of the stress they are under. You just keep loading them with work expecting that because they are not complaining they are okay.
Most employees won’t complain about being overworked. They believe they’re doing well by keeping up the pace, expecting recognition. However, tech execs often interpret the lack of complaints as a green light to pile on more work. This leads to a gradual staff exodus, starting with one person and snowballing from there. As the workload shifts to those remaining, pressure builds and more people leave, despite efforts to hire replacements who aren’t as experienced or capable. The cycle continues, exacerbating the problem.
That’s a sad scenario. However, it happens. It could have been alleviated if the technology exec had only shown some empathy for the pressure being placed on the staff. But, in order to show empathy, you need to truly understand the strain that you are putting on your team. There may also be personal and family issues that are impacting team members. But in order to understand your organization you need to regularly talk to your folks.
Here are some thoughts on how to retain your team:
- As you bring people into the organization, get to know them and their aspirations.
- Align your people with what they do well and what they enjoy.
- When you need to give a staff member the “grunt” work, be empathetic and thank them for taking it on.
- Talk to your team frequently. Not just in large staff meetings, but also one on one. It takes time but pays dividends.
- Reward your team regularly. It does not need to be monetary. Just being recognized a lot of times makes a person feel important.
It’ll go a long way to speak individually to staff members so that they get to know you and how you operate. Don’t be intimidating. Break down the barriers by getting to know about their family and interests. Having a more interactive style of communication with your team/s will show that you are a caring leader.