Retaining Employees – The Push/Pull Effect

Under most circumstances, people change companies when there is a combination of dissatisfaction with or reasons to leave their existing company (Push) and things that are more attractive in another company (Pull). These often have nothing to do with compensation. While owners have little influence over the ‘pull’, they have a great deal of influence over the ‘push’. In our experience, when little or no ‘push’ exists, there will be very little receptivity to outside offers. This is critical, in areas such as I.T., where there is a shortage of qualified people and departures of staff can have a negative impact on the business. Training a new employee is time-consuming and costly and therefore retention is a key element in small business success.

It is interesting to note that it is usually the higher performing employees who change companies. One reason is that they have high expectations and are more demanding in the need for fulfilment in their jobs. Another reason is that they have more options since their proven performance is likely highly attractive to other organizations.

In typical organizations, especially smaller ones, most of the management time is spent dealing with problem employees. High performers can be basically left on their own. When you realize that problem employees may only achieve mediocre performance at best, ignoring the higher performers who are likely to help grow your company is a grave mistake.

If people love working for an organization, they will be much less likely to leave. Therefore, it is the owners’ best interest to provide the best culture possible and understand the specific needs of their employees. One phrase applicable to management is that ‘their job is not necessarily to motivate staff but rather to address the things that demotivate their staff’. People don’t come to work to do a bad job, so it is paramount to identify and address the things that get in the way of their employes’ performance as quickly as possible. This may involve simply communicating that you understand a problem and either commit to address it in the future or at least explain why it cannot be addressed.

These things are often minor and easy to fix but if left unaddressed can build enough to have employees leave the organization. One of the most common reasons for employee dissatisfaction is their immediate supervisor. Therefore, owners need to dig down and understand how effective their managers are at managing those people who report to them. Even more difficult is to identify what they themselves are doing that demotivates their staff. If you just hold your managers accountable for results and not how effectively they manage, you risk losing good people. Regular communication and feedback are the key.

Bob Alsip

Over his long career Bob has held senior business development roles in both large corporations and SME in multiple industries including: medical devices and services, software development, environmental products & services and industrial & commercial products. After retirement he helped many organizations as both a consultant for his firm SoftAdvantage and
as a volunteer mentor. Bob is a graduate engineer.