People don’t leave jobs, they leave managers.
I am sure we have all heard it umpteen times – most exit interviews throw this up, most HR surveys have this as the ‘top of the charts’ reason, and, not surprisingly, most CEOs think the same.
Let us look at what most surveys rate as the “other top reasons” for employee attrition, in no particular order:
1. lack of recognition
2. lack of opportunity and growth
3. dissatisfaction with corporate culture
4. poor leadership & direction
5. no learning opportunities
6. higher salary & better prospects
While all of the above seem to hit the nail on the head – and, yes, there are a lot of validated research methodologies at play – one major reason that the surveys “talk” around and “hint” at, but do not possibly mention directly, is the inability of many organisations to either identify their own core values, and, more importantly, “live the values” by effectively operationalising them.
Let us take a look at the relationship between Organisation Values & Attrition.
When applicants appear for interviews, and are inducted into an organisation, there is usually a detailed session on Organisational Values. It is seen as a glue to build, sustain and, definitely, show the organisation as a place steeped in Values – where one would want to spend an entire career working. Most people I know of have joined companies with a stated, and I am sure real, intent of building long careers. Then, what goes wrong?
Alongside, most common words you will find in the cross-section of Organisation Values listing, are words like Fun, Integrity, Transparency, Understanding, Trustworthy, Respect, Passionate, Open, Performance oriented, Work-life balance, Human Dignity, etc. Clearly, if these are the qualities that the organisation stands for, embodies, and displays through its culture, one would want to spend an entire lifetime working with such an organisation. Right? Then, why do people leave - what goes wrong?
Now let us look at what organisations, normally, do to address attrition.
Most organisations, saddled with high attrition rates, and a never ending stream of talent exodus, try to do it all – conduct extensive exit interviews, hold internal surveys and high level reviews, plan employee parties and games in the name of engagement, undertake salary hikes – even mid-year reviews and rewards, and start more open communication through employee forums etc. Some even get in training companies to do outbound training to create fun, excitement and motivation.
But, if the reasons for employee attrition are as stated by most surveys, then why do organisations work with superficial, symptomatic and localised interventions, when the malice is deeper, holistic and more extensive?
The examples to substantiate this piecemeal approach are multiple – with questions that most people who leave want answers for:
1. Why do leaders build a culture of ad hoc & insular increments & promotions, when the Value states “Performance orientation” & “Transparent”?
2. Why are sales people told to get the sales “by hook or by crook” when the pressure mounts, when the Value states “Integrity” & “Trustworthy”?
3. Why are managers so deaf and leaden footed to suggestions from team members, when the Value states “Openness” & “Passionate”?
4. Why do supervisors make people slave for more than 12 working hours, 7 days a week, and frown on the mention of “leave,” when the Value states “Work-life balance”?
5. Why do bosses shout at their reports, humiliate them and make them feel miserable with the choicest of vocabulary, when the Value states “Respect,” “Understanding” & “Human Dignity”?
6. Why do employees dread or at least think twice before coming in to work, when the Value states that the workplace is “Fun”?
The list is endless...
7. Most importantly, why do organisations fail to address the issue of culture, and the visible and direct disconnect between organisation Values and leadership behaviour and practices?
8. And, why do organisations allow their leadership to get away scot free, when clearly their behaviours are against the Organisation Value system?
Does this mean that Organisational Values are actually not important?
Of course, they are – unless the organisation wants to operate as an “Autocracy”. Most people think that Values are good to define because they look good on the websites, billboards, balance sheets and office corridors. So, as a corollary to defining a challenging and compelling vision, organisations also define their “core Values” and, some of them, articulate associated desired behaviours. Then, the expectation is that the employees at large, starting from the leadership down, will “live the values”.
Let us again look at the above eight behaviours at workplace – most of us witness these in our workplace. These are our everyday examples of leaders, managers and supervisors not “Living the Values”. I can assure you that these everyday behaviours, and their underlying conflicting Values, are neither inherent as generic nor difficult to observe, measure, differentiate and reward.
So how can leaders build and sustain a culture of talent retention and performance.
Building a positive organisation culture and a high performance climate is a step wise process. It always starts from identifying your core values...
1. Identify core Values
• Get a larger perspective – involve a cross-section of employees
• Don’t use Value words because they sound good!
• Map the current (perceived) versus desired state
• Identify the transition roadmap and actions
2. Articulate associated Behaviours
• Create behaviour descriptors
• Identify scenarios, give examples and detail acceptable and unacceptable behaviours
• Keep internal as well
as external (customer / vendor etc.) perspective while
detailing
3. Establish Internal & External Processes
• These behaviours need
expression in the work processes – both internal and
external processes
• Involve teams like
marketing, corporate communications, human resources
etc. to create consistent employee & customer
communication
4. Define Measures & Outcome Scenarios
• This is the test of objective definitions – each behaviour
should be measurable
• Create “what if”
situations and clearly articulate the associated “carrot
& stick policy”
5. Task Leaders to Implement
• Culture building starts from the top – ensure that the leaders “live the values”
• Define leadership competencies to include “Living the Values” with a high weightage
& not a cursory mention! • Be bold enough to
take objective feedback from teams, networked functions
and customers to measure leadership commitment
6. Communicate,
Communicate & Communicate
• Communicate to every
single employee through workshops, collaterals & an
employee manual
• Communication to
external customers & vendors should be consistent – the
internal & external Value commitments cannot be
different
• Create communication
platforms for individual and team feedback
7. Measure and Reward
• Measure against the
transition roadmap, as per the milestone and action plan
• Reward individual and
team effort to build and sustain positive culture and
climate
The above steps will help organisations be true and consistent reflections of their Values, in their dealings with the employees, whether it is during recruitment, or performance management, or development, or promotion etc. And in being a true reflection is how the organisation will be able to attract, retain and nurture talent.
Yes, all those HR surveys are right. Employees do leave managers, as also, for better salaries, quality of leadership and direction etc. Though, interestingly enough, one look at the Values of most companies, and one would want to contest most of these exit interviews – for the Values state that the companies actually follow practices which would make most of these attrition reasons contestable!
So the next time you are concerned about your organisation’s high attrition rates, don’t jump at another extensive exit interview analysis; instead, take a closer look at what the management defines as the Organisation Values, whether your managers are living them, and what your employees think about it!
Written by Rajat Rakheja.
