It’s Too Late to Retain Employees Once They are Walking Out the Door…

But you can fix the problem going forward

I was talking with a friend the other day who mentioned that things were so bad at their company that, in addition to herself, folks were on active job searches and couldn’t wait to give their notice. Those who did give their notice couldn’t wait for the 2 weeks to be up so they could finally leave!  Much of this goes back to when business started going downhill for the company.  The leadership team handled it poorly.  Staff were not told of the situation – rather that everything was fine and every company was in the same spot.  Employees were let go without rhyme or reason (meaning that individuals who were non-performers seemed to be OK and others were laid off in the same department – frankly to insiders it looked like favorites were kept and others let go.)  When staff asked about a strategy to get things moving in the right direction…no strategy was forthcoming.  Certainly other companies were having a tough time (we know how the economy was and still is in some areas!), but they appeared to be weathering the storm a bit better by preparing for it ahead of time and having a strategy in place to get through it.

Bottom line to wrap up what could be a very long story – the leadership team was incapable of:

• Strategic planning
• Leading in tough times
• Motivating and engaging the staff

What happens in such situations is that when things start to pick up – and they have – people jump ship. This means your best employees are the first out the door.  And guess what…it’s a domino effect!

Shutting the barn door after the horse has left does you no good – too late.  So…let’s assume that you are in this situation and you haven’t handled it well – much like the leadership team described above.  What can you do?  Here are a few suggestions for you to improve the situation going forward.

Acknowledge you made a mistake in how you handled the situation.  Don’t push the blame around – don’t blame the economy, don’t blame others on the team, don’t blame higher ups (such as the Board of Directors) – simply state that you didn’t handle the situation well, you apologize for how it was handled, and you want to work to change it going forward.

Let’s be honest, your employees already know you didn’t handle it well – they want to hear it from you.

What’s your strategy?  You better have one; both a short term and long term strategy. You aren’t going to survive long term without a strategy.  So figure out what it is and communicate it to the staff.  Ask for their thoughts based on what they are seeing out there – especially since many of them are likely interacting with your customers on a daily basis.

Start to rebuild trust with your staff.  This isn’t going to happen overnight.  It’s going to take time to do so.  You will start to rebuild trust with them when your “talk” lines up with your “walk.”  Basically, when you tell them something and you follow through with it they will begin to trust you again.  Be honest in your communications.  Be forthcoming about the situation – if things are still going to be rough within the company because of the economy let them know it, but you need to have a plan on how you are going to get the company through the tough times.

Talk with the staff.  Set up small group discussions, by department, and one-on-one discussions – whatever will work best for your company and for the individuals. Hear them out.  Do not get defensive.  You’ll likely hear some things you don’t want to hear – that’s fine.  Listen carefully and answer them honestly.  If you don’t have an answer, let them know that and get back to them when you can answer the question. This will also help you rebuild trust with the staff.

Let the employees who haven’t yet walked out the door know that you need them here to rebuild the company and get it moving in the right direction.  Ask them specifically what you can do to improve the situation (within reason of course).  Be aware that you won’t necessarily be able to keep others from walking out, but you may be able to retain some when they see you are sincere in trying to improve the situation.

Trying to retain employees with offers of bonuses or increased pay is rarely successful.  Employees rarely leave a job because of money – yes, some do; but the majority leave for other reasons.  In the situation above, staff were job hunting and leaving because they did not see much hope for the company.  The leadership team had no strategic plan in place to get the company moving in the right direction.  It looked like a sinking ship to employees.  The best ones had one foot out the door.

Your thoughts?  What else might a company’s leadership team do to improve a situation and keep more employees from heading out the door to other opportunities? What has been your experience in such situations?  Please share with others in the Comments field below. Thanks!