Have you ever asked yourself – ‘Would my current team describe me as a leader who nurtures, supports and empowers them?’ Because in my experience, when people experience psychological safety and are part of a solid mentor-mentee relationship, it positively impacts an organization’s bottom line, as well as showcases what they truly stand for. But before I delve into what it takes to nurture people to achieve greatness, let’s take a close look at what the numbers say when it comes to retaining key talent in the first place.
The average employee exit for instance costs 16% to a whopping 213% of their annual salary. Acquiring fresh talent that can then fill the gap of knowledge, skills and experience not only takes time, but requires hands-on training too. With 8 out of 10 employees admitting that they would seek a new job after 1(yes, 1) bad day, it is definitely becoming increasingly difficult to retain top talent and keep them engaged.
This leads us to ask- What does it take to keep our top performers with us? How do we nurture, empower and challenge them every day?
Striking a balance between business and people, as well as having a solid understanding of what shapes our people strategy goes a long way in retaining talent. As people leaders, do we believe that our employees are committed to succeed or are we of the opinion that they need to be managed? Because, the former is a Segway to empowering people with the tools that they need to bring their ‘A game’ to work every single day. And I believe that if we focus solely on enabling employees to be the best versions of themselves, they are more likely to progress, succeed and stay longer with the organization.
Bringing Purpose, Culture and Values to Life
When an organization drives its values, purpose and mission statement across all levels, it sets them apart from the ones that don’t. Every element, right from the culture at work to how well diversity and inclusion are weaved into the fabric of a company’s policies will determine whether or not an employee chooses to stay or go.
At Godrej Housing Finance, our six values – Trust, Be Bold, Show Respect, Be Entrepreneurial and Be Customer Obsessed, actually give meaning to the work we do and the way we interact with each other. For example, in line with the value ‘Be Bold’, continuous learning is a core ingredient for our success as a company and as individuals too. We recently launched a program ‘Nurture”, which is essentially a Coaching Initiative for emerging leaders at GHF. This brings to life our commitment to set people up for success and enable them to be the best versions of themselves. The objective of the initiative is to provide key role-holders an opportunity to be personally coached by the Management Committee (MC) team on critical capabilities that enable them to reach their full potential.
Empowering Leaders
At GHF, people have the power to decide what they want to learn, who their coach will be and how their mentors can help them. The autonomy and ownership that comes with being able to chart your own course is a crucial piece of the employee development puzzle. Technology has changed the way we communicate and retaining talent, especially while working remotely, starts with the way that employees are onboarded, right to how their roles are defined with the aim of helping them learn and grow.
Opinions Count
Truly listening to employees’ suggestions and views creates an environment of bottom-up innovation. Further acknowledging that their contributions count, that their voices are heard and their suggestions are appreciated, can reduce turnover by a whopping 31%! In order to do this a “safe space” needs to be created where employees can speak freely without the fear of being judged.
In a previous article, I talked about the right time for an employee to lead. Being able to spot potential, mentoring employees to take on key projects, helping them grow into managerial roles and enabling them to really push the boundaries at work is what nurturing is all about. My advice would be to focus on building a culture where ideas are welcomed, perspectives are respectfully challenged, appreciation is second nature and people are always kept at the center of the business.
Because after all, organizations grow, when their people grow too.
Ruhie Pande 