Retaining Your Talent — Seasoned Employee
The Seasoned Employee
The final section on the retention series is the seasoned employee. This employee performs efficiently and at a high quality level. They are an expert in their role within the company. A manager’s dream…an employee who knows what to do and just does it. Enjoy it!
Yet…keep an eye on this employee because you can lose them without knowing you are vulnerable. Employees have different styles when dealing with their careers. Some are quite vocal about needing additional challenges or if they are not happy, while others quietly decide to look elsewhere when they are bored. The cost of losing an experienced employee is up to 150% of their annual salary (Ernst & Young, 2003). That includes a lot of time and money.
Reason They Stay
A seasoned employee may want to do exactly what they are doing because they have other challenges in their lives. Find out what is motivating them now…it can change over time. Here are some reasons why they stay:
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They have a family and want to spend more time with them. They are willing to trade a little boredom because they can perform their job effortlessly.
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Maybe they are starting a new family and prefer the comfort of a familiar role without too much stress.
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Are they in school?
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They enjoy working with their team members.
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They enjoy working with you…their manager.
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They see potential to grow in a different direction and are waiting for the right time to discuss it with you.
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The job market is slow and they will stay until a better opportunity surfaces.
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They will move on after they receive their bonus.
They may or may not share their reasons for staying in their current role…though whatever their reason, keep a pulse on where they are now…don’t assume you know.
Learning
Even if an employee is happy in their current role, check in to see what type of challenges you can add to their workload. A basic assumption to make is that a happy employee wants to be learning…no matter how large or small the challenge.
Here are some ideas that you could use to support the seasoned employee:
- They can be mentors for new or one year old employees
- Give them time to participate in professional organizations.
- Perfect to be liaisons with other departments. What a significant role to offer to them…help build the communication between groups.
- Train them for leadership roles within the company
- Take on a new project
- Promote them.
- They can train others to do their role…then take on different responsibilities.
- Have them be part of a brainstorming team that is responsible for quality control.
…you know the needs within your department, so utilize their knowledge and their productivity to further the business.
So what can you do as their manager?
- Don’t ever assume you know where an employee is at.
- Expect the employee to participate in the management of their career.
- Always think about your employees learning capacity.
- Reward them for their contributions.
- Include a healthy dose of recognition. Even if you have recognized them in the past for their contributions, find time to let them know you appreciate them for what they bring to the department.
- Don’t become complacent with a seasoned employee. I know it’s tempting as you have so much to do as a manager. All you need to do is ask yourself…is there something more they can learn or contribute to the department.
Final Note
During your career as a manager, you will lose people. If you focus on your employees, you will minimize your turnover.
I remember in my early days as a manager, I was very busy with the day-to-day business aspects of my role, and didn’t realize that my attention needed to be on the employees doing the work. Yes, there were midyear and yearly performance reviews…at least some time was scheduled to give feedback to an employee.
As I became more experienced in my role as manager, I became aware that my best work came about when I made it a point to meet individually with my team members every week. We had a weekly business update, as well as some discussion time around any challenges or concerns inside or outside the company. My goal was to figure out how I can help them perform their jobs better…so I needed to know what was on their plate.
Pat
Other Topics:
Retaining Your Talent – New Hire
Retaining Your Talent – One Year Experience
How To Create Employee Goals
