THE BUSINESS REVIEW FOR PROCUREMENT LEADERS
by Sharon Jordan-Evans
Retention is a spotlight issue, landing among the top three concerns of executives in most developed nations. Why? Because of the “perfect storm” – a confluence of five factors:
Most savvy leaders know they need to hang on to talent, they just aren’t sure how. Or they’re too busy doing “their jobs” to worry about it. Well, they need to worry about it. In today’s knowledge economy talent is everything. It is the scarcest and most competitive resource.
If you manage others, you have tremendous power and influence over engaging and retaining them. Saratoga Institute found that 50 per cent of workplace satisfaction depends on the relationship the employee has with his or her boss. And Gallup studies of 12 million workers at 7,000 companies show that the relationship with the manager largely determines the length of an employee’s stay.
There are dozens of tangible, easy-to-implement strategies you can use to engage and retain your most talented people. If you think these approaches take too long, consider how you will you find the time (and money) to interview, hire, orient and train their replacements if they leave.
Here are three of the most popular, and powerful, actions you can take:
1. Conduct a ‘stay’ interview
If you don’t know what staff really want, how will you keep them? Too
many managers are guessing – and they’re guessing wrong. Ask: are
you challenged in your day-to-day work? What would provide more interest? What
could I do more/less of? What will keep you here? What might entice you away?
What do you want to learn this year?
If you can’t deliver on their requests, be honest and explain the barriers
you face. They want to know you care enough to at least look into it. Then
ask: “What else?” I guarantee there will be at least one thing
they want that you can deliver.
2. Give them some space
Your best employees want elbow room (especially the younger ones), and they’ll
leave you if they don’t get it. Provide the freedom that allows people
to get the job done in ways that work best for them. Telecommuting is one
way of giving employees space and it’s here to stay. Casual dress on
Fridays, job-sharing and flexible work schedules are other examples.
These creative approaches are not pampering, they are ways to meet your business goals. That means listening to what people want, going to bat for their needs, and ultimately giving them options and opportunities to do things differently.
3. Mine for opportunities
Link arms with your best people to mine for the next opportunity. They might
enjoy heading a new project or spend category (marketing or legal services,
for instance). Let them touch the end customer or build relations with a
key internal stakeholder. Rotate assignments to deepen or broaden their skills.
Support their investigation of new supply markets, including those in emerging
countries like China and India.
Sometimes your talented people will want to move out of procurement and into another function in the organisation. While you might hate to lose them from your team, you could save them for the enterprise and, in the process, be seen as a nurturer and developer of talent.
What about money? Of course it matters (to some more than to others) and it can influence decisions about whether to stay put or move on. Be sure you’re paying fairly and competitively and then focus on things that matter most to your talented people: opportunities to learn and grow, interesting work and excellent management.
If you’re not recruiting your best people, you’re the only one who isn’t. Do the three things suggested here and you’ll keep them for at least a little while longer.
Sharon Jordan-Evans (sharon@jeg.org) is president of the Jordan Evans Group, a US-based leadership consultancy, and co-author of “Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em” (Berrett-Koehler)
