Sticking around

Nearly all organizations today struggle to hire and keep the employees they need to meet productivity and profitability goals. While some employers accuse younger generations of “not wanting to work,” I’ve spent the last decade diving into what employees of all ages do and do not want to stay with their employers.

First, different people have different priorities, with the primary values shifting from generation to generation. While Traditionalists (also known as the Silent Generation) born before 1945 valued stability so they could put food on their tables, the workforce has evolved dramatically, placing a higher value on mobility and opportunities to grow earning potential.

So, what happened that caused this shift to what appears to be a more self-centered and entitled workforce?

Baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) simply wanted to provide a better life for their families and decided to work far more hours to grow their careers and businesses than the punch-clock Traditionalist employees.

The much smaller Generation X (born from 1965 to 1980) reporting to those boomers did what their bosses told them and stayed till the job got done. Why? Because their bosses told them to. Because Gen X employees didn’t have the strength in numbers to push back on their boomer bosses, most realized early in their careers that to succeed, they had to play the “boomer game”—learning exactly how to show up at work and meet the unwritten expectations.

But the gigantic millennial generation (born from 1981 to 1997) and Generation Z (those now under age 28) have pushed back, saying they refuse to work longer-than-necessary hours disguised as a “strong work ethic” because a company isn’t staffed as it should be.

The younger generations saw boomers and Gen Xers in their families sacrifice home priorities to meet work expectations, then many got laid off in return for their hard work and dedication—my mom did (three times before I graduated high school). The new workforce is saying, “Staff appropriately, or we’ll walk” because there’s no guarantee an organization will take care of them long term.

This self-preservation focused on personal priorities over organizational priorities has hit many employers hard. But for those senior leaders who are willing to hear the new workforce out, a great employer/employee partnership can be found that benefits both parties in the end.

Two types of employees

It’s important to view your workforce today as two different types of employees. The first group is your “trees.” These employees are deep-rooted in the organization as they’ve been with you awhile and are very dependable. Trees are able to weather the storms at work and make it through busy or difficult times. In fact, this group is not likely to go anywhere until retirement, even if you want them to, because they prefer stability and staying within their comfort zones.

The other group of employees is “houseplants.” Therefore, when leaders begin to realize the new hires each have individual needs, much like houseplants, magic happens.

Higher-maintenance employees are like orchids, needing daily attention and more sunshine, or appreciation, on a regular basis, while lower-maintenance employees are like cacti and can be left on their own for a month and be just fine without much attention.

Great leaders today get to know their staff at a level that identifies how much guidance and support each person needs.

Guidance & support

What the workforce of all ages needs today is the appropriate amount of guidance and support. For example, the “sink-or-swim” training model companies used for decades worked beautifully for Gen X employees because many previously had been latchkey children who were taught at a young age to fend for themselves after school and not “burn down the house.” They learned to solve problems, think critically and figure it out when they were faced with a challenge.

But because of the “stranger danger” parenting of millennials raised after the 1980s, when shows like “America’s Most Wanted” and “True Crime” hit the airwaves, many children in this after-school-care generation didn’t have the opportunity to hone their critical thinking skills in the same way at a young age. That means employers must now plan to provide more guidance, training and onboarding for today’s new hires, especially for Gen Z. If companies do not, those employees likely will become overwhelmed, not having the tools to cope in a stressful environment, and they’ll quit simply because you “threw them to the wolves.”

It’s a common assumption that younger employees don’t want to work, when we actually have found they simply want to be more properly guided and supported by their employers instead of thrown into a role without feeling competent and confident.

We can blame them for having thin skin and a lack of grit, or we can revamp our onboarding for new hires and keep them longer.

Top retention priorities

For organizations that want to stabilize staffing moving forward, senior leaders glean the most bang for their buck on a number of retention strategies:

Develop leaders at every level. Ensuring managers have the proper tools to successfully understand, manage and retain today’s workforce is critical for future organizational success. Have you provided recent training on updated communication tactics and generational dynamics, including an in-depth view of Gen Z, emotional intelligence skills as more employees bring their “whole self to work” and other critical skill-building courses?

Revamp your on-ramp. Acclimating new hires into an organization and team takes months, not days or weeks. Consider improving the new-hire experience to ensure staff feel properly trained and supported as they begin their roles independently. Have you considered what your new team members truly need to know by the end of Day 1, Week 1, Month 1 and Quarter 1, creating a plan for greater support and mentorship throughout their first year with you?

Operationalize turnover. Losing staff is unavoidable. While reducing employee turnover can be accomplished in multiple ways, it never will be eliminated. As we create well-oiled machines in various operational and financial functions of the business, managing the churn of losing and replacing talent also should become a more efficient process for all parties involved. Have you created a plan and empowered ownership with collaborative HR and department leaders to ensure each step in the hiring and termination processes operates efficiently?

It’s time to stop banging our heads against a wall thinking the new workforce is the problem. Leaders who get to know them, embrace their unique perspectives and make the necessary adjustments to effectively lead today’s diverse workforce will win the talent battle.

The author is a workforce thought leader, keynote speaker and the president and chief retention officer at Magnet Culture, a Louisville, Kentucky-based training organization that works with leaders to reduce employee turnover. For additional information on employee-retention strategies, visit www.wereduceturnover.com or follow Silletto on LinkedIn.