Leadership Viewpoint

Retaining our best employees has become a growing challenge. Corporate America, of course, has brought this challenge on itself by creating an environment without job security, where promotions from outside the organization have become the norm. New generations of workers enter the workforce with the intention that they will change jobs and careers as opportunities arise. The flip side is that the best people leave for greener pastures, often just as they become truly valuable to the organization. Retaining them is not simple.

Perhaps the single most important link to a corporation is to our direct supervisor. The challenge companies face is that efforts to retain the key employee cannot assume that the direct supervisor is loyal either! This challenge translates layer upon layer in organizations, all the way to the top. Hence, the retention challenge must be addressed at multiple levels and with multiple approaches. Focus on money and benefits has become simply the ante to play the game. It is equally important to place people in challenging growth positions, with freedom for creativity and achievement. Unfortunately, in an effort to protect the organization from the risks that accompany such freedoms, too many constraints and small thinkers bottle-up top talent.

In speaking with directors and vice presidents that have left corporate America, we often find that they were spending more time with company politics than with real business issues. They simply became fed-up with it all and bolted. It will take multiple touch points to protect our best thinkers from this waste of their time and talents. We all have lots to learn.

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