Beware! Your top people are being poached!
/The issue most on the minds of leaders I have heard from lately is the "Great Resignation." Leaders are afraid their top performers will leave, and they have run out of ideas to inspire them to stay.
Of course, leaders always worry about their top performers, but lately that fear is reasonable. People changed during the past two years, and what entices them to choose a workplace is different for many now. On top of that change, strategies companies are using to fill vacancies have changed too.
The latest strategy to fill all those empty spots across organizations is poaching. Perhaps you have experienced it or even recommended the strategy to your company's recruiters? Going after top talent gainfully employed by a competitor used to be a subversive maneuver. Not anymore.
Now, recruiters pursue top performers like a high school kid asking a date to the prom.
There are big gestures and lots of woo'ing over time.
Poaching entices relatively happily employed people to leave for greener pastures, even when their current pasture is pretty green already. People are flattered by being pursued, and they have more confidence to speak up about what would make them leap firms. People are stating their demands, and companies are delightfully meeting them. Everything from location to hours to salary to equipment to team members and more—it’s all on the table.
Poaching is on the rise, so watch out before it’s too late.
The best thing you can do to prevent poaching is make your top performers less susceptible to poachers. Keep woo'ing them throughout their employment journey.
Companies make a gigantic mistake when they stop woo'ing people once they are on board.
Someone told me recently about her experience with her new employer. Four people who love the company were on the interview team that took her to lunch. They talked about being on her team and working with her. It turned out they are on the company team but not her immediate team. They were on the interview team because of their acting skills and exaggerated the role they would play in her job. Figuring that act out a few days into the job made her question her decision to join the company.
Another recent example was that a manager in a mid-sized company was not ready for the new hire, so the new employee sat in the lobby for an hour waiting for his boss to arrive. The manager said, “I forgot you were starting today.” In the interview, however, the manager spoke about how much he cares about his team.
Those two examples were of companies abandoning their woo practices on day one. That’s when it is most egregious and hard to overcome. It also happens when the business landscape changes and leaders are challenged. Some panic and stop taking care of their people out of fear for their own jobs.
The smart leaders have figured out they need to keep woo'ing after day one for people to stick around.
To identify opportunities to engage with employees, outline your employees' journey. Armed with an understanding of their journey, identify where you can beef up intentional connections. Where along the journey can you offer professional development (which people crave!), skill development opportunities in the work, networking opportunities, and opportunities to contribute to the local community?
Be intentional about your connection and engagement. Tie your actions to what they want.
The Platinum Rule is more important here than the Golden Rule. While the Golden Rule tells us to treat people how we want to be treated, the Platinum Rule is to treat people how they want to be treated. Put the Platinum Rule into effect in good times and bad. People really notice how you treat them when times are tough for the company or for them personally. For example, your company policy may allow for one week of leave for new fathers. How do you handle the new father whose baby needs extra medical attention at birth, so one week with the family is not enough? People > policy. Treat people with care, especially when they need help.
That's the secret to retention: care. It is really hard for a poacher to compete against a genuine relationship of care.