Employee retention numbers aren’t what they appear

Post about the great resignation: bit.ly/3rlyjoh

Remember the Great Resignation during 2021 and 2022? Employees changed jobs in record numbers when they were frustrated by work environments, lack of career growth, inflexible policies, and poor management.

Now, Gallup research reveals that the number of people seeking new job opportunities is the highest it’s been since 2015, while satisfaction with their employer has returned to a record low.

Gallup calls this era the Great Detachment. Employees want to leave but struggle to find new jobs, so they stay. They stay, but their hearts aren’t in it.

Your retention numbers may look good, but don’t be fooled.

Turnover may have tapered, but when people stay without being all-in, productivity slows and the quality of work diminishes. Plus, organization changes you have planned for 2025 will be resisted.

How would your company be impacted by reduced productivity and quality? How would your 2025 strategic objectives be impacted by employees feeling detached?

Obviously, there are significant business implications of the Great Detachment.

The good news is there are ways to reconnect with detached employees.

We talked about one of the most impactful actions in this month’s Culture Matters: Recognition.

Recognition and celebration aren’t just feel-good activities—they’re strategic investments in people. Employees who feel seen and valued are more engaged, more productive, and more likely to stay.

One of the most important elements of recognition is authenticity. When it’s phony to check a box, it can backfire.

To keep recognition authentic, so it matters for real, here are a few ways to recognize and appreciate others.

✳️ Understand what matters to your people. Ask them. Do those things.

✳️ Keep it small and consistent. Regular thank you notes are rare, which makes them matter.

✳️ Share publicly. Post Recommendations on LinkedIn and give book reviews on Amazon.

✳️ Notice people. Check in and let them know you see them every day, not just when there’s a formal ceremony.

✳️ Support their career goals. Contribute to their flow through Maslow’s Hierarchy beyond the paycheck.

Those actions cascade throughout organizations as people tell their friends, post notes publicly, and emulate the actions. They also reinforce what’s working, set the tone for the culture, and connect people with your purpose.

Being genuine about recognition impacts your leadership legacy.

People will remember how you treat them more than they will remember profit growth during your leadership.

As always, the Culture Matters conversation was robust and inspiring. Thanks to all who joined today! I can’t wait to see what the CM community does in 2025!

3 lessons learned from McDonald’s Kiosk Training Level 1 (that I made up for my Dad)

My dad has been quite a trailblazer throughout his career. He had an office in our home long before WFH was the hot demand. He created new models for sports management and auto financing, among other things that became commonplace years later. In recent years, he has worked to become as tech savvy as he needs to be—no less, no more.

Last week, was a big one: Dad wanted to learn how to use the kiosk at McDonald’s.

He goes to the same McDonald’s every morning and called upon me as the family leadership development expert to teach him how to order from the kiosk. Here are the three key lessons I learned throughout this ordeal, I mean, wonderful experience😊:

Lesson #1: Put others at ease by linking the new experience to a familiar one. In advance of the training he asked of me, we spoke about similar experiences he had. For example, he had ordered from Amazon online. He described the steps he took during that process, and I said it would be similar on the kiosk. He had seen the kiosk, so we also talked about how it might differ. The discussion gave him comfort and calmed any internal anxiety he may have had. We all have some anxiety when tackling something new, right? Putting him at ease in advance was helpful because he was less anxious when we arrived at the kiosk training.

Lesson #2: Confirm the intention and purpose. Repeat the purpose to ensure clarity, and listen to the other person. We had some confusion about this one. I thought the purpose was to learn to order on the kiosk, but the very specific purpose Dad had was to get coffee for $.99 using the kiosk.

In my excitement for him to learn something new, I did not listen well, and it impacted the training.

Once the lesson began, Dad was rolling along pressing dine in, coffee café, regular coffee, and hold up! The price was $1.39. The kiosk did not say anything about $.99 coffee. He realized an ad he saw for the app promised the lower price for coffee. I offered to download the app on my phone right then, but he was frustrated already. He could not accomplish his purpose, so he was finished with the lesson.

I was frustrated because he still wanted the coffee—and so did I!—but he did not finish the order. He walked away from the kiosk to use his gift card at the counter instead.

I was bummed because he did not finish learning how to use the kiosk. He was bummed because coffee would not be $.99. There would have been less frustration if we had been perfectly clear about the intention ahead of time.

(For the record, the frustration level was like a two out of ten. We were laughing, not angry. We realized the moment and were not taking it seriously.)

Lesson #3: Be clear about the measure of success. Clarity of purpose impacts measure of performance. Since he did not complete the training, the special pretend Certificate of Achievement made especially for him on Canva sat secretly in my handbag. He was not going to get the certificate because he did not complete the order via the kiosk.

He did learn some of the steps, and that was a big deal for him. He got far enough to view the menu, select his preferred item, and place the order. Upon further consideration, he did earn the certificate for McDonald’s Kiosk Training Level 1!

Acknowledging progress was important. Look how proud he is! (He was being extra corny, but still!) There was no need to hold back the fake certificate just because the training did not go as planned.

Lighten up and look for opportunities to praise progress. Don’t be stingy with praise when it has been earned.

The praise, along with clarifying the purpose and connecting the training to something familiar, will help when we return in a few days for McDonald’s Kiosk Training Level 2!

Are there situations you’re facing when the same three lessons would be useful:

1. Put the other person at ease by linking the new thing with something familiar. This could be if you are asking for a budget increase for new staff or to improve a product feature.

2. Clarify the purpose of meetings. Wow, this is an enormous time-saver. I bet it would reduce the need for half of the meetings on our calendars! If the purpose is to give information, send an email instead. If the purpose is to gain support, do the topics and timing align with that purpose?

3. Link purpose to metrics to performance. Be clear with everyone about what success looks like. This can save time also because people will be working together to accomplish one thing instead of having different goals.

 A little reflection about those in advance can save time, build relationships, and speed progress. Every leader can use those now, including trailblazers learning new things.