Discovering passions and dreams

There is little point investing countless hours trying to win the knowledge game if you are unable to attract and keep the talent you need for your business. Somehow, each business needs to find the right formula to engage their people to be willing, skilled and motivated. People must feel that their work provides them a pathway to a better life and hope for the future. If you wish to inspire and keep talent you must assist people to extract meaning out of what they are doing so that they can progress, build confidence and grow. Most important of all, a business must foster a culture or attitude that rewards the flow of ideas so that a better future can be generated for everyone s benefit.

To do this requires a unique chemistry , one that is fuelled by mutual respect and an emotional bond between its people. Only then will you have the capacity to drive the collaboration and know-how you need to achieve better results for your business and your customers. As a 2002 study by Hewitt Associates and the Australian Graduate School of Management found, the best employer excelled in four areas. These comprised, first, people leadership; second, accelerated learning and development; third, compelling employment offers which provided a higher purpose and a different work experience; and, finally, a business culture driven by performance, results, fun, celebration and recognition.

As one further explores the advice on keeping and inspiring talent it is very easy to be smothered by a multitude of possible options, programmes and strategies. Recent writing has been prolific and it is easy to be confused . However, some simple things can make a world of difference. People must feel that they can help to improve things and make a positive contribution. So, there must always be abundant opportunities for people to share and listen to each other s passions, dreams and plans. When this occurs as the norm rather than the exception, a business can dramatically improve its chances of going beyond the attraction of money as the sole motivator and discover the real motivation of its people. Instead of using a salary increase as a solution, look for other factors. These could include building a friendlier workplace, regular meetings, good induction programmes, fairness and equal employment opportunities, shared spaces such as tearooms, organized social activities, working in teams , training courses, formal networking opportunities such as employee interest groups, sporting or other clubs and, finally, communities of practice.

A colleague of mine, Susie Linder-Pelz, said to me a decade ago that we should be less interested in absentee-ism and more interested in presentee-ism. In other words, looking at who turns up to work is only a small part of the equation; managers need to stimulate higher levels of contribution and enthusiasm from those who contribute everyday to the business. So be prepared to look at the root causes of poor performance and encourage people to get more meaning from what they do. Be prepared to listen to the whole message, however pleasant or unpleasant it might be. Each manager or team leader must see their responsibility as one that involves the capability to foster and nurture talent. If managers or team leaders do not have the skill or will to do this you will have a huge impasse in the system.

Research over the past decade by organizations such as the University of Michigan and web sites such as www.keepem.com has consistently shown that you can entice people with money and lures but you will not be able to keep them if they become unhappy , unmotivated or undervalued. This is particularly the case for more mobile, younger and free-spirited individuals who know where their opportunities lie and where they can go.

Alternatively, a very low turnover of personnel may not always be wonderful news as a business may be full of people who just want to turn up to work even though they may feel deeply unhappy, alienated and powerless. All this means bad news for performance and innovation. Business needs to build high value and high loyalty in relationships where both the individual and the business benefit. We hardly want people just serving time. As John Herbert the former CEO of the Australian Institute of Management, Queensland Branch, says, people may say they have had ten years experience but in fact it is ten times one year s experience.

The Saratoga Institute also says on the talent issue that between 50 per cent and 80 per cent of workers satisfaction is directly related to their relationship with their boss. If they have a healthy and open relationship they will most likely stay. In studies of over 70 000 exit interviews they found that the main reason a person voluntarily leaves is the behaviour of their supervisor. The secondary cause is perceived lack of growth opportunities. So, having a bad boss is not good news for keeping talent, or what some people call human capital. Wide- ranging and extended research also supports the view that meaningful and challenging work, a chance to learn and grow, fair compensation, a good work environment, recognition and respect are particularly important reasons to stay in a job.

A study of the Australian retail sector published by the Work and Family Unit in the Australian Department of Employment and Workplace Relations puts a different spin on the talent challenge. It discovered that retail employees seek much more control over working hours “ not surprising given the length of trading hours in most retail outlets these days. It is also worth noting that higher pay and better career opportunities were also a point of contention for most retail employees . The Work and Family Unit also discovered that part-time employees are just as committed to business success as full-time workers. The study also found that many retail workers want a career and are becoming more and more careful about shopping around to find a good employer. As Dr Boxall from the Australian Retailers Association says, people want to work in organizations that value their contribution and assist them to achieve a work “home balance. Business needs are changing too, and there is opportunity here for win “win situations.

Alternatively, when it comes to the nursing profession there has been a host of recent studies that would indicate that the high turnover of nurses and failure to attract new people to the profession is largely driven by a lack of faith that they can change the health system. Concern over work “life balance and the limited time that they can spend with their patients is also rated highly. Such issues will need to be addressed if the current trend of severe shortages is going to be reversed .

So, to summarize, if you wish to sustain and keep talent you need outstanding people management. You need managers who demonstrate talent management as a core skill and motivation. You need people who are not caught up in their own self-importance but are more interested in building the capabilities of people around them. You also need to develop a business culture where people constantly ask courageous questions of each other. For example: ˜What would it take for you to stay? or ˜What might it take to lure you way? These questions not only help uncover possible concerns and motivations, but also show your genuine desire to help out and listen. This is vitally important if you wish to inspire greater contribution and reduce the likelihood of people jumping ship or setting off a revolving door of departures.