Employee Retention: Why Pushing the Baby Birds from the Nest Brings Them Flying Back Home

Transcription

1 Employee Retention: Why Pushing the Baby Birds from the Nest Brings Them Flying Back Home Terry M. Cole, Jordan, Jones and Goulding ABSTRACT As challenges go, employee retention is one of the toughest facing the water and wastewater industry. While many efforts are focusing on attracting new talent to the profession, not as much attention seems to be aimed at stopping the revolving door of employees who come in, get the required training and certifications, learn the system, and then leave for better pay or perceived benefits. How can an industry that rarely wins the competitive battle for salaries ever hope to keep good people and nurture long-term employees? To survive in today s marketplace, utilities must shake up their model for employee retention. For example, allowing employees to spread their wings and fly outside the normal job description often leads to workers who feel most at home in their current utility s nest. There are practical steps utilities can take to examine their organization and identify creative yet workable initiatives to retain their employees. KEYWORDS: Employee retention, management, workforce. INTRODUCTION Often employees leave the water or wastewater profession because they feel limited in their ability to advance and grow. For years, employees have been tracked into one-dimensional positions that offer limited and narrowly defined pathways forward. For example, a wastewater collections worker may see his or her only opportunity to move ahead in becoming a supervisor. But if only a limited number of supervisory positions exist within the department, a brick wall has been hit that seems impenetrable short of a long-timer retiring or stepping aside. How can a utility create a vision for the employee who wants to remain with the utility but cannot picture a future outside of their current position? This is where creative thinking and clear goals come into play for utility management. Unleashing the potential of workers sometimes means allowing them to explore opportunities such as membership in industry committees, presentations to school groups or civic organizations, participation in citizen outreach projects, and other unfettered approaches. Simply incorporating sexy initiatives that sound like they have lots of sizzle is likely to do little more than smolder. Evaluating the culture of the organization, determining philosophies on employee retention, and researching what the workforce today wants are critical first steps to an effective campaign to keep good employees from becoming former employees. ASKING WHY IS A GOOD FIRST STEP Why work to retain staff? Although the answer may seem obvious, many initiatives fail because no one bothered to ask, Why are we doing this? After all, isn t fresh blood a good way to infuse an organization with new ideas and energy? Certainly bringing in new talent is an 7141

2 important component of an organization s long-term success, but there are important issues to consider about losing existing staff. High on the list is the cost not only does an agency lose the investment it has made in training a staff member, but there is the additional cost incurred in training that person s replacement. Time is also an investment, and the time a new staffer spends in training has an associated cost to the company both in dollars and in resentment among other staff who have to fill in. Another key factor to consider is lost knowledge. Many water agencies have that senior maintenance person or meter reader who knows exactly where every valve and meter is located in the system. Given the age of many distribution and collection systems, as-built drawings are not always available. And when they are, they are not always accurate. That means the knowledge residing in the staff member s brain is a key part of service delivery to customers. The time spent locating facilities or researching past projects is another cost to the agency, often one that comes with lost public credibility from customers angry that a repair took so long because no one knew where key components were located in the system. A smaller pool of potential new hires is also a consequence that should be considered in employee retention. Estimates are that the upcoming Generation X includes about 44 million people, compared to the 76 million Baby Boomers who were available for work in years past. (Heathfield, 2007) That means a lot fewer people are available to work, making recruiting new talent, while competing with other more high profile industries, an even greater challenge. A factor often missed in the equation of why retention matters is the reflection it provides of the health of your agency. (Heathfield, 2007) An exodus of critical staff members may mean more than just that folks are reaching retirement age. It could be an indication of staff morale and job conditions. When key staff depart, others within the company look around and start questioning the stability and health of the agency for which they work. LOOKING WITHIN FOR ANSWERS Every organization is different, and the factors that lead to employee departures or in this case, employees who stay - are unique to each agency. An important next step in the process of employee retention is examining current conditions and determining areas that might deserve attention in order to retain staff. Are employees being provided an environment that promotes success? When an employee perceives their work experience to be less than satisfying, one school of thought is to ask the question, What about the work system is causing the person to fail? Often the answer relates to three areas - time, tools, and training. (Heathfield, 2007) Without these, employees may leave for an employer who is perceived to offer them. Perceived is a key word since employees may feel the grass is greener elsewhere, only to realize too late that your organization offered similar programs but they were never made aware of them or given the opportunity to take advantage of them. For example, a plant operator who would like to move up in classification might not be aware that reimbursement is available for the training and testing necessary to achieve this goal. Management often forgets that rank and file staff is not always part of discussions where these 7142

3 benefits are brought up, and few employees take the time to read long and involved employee manuals where the benefits might be outlined. Are employees being micromanaged out the door? Taking a look at the employee handbook is another key step in assessing your current work environment. If you are an organization that operates on the assumption that people are untrustworthy, you will find pages and pages of rules. Instead, experts suggest making only the minimum number of rules and policies needed to protect your organization legally and create order in the work place. (Heathfield, 2007) Demonstrating that you believe your employees are capable of making good decisions, and allowing them flexibility to do so, may create incentive for employees to stay. What do employees think? Asking employees what areas bring job satisfaction and which demotivate is an important aspect of employee retention. Not only will the organization gain valuable information relevant to addressing concerns, but employees will feel engaged in the decision-making process. Water and wastewater agencies often struggle with the idea of obtaining feedback since not every request will be achievable given budget constraints, political restrictions, and departmental consistency. But providing employees with a clear understanding upfront about how the information will be used and what direction will be taken ensures unrealized expectations among employees are avoided. WHAT CAN BE DONE When an agency makes the decision to focus on employee retention, many senior leaders list of what keeps employees around starts with better compensation, bonuses, and work/life initiatives. However, when employees are asked the same question, they respond with managerrelated behaviors. For example, they want more involvement in decision making, more appreciation, better communication, more team building, flexible work conditions, more autonomy and better coaching. (Ernsberger, 2003) A survey conducted by the Puget Sound Business Journal turned up this finding, While the employees LOVE the fringe benefits and tend to brag about them, they didn't list pool tables, weekly massages, free snacks or even the company wine cellar as the main reason their company is "the best." Instead, they cited the basics: the opportunity to excel at what they do, a chance to make a difference, the encouragement to learn and grow in their job, and liking their coworkers. (Monk, 2007) In a project conducted by the Australian Water Association (AWA), Human Resource leaders from across the country were asked what issues they believed contributed to the challenges of employee retention. One issue identified was employee concerns with culture and leadership within the agency for which they work. Specific examples cited included dominance of the Baby Boomer demographic, the Club mentality, lack of respect, lack of vision and connection with the workforce, quality of leadership and management, and poor people management skills. (AWA, 2006) In many ways, the water and wastewater industry struggles with this issue more than others because of the preponderance of technical staff who move into management roles. Just because someone is an expert in designing a wastewater treatment plant does not necessarily mean their expertise extends to managing the people who work for them. People skills may not 7143

4 have been emphasized in their training or background, and this deficiency may lead to inadvertent miscues that cause employees to seek other work environments. If this is the case, why do most agencies ignore the fact that improving manager leadership can measurably increase employee retention? The answer may be as simple as the fact that good leadership is much more difficult to quantify and even more difficult to address. It can often be easier to develop a better compensation plan than it is to improve leadership development. (Ernsberger, 2003) Focusing on training for people managers and regularly checking in with employees to determine their satisfaction is an important element of employee retention. Another issue identified in the AWA project as contributing to the challenges of employee retention was managing change in the workplace. Humans respond to change in various ways, and many react with fear, concern, anger, or disconnection. The report issued by the AWA suggested dealing with change by presenting it as a positive initiative (communicating the benefits), making people productive contributors through retraining and up-skilling, using change to capture experience, sensitively managing career transitions, and buffering political interference. (AWA, 2006) Many agencies turn to clever recognition programs to try and retain staff. While this may work as one component of a more comprehensive strategy, great care should be taken to match the recognition to the employees and the goal. One water and wastewater agency developed a recognition program that included giving out lollipops with messages like, Good job! to employees who had performed well. While the approach was relatively well received by the office staff, the field crews and operations staff were offended and felt disrespected by the juvenile nature of the reward. Ultimately the program had the opposite impact, and was stopped. Clearing defining a progression path is essential in retaining staff. The water and wastewater industry may have a tendency to track employees into one-dimensional positions that offer limited and narrowly defined pathways forward. For example, once an operator, always an operator. However, experts agree that providing opportunities within the company for crosstraining and career progression is critical for employee satisfaction and retention. (Heathfield, 2007) Unleashing an employee s potential is another factor in employee retention. Many employers are surprised to find that employees they thought of as being limited to a defined skill-set can suddenly excel when presented with a challenging new assignment. One of the best ways to do this is to encourage involvement in professional associations such as the Water Environment Federation, the American Water Works Association, and other organizations relevant to personal growth. By assuming responsibility as a committee chair or task leader for a special initiative, a junior level employee may blossom and reveal proficiency that leads to promotion within their workplace. 7144

5 CONCLUSIONS To survive in today s marketplace, utilities must shake up their model for employee retention. For example, allowing employees to spread their wings and fly outside the normal job description often leads to workers who feel most at home in their current utility s nest. Employee retention requires a focused approach that begins with asking why staff members are important to retain, conducting an assessment of current conditions that may lead to staff departures, and developing a strategic effort tailored to the unique issues of an organization. REFERENCES Australian Water Association (2006) Attraction and Retention of People in the Water Industry; 2006 Water Industry HR Workshop Report Ernsberger, Mark. Leadership development leads to employee retention. Washington Business Journal, January 17, Heathfield, S. M., (2007) Top Ten Ways to Retain Your Great Employees, Why Retention? Four Tips for Employee Retention, [Electronic version]. Retrieved from Heathfield, S. M. (2007) Set Them Free: Two Musts For Employee Motivation, What Organizations Can Do About Employee Motivation, [Electronic version]. Retrieved from Monk, Becky. Employees pick best workplaces. Puget Sound Business Journal, August 10,