STRENGTHENING THE FRONT LINE

WHY GOOD EMPLOYEES LEAVE

Commonsense ways to build employee loyalty

By Emily Huling, CIC, CMC

Sally Forth Comic Strip June 2002

Sally: "Maybe if you had shown Liz how much she meant to the department, she wouldn't have left, Ralph."

Ralph: "What are you talking about? I always showed her. Why else do you think I kept handing off crucial assignment after crucial assignment to her?"

Sally: "Because you wanted to take advantage of her hard-working nature?"

Ralph: "To-may-to -- to-mah-to. The work got done, didn't it?!"

Iknow I was supposed to laugh, but I couldn't. The creators of the Sally Forth comic strip, Steve Alaniz and Francesco Marciuliano, hit the nail on the head. Many bosses just don't get it. For those of you who have had this happen, or see yourself in Ralph, here's a list of the most common areas of dissatisfaction by workers. Note to employees: Please feel free to pass this list along to your boss!

Employees don't feel valued. Fun rewards such as a team lunch or time off show appreciation and give great thanks for a job "well done." Demonstrating that employees are valued is more complex than that. Valuing an individual's contribution includes asking for his or her input on account handling strategies and special projects, showing respect for new ideas that are given to improve processes and profits, and supporting an individual's interest in learning more and advancing his or her career. All too often, employees feel slotted and thwarted by management that is satisfied with good, consistent work and doesn't encourage individual contributions and personal growth.

Employees feel used or exploited. The Sally Forth comic strip represents one area where employees can feel used. Another common mistake management makes is to allow a poor performer to continue unproductive behavior while the good performer picks up the slack. An example is when one employee is frequently on the phone or away from his or her desk, so the questions and calls filter to the reliable worker. By allowing poor performance to perpetuate, the entire team suffers in productivity and morale and employees may leave.

Employees feel frustrated with politics or favoritism. This situation commonly occurs in offices where there are multiple principals who share responsibilities and no one partner wants to be the heavy in a difficult situation. For example, one partner is in charge of personal lines and another is responsible for sales. Because "sales drive the organization," the producers are favored when difficulties arise between CSRs and producers. For example, producers arrive at the CSR's desk with incomplete application in hand and want the CSR to drop everything to place "an important account." The CSR poses legitimate questions and the producers go to their boss complaining about how difficult the CSRs are to work with. The producers are not held accountable for upholding their job responsibilities and yet the CSRs are. This situation has driven many CSRs to find other positions.

Employers don't offer flexible work schedules. With our changing lives and priorities, the long-time standard work hours of 8 to 5 just don't work for some people. Luckily, technology has made it possible for work to be done at remote locations during any hour of the day. Before an employee leaves because of a spouse relocating or the need to care for a family member, the employer should research what can be done to create a win-win situation for both parties. Not only can remote computers dial into main locations for seamless work, phone systems can be programmed so that a call transferred to another location is invisible to the caller.

Many employees just want flexibility to avoid burn out. For example, an employee with a long commute can work from a home office a day or two a week. Flex time (selecting alternative work hours) can help employees who want to be home when children get home from school. Employers who initiate these benefits before the employees threaten to leave--or do leave--create a happier work environment and build employee loyalty.

Our industry is suffering from a shortage of good workers. Employers need to make every effort to retain valuable employees. Take time to look closely at your work environment to be sure you aren't unintentionally driving people away. *

The author

Emily Huling helps the insurance industry achieve sales and customer service success. She is the author of Selling in a Hard Market: 27 Ways to Insure Sales Success. She can be reached at (888) 309-8802 or emily@sellingstrategies.com.