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Unpopular opinion?

Organizations should always be developing and coaching your employees up and even out of your organization.

That means being proactive, asking them questions and setting them up for their next job, even if it’s not with your company (gasp).

The most important thing in your employees lives is not to work for your company for the rest of eternity. In the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s 2018 Employee Tenure Summary, the median employee tenure reported was 4.3 years for men and 4.0 years for women.

So if you're going to have someone for 2 years, or 4 years, or 6 years, be proactive. Make sure you’re both aligned on their current and future goals, not only to set them up for success but to get the best out of them while you have them.

Ask them:

What do you want to become?
What do you want to do?
Where do you want to grow to, do you want to become a leader?
Where do you want to go in your career?

If they want to do something else with their lives, invest in them, provide the training.

Get them certified in project management if that’s their aspiration, even if that is for their next role in a different company that's not yours, invest in your people.

Why? It builds an unparalleled relationship from day one.

It is a way to build trust and loyalty and have your employees work so hard for you and be so invested in your company as a result from day one. You have the ability to show them through your actions that from day one, you want to help them and set them up for the rest of their career.

So what does this look like in a practical sense? How do you get aligned?

Every year or so at least, sit down and ask them these questions, and have transparent conversations. Create space, and trust, and build a culture where it isn’t scary for them to admit to you, "I don't want to be here forever, this is what I want to do."

Whether you ask them or not, it’s true for them, so why not just find out?

It gives you an opportunity while those employees work for you to level them up and get the best out of them.

Here’s the result:

Beyond the badge of investing in them as human beings as their leader, they will also pay you back in higher engagement, discretionary effort, job performance, and retention.

They will stay with your company because you invested in them.

Unless, where they really want to go is somewhere else, in which case, don't avoid that conversation. Be real about it.

Unpopular opinion #2 (I’m on a roll today): If your employee is going to apply for a better or next level job in another organization, help them with their resume and cover letter, and give them a recommendation.

Tell the hiring manager, "This employee still works for us, and they're phenomenal.”

I know that's counterintuitive to the way things have always been done in organizations. It might be a total re-shift in mindset, but the ROI for that will show up in how your existing employees see the way that you value them.

It makes employees loyal as hell and proves that you actually care about people.

So that's it, invest in your people, provide training, provide certification, resources, help them grow inside the company.

One final thought:

The trap that I think really hurts organizations is when you have somebody who's great in a role and you pass them over for promotions that they want because you want them to stay where they are. If it benefits the company but it's a detriment to them and their career, it's not the right thing to do.

Ultimately, that person will feel slighted by being passed over for promotions that they deserve, etc, it’s a bad move. If they’re a great employee then they will likely be just as valuable and successful in their next role. Plus, when people have opportunities to advance and move up, they stay longer with the company. When great employees feel stagnant, they eventually just leave.

Adopt the mindset and let employees know, "It's okay if you don't want to work here forever, we will always be invested in your development, your growth, and your career while you’re here, and even after you've left."

Want more?

This article was created by Galen Emanuele for the #culturedrop. Free leadership and team culture content in less than 5 minutes a week. Check out the rest of this month's content and subscribe to the Culture Drop at https://bit.ly/culturedrop 

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