How do you reduce turnover? How do you get employees engaged? What are best tools for employee surveys? Such questions are posted all over the internet. And most of the answers will give you the opposite effect of what you desire.
For example …
At LinkedIn, a HR Director asks for “strategic suggestions on how to decrease turnover within an hourly employee (non-union), manufacturing environment.”
She adds, “Money and stay bonuses have not worked.” Of course they haven’t. They never do.
And the suggestions she’s received run the full gamut of best practices like exit interviews, employee surveys, engagement initiatives. These won’t work either. They might create a temporary improvement. But that’s about it.
At the best companies, all these ‘best practice’ tactics are no more than a way to verify if their strategy is on the right track.
These practices are never the main agenda. Many of the best of the best don’t rely on such practices at all.
The problem with such ‘best practice’ tactics is they quickly become a substitute for doing what you need to do — and that is to cultivate an environment where people grow (strategy).
Once you’ve cultivated such an environment, turnover becomes a non-issue.
Want to learn about how to cultivate an environment where people grow? Start here: Why HR Still Isn’t a Strategic Partner
