Retain Your Employees By Giving Them Wings

How can companies turn problems into opportunities

Companies keep hearing from employees wanting more career opportunities, more direction, more engagement in the big picture and purpose. Those calls have only increased with the isolation of the pandemic. Working remotely may have lots of advantages, but it has made people feel all the more cut off.

The obvious solution is to encourage managers to step up their guidance of employees, but it can prove to be difficult. Whether for lack of will, ability, or time, managers aren’t working with their team members as much as the situation requires.

What’s needed is greater coaching. Many companies offer leadership development programs, but usually reserve them for a few “high-potentials” –which leaves the rest of the employees out. Yet it’s financially impractical for most companies or employees to contract with outside coaches.

That leaves most people adrift. No wonder the pandemic fading, we’re seeing the Great Resignation. People don’t see the opportunity to make a difference in their organization, so they’re trying somewhere else. But companies can turn this problem into an opportunity, by promoting self-coaching.

Rather than address the problem directly, companies can get unstuck by shifting it back to employees.  The best path forward is for people to take ownership and accountability for their own development.

That’s a scary thought for many HR departments. Aren’t you basically telling people they’re on their own?  Won’t that make them even more likely to leave, at a time when we need all the talent we can get?  Why would we do that?

You do that because most of these employees will actually become more engaged with the organization, not less.  And the status quo – essentially doing nothing -- is worse.  It’s just too easy now for talented people to find positions elsewhere. Barriers to moving have fallen steadily over the decades, and with remote work, the options are even greater.  People already think they’re pretty much on their own.  If you guide them in self-coaching, you’re at least showing them that you care.

After all, companies gave up on lifetime employment a while ago. With downsizing or even rightsizing, they sent a message to people not to rely on the organization forever. Most young people have no expectation of staying more than several years anyway.  The spell of the “organization man” broke in the 1990s.

But people still care about corporate life. All the New Economy talk about “the brand called you” never gained traction.  Most employees are willing to work hard for a company, as long as it builds their capabilities for success, or the next job.

True, people may see a self-coaching program as just another HR-required series of trainings or workshops. So companies need to frame it differently. Start by connecting to employees’ latent unease about corporate life, and cast the program as an opportunity to explore possibilities—all possibilities.  That means giving people an alternative to looking elsewhere, if they choose

Just make sure the program has structure – don’t just give employees a running-and-development budget for outside resources they have to select.  Even recommended software apps need some kind of monitoring, to see if people are really following through.  

Self-coaching is therefore no radical break for HR.  It merely recognizes the reality of corporate life, and gives employees one more capability for career success.

From our perspective, enlightened HR functions and CEOs will want their people to take charge of themselves.  They’re secure enough in what they offer to encourage employees to seek what will most satisfy them.  They believe their company can deliver those opportunities, so they work on making people aware of the possibilities. Deep down, they actually want what's best for employees even if it takes them elsewhere.  They’d rather have employees fulfilled than frustrated. 

Companies can draw on plenty of self-coaching guides and frameworks, including this valuable recent HBR article. The program’s content matters less than the overall message: employees need to take charge of their own careers.  Doing so often requires an extra dose of encouragement.

Too many people live a constant battle between what they hear from the outside world and their own diminishing self-confidence. After all, our brains recall each negative thought three times more than a positive one, so it’s easy for the negative thoughts to compound.  Even companies that make an effort to balance criticism with praise may find themselves with timid or even demoralized, yet still talented, employees.

One of the best ways we’ve found to inspire self-coaching action is with a “personal highlight reel.” We tell people to visualize the marks of success they’ve already achieved: not just corporate, but in building their family and other relationships, any sports trophies, and even simple milestones such as a birthday party in good health.  To reinforce their confidence, they might surround themselves with pictures and mementos from those achievements.  They’ve overcome challenges in the past, and they can do so again.

If HR is worried about hurting retention, it doesn’t need to embrace full self-coaching at once.  Companies can start by simply broadening employees’ imagination about career paths within the organization.  HubSpot, a Boston-based software company, encourages employees to tap into their innermost desires and move around — not just up — the chain of command. Katie Burke, HubSpot’s chief people officer, adds, “If you’re trying to think about how to prevent people from finding their passion, you’re fundamentally doing it the wrong way.”

The move to self-coaching doesn’t have to be a dramatic shift.  Since most employees are getting little coaching now, anyway, adding some talks or digital modules can only be a net positive.  Just make sure the materials focus on personal growth and professional development. 

Companies are always talking about their need for more leaders. They want more people to see the big picture, take responsibility and act confidently.  But those traits don’t appear naturally in most people, especially not in large organizations that pressure people to only stay in their own lane.

Self-coaching is an ideal source for future leaders.  It raises employees’ perspectives beyond their tasks and gets them working on larger issues.  It prompts them to network beyond their immediate group, to volunteer for new initiatives, and to pay more attention to company news.

Even what might seem a major drawback to self-coaching programs, looking for opportunities outside the organization, can actually become an asset.  Corporate boundaries are more fluid than ever as companies rely more on ecosystems of suppliers and distributors. Effective leaders benefit from a broad perspective and network.  And those employees who do leave will likely still feel connected to your organization, a tie that will pay off in future collaboration.

Yes, the best self-coaching guidance won’t keep everyone. You’ll still lose some talented people, and you’ll wonder if you somehow abetted their flight. But meanwhile, you’ll keep far more people engaged and open to leadership.  You’ll give them valuable skills that keep them staying for more. And maybe you’ll attract some new people too.

This new outlook looks to become the next round of corporate culture, centered on empowering people to lead – in whatever arena suits them best. Engaged employees will always pay off in the long run, no matter where they end up.