Change your definition of employee development to primarily include “the relationship aspect of everything.” Make your primary lens (the perspective with which you see and measure everything) that of relationships.
The title of this article, though. Heh. I bet you rolled your eyes and figured this would be one of those academic diatribes about the lack of organizational development or the ineffectiveness of companies’ training programs and the impact it has on the revolving door of employees that some companies experience. Wrong!
Or maybe you thought I would simply extoll the virtues of a robust employee development plan and how that, statistically, increases retention? Wrong!
I just decided to describe a down-to-earth concept with some well-worn buzzwords so, please, buckle up and stick with me—I am hoping this may benefit many of us—regardless of the position or title each of us holds. My goal? That you get one thing out of this article to try or retry.
First of all, I am not going to spend time providing statistics to prove any of my points. Statistics can mislead or be misused in an attempt to prove a point. I’m also not going to cite any references—because this whole piece is simply: Just. My. Perspective.
Feel free to agree or disagree as you are so moved. I’m not sure if there’s anything we can do about that. My goal is to simply get you thinking about the subject—I can’t force you to do something—what you do with this is entirely up to you.
And I will wander a bit (if you haven’t figured that out, already)—so, please have patience as I work through my thoughts on the subject! Thanks, in advance!
Let’s start with some reflection and visualization. A question I often ask groups (whether it is in an office setting of leaders or teams, or a bunch of youth coaches) is this:
Think back to a time when you were a member of a team or group to which you have the greatest, most positive, feeling(s).
It can be a sports team, work team, academic team, or special interest team, it doesn’t matter! Just take a minute, clear your mind, remove all external distractions (including this article), reread the question and then just visualize the answer. Then write it down on a piece of paper. Please play along. We’re talking about memories.
Ready? Set the stop watch on your phone or simply guess. Go.
[One minute elapses]
Hopefully each of you were able to identify that one, singular moment in time where that team (whatever it was) gave you the most positive feelings. Now the real question is the follow-up question:
Why? Why is this the best of the best?
Narrow it down to one characteristic or “thing” that sets this apart from any other team of which you have been a part.
Take another minute to reflect.
And the results? Well, the results can vary a bit. Most of these characteristics or “things” tend to filter down (or have a direct correlation) to some very common themes I’ve identified from a variety of groups I’ve worked with and include things like—the coach (or teacher, leader, mentor, manager), a particular teammate, we had fun, we won a lot, I felt like I belonged, etc., just to name a few.
I’m wondering as I type—how many of you will fall into this commonly themed category?
You’re probably asking yourself, “What’s the connection, here? Where’s the bridge? What the heck does this have to do with Employee Development and its Impact on Retention?”
Glad you asked.
The great thing about this exercise is that it gives us some insight into the types of things people remember—both the good and the bad—because if I was to change the original question and ask about the same thing—but the focus was on the greatest, most negative feeling(s), guess what? The resulting answers for the characteristics or “things” are generally the same (except maybe the addition of “I didn’t” or “We didn’t” instead of “We” or “I did.”
Additionally, in almost all instances (regardless of the focus on either positive or negative feelings), the coach/teacher/leader/mentor/manager/teammate combinations end up being at—or near—the top.
The bridge—or connection here—is how the employee’s relationship(s) are developed—this is what has the greatest impact on retention.
And if we’re being honest—the standard definition most people think of when they hear employee development includes a variety of things such as courses, programs, or projects designed to enhance existing skills or create new skills in an employee. (Oh! And make sure we’re giving employees options for classroom, online, and blended delivery methods!) I felt this way for years!
Being in the employee and organizational development field (okay, training and development field!) for the last 30 years, I have an appreciation for the standard “gap analysis” methodologies for curriculum development and the simple plan-do-check-adjust technique to ensure the program works well and gets the desired results. I’ve been a part of some really great material generation projects and subsequently delivered them. (Heck yes, we’ve accommodated all the adult learning styles into this program!)
Don’t get me wrong. We absolutely need to create (and continuously review and update) the well thought out programs and courses and ensure we are measuring the effectiveness of the program—and we have to ask the question, “Is it, indeed, closing the gap identified?”
Look at all of this development, delivery, and review, as a basic element of employee development. But it’s only a starting point.
And it’s absolutely better than not having anything at all. In fact, it’s the ecosystem for the nurturing, learning environment we all want! But by itself, it does not, inherently, produce or give us the true employee development and subsequent retention we desire. It’ll get us some retention, but not the “majestic-look at us-we got the magic-is that applause I hear?” type of retention numbers every company desires.
I feel we often, collectively, stop once the material has been developed and delivered. Box. Checked. Now let’s engage the autopilot until we need to review and update the program in two years. Rinse and repeat. Until the end of time.
And we forget the bridge—the connection. So, let’s look at it, again, because it bears repeating:
The bridge—or connection here—is how the employee’s relationship(s) are developed—this is what has the greatest impact on retention.
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, I am not going to bore you with statistics—retention or otherwise. All I can do is state the obvious: It costs less to keep an employee than it does to hire for one.
So, what’s the answer?
Simple. Change your definition of employee development to primarily include what I call “the relationship aspect of everything.” Make your primary lens (the perspective with which you see and measure everything) that of relationships.
To get you started, here are three areas of focus, which holistically, may create even better results in employee development and retention (and may lead you to explore other rabbit holes and add to this list). They’re not in any specific order because I feel as though each of us might find one more important than another, based on where each of us is (are?) in our organization’s development or focus on the subject of development and retention.
1) Ensure Understanding
Ensure each person in your organization has someone who genuinely and openly understands and cares about what that person wants, needs and desires from a development perspective.
This ties back to my semi-unscientific findings over 30 years—it tells us there absolutely needs to be someone who is championing the relationship development for each of us. That is the coach (or teacher, leader, mentor, manager) or a particular teammate I spoke of earlier. They are the ones who, ultimately, make a difference.
This might include (and yes, here are some overused, trendy words and concepts—but I would argue they are extremely valuable!) a focus first on the vulnerability and psychological safety needed to build a level of trust that can withstand the positive and constructive feedback that must be present.
A best practice on which my organization recently refocused (specifically led by my most excellent teammate) is the one-on-one. If you aren’t doing this, you are absolutely missing the boat! Heck, you aren’t even in the ocean!
Here, you create (maybe) 30 minutes to an hour (at the very least, once a month) of uninterrupted time where an associate can visit with his or her direct supervisor and visit about that person’s development.
General job or duty updates take a back seat to, “Hey, I know we talked last month about the struggle you were facing working with Bill. We discussed taking that conflict resolution class online to see if there were some techniques you could add to the ones I shared with you. How is that going?”
I have done this for years with my direct reports and I have always sought it from those to whom I report.
2) Incorporate Relationship Aspect
Try to incorporate the relationship aspect of employee development when designing courseware (to the extent that you can).
On the surface, this might appear (or actually be) difficult in many cases but I feel it is worth a positive plug. Regardless of the instructional course design model used in developing curriculum (I know—training nerd talk), there are benefits in simply asking the question, “By taking this class, is there a chance it can / will have an impact on the relationships the participant has and, if so, what does that look like?”
The question can be asked during the analysis stage (at the beginning) and can lead the course developer (or assessor, if you’re purchasing a program) to—at the very least—consider the impact the learning may have on the relationships of the student or participant.
If we really care about the development of our people by providing them with a variety of courseware, why would we not consider (in that self-professed care) that one of the results we might expect from taking this course, is that an employee’s relationship with a co-worker might be enhanced due to a greater sharing of a particular burden or task? And how does that look?
Is the “veteran” now in a better position to share best practices about this particular task which then starts a cycle of openness and sharing? I don’t know. It may be a stretch. But I am going to guarantee that if the concept is never considered to begin with, there will be no way for the instructor to share this potential benefit with the participant prior to beginning the learning event.
And on the subject of instructors—they can’t simply “train” the material—they, too, have to be brought in to the relationship aspect of what they are doing with the participants. The best course can be terrible if facilitated by someone who doesn’t have passion for learning.
Now I did say it may be difficult or a stretch and maybe not all learning activities are built for this line of thinking (maybe the correct method for plumbing a door fits into this category). This may also be tied to the age-old argument about the differences between training, facilitating, and coaching—but that’s another article entirely.
3) Explain the “Why!”
This is a short topic of focus but has laser-like properties.
How many times have you been in a classroom training session at work and the following thoughts (or one of them) bubble up from way down deep in the cerebellum: “Why am I even here? What does this have to do with me? I already know this.”
Would it have helped at the time for the facilitator to share why you were there and why this is important? Perhaps share the benefits of the learning activity and what is hoped to be accomplished, up front, by having you attend this activity?
“It’s our desire and hope today that by sharing this four-hour LEAN training with you, that everyone in the room will go home safe every evening.
You will be able to better identify opportunities to minimize waste, find efficiencies and open up lines of communication. We want a safe environment for you—we care—and by spending time on LEAN principles, we will be better able to assure you of that safety. Plus! Who doesn’t want a humming, well-oiled machine at work?”
It can be as simple as that. Just explain why the learning activity exists, why the people are there, and what the “end product” should be. Explain that—once done with this course – the participant will see a 35% increase in output, or the participant will become more confident in discussing difficult topics with a co-worker, etc.
Oftentimes, the aspect of relationship development can be difficult to measure—unless the participant is spending time with their supervisor and getting some first-hand observations on how it’s going!
Conclusion
So, here’s the deal (these are my concluding remarks)—hopefully a quick summary of my thoughts done in bullet point style (primarily to frustrate those who don’t like to read and prefer bullet points and who could have just skipped to the end**):
Good retention is good. We want to retain good people.
An employee’s access to, and successful participation in, professional development increases retention.
The good-hearted development, delivery and continuous review of learning activities is simply a basic element of employee development. It is a starting point.
By itself, it does not, inherently, produce or give us the true employee development and subsequent retention we desire.
The bridge—or connection between good and bad experiences—is how the employee’s relationship(s) are developed—this is what has an even greater impact on retention.
Here is The Answer:
Change your definition of employee development to primarily include the relationship aspect of everything. Make your primary lens (the perspective with which you see and measure everything) that of relationships.
Three concepts to try (or try again if you’ve tried them already):
Ensure each person in your organization has someone who genuinely and openly understands and cares about what that person wants, needs, and desires from a development perspective.
Try and incorporate the relationship aspect of employee development when designing courseware (to the extent that you can).
Explain the “Why!”
In the second paragraph of this article, I stated I wouldn’t provide statistics nor would I cite references—feeling pretty good about that. But what educator, worth their weight in salt, wouldn’t pull out a quick (and sometimes mysterious, loosely tied) quote to leave the audience thinking? Here you are:
“Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.”
— Leonardo da Vinci
**If you are one of those people who skip to the end and you actually did skip to the end—go back to the beginning and read the whole thing! CD
John W. Hower is the director of employee and organizational development at CDM Service Group.
