How to Retain Your Best Team Members (Sabrina Starling On the Workforce)

Mike is experiencing a “revolving door” of entry-level employees in his business. Replacing team members is an ongoing challenge that keeps him working in the field, rather than working on the business to improve it.

I asked Mike to tell me about his best employee. His face lit up as he described Jim. Jim has been with him for almost two years. Jim shows up every day with a good attitude, speaks easily with customers, and addresses problems that come up in the field.

But Jim is on his way out of the business, too. When I asked why, Mike replied that Jim likes challenges and wants a job with opportunities for promotion.

My next question: “If you had a plan for advancement for Jim, would he stay?” Mike replied, “I’m not sure. Maybe.”

I asked Mike when he last had a one-on-one meeting with Jim.

Although they talk daily, they haven’t had a focused meeting in months. Mike went on to explain that making time for meetings feels nearly impossible with all the work that is backed up.

Can you relate to Mike?

Many owners find themselves in this dilemma. There are so many problems and challenges needing your attention that addressing team development falls by the wayside.

You likely are spending significantly more time addressing issues created by your worst employees than developing your best.

What we focus on tends to grow. Put intention on developing and retaining your best team members. A powerful place from which to start is scheduling a short weekly one-on-one meeting with your best employees. During this time, check in with these questions:

What are you working on this week?
What support do you need from me?

Use this time to learn about them. What are their wins and successes, both at work and in their personal lives? What matters most to them? What do they value?

Look for ways to align their personal goals and interests with the achievement of your vision for the business. Seek to discover their strengths and identify opportunities for them to use their strengths in their work.

Assessments such as Peoplemap and CliftonStrengths are simple to use and provide valuable insight to support you in developing the strengths of your best team members.

These one-on-one meetings are also an opportunity for you to identify opportunities for advancement and support your employees in setting career goals.

Take a look at all that you are doing. What might you take off your plate that could become an opportunity for advancement for your best team member? Mike counts on Jim to support him in training new employees. What might it free Mike up to do if Jim took responsibility for training new workers? Would it excite Jim to own this responsibility? Would it entice Jim to stay if he had a clear plan for advancement?

Retaining and developing your best team members is one of the best investments you can make in your business. After all, A-Players love to learn and they are eager for opportunities to advance.