The Big Ask

“If you don’t ask, you don’t get.”

Beth Thomas is a big believer in that aphorism credited to both Mahatma Gandhi and singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder. The change management and employee empowerment expert urges her clients to get inquisitive—now—if they value their most important asset: staff.

Thomas is CEO and founder of Change 4 Growth, awarded “Best Places to Work” honors two consecutive years. Prior to founding the Columbus, OH, consultancy, the “Powered By Happy” author pioneered training and development programs in banking at Chase and retail at Limited Brands (now L Brands).

“Leaders need to not make assumptions,” she tells EB. “Find out what employees need to help them be their best selves and help them reengage with their organization.” The pandemic eroded company culture, she says, and this is dangerous because disengaged employees are flight risks and turnover is on the rise.

“Organizations make mistakes trying to figure out what is best for employees in a silo,” Thomas adds. “Sitting around a table strategizing what’s best for employees is the worst thing you can do.”

INSTEAD: ASK.

Do a retention survey. Do an employee engagement survey—or both. “Find out what employees need now, and I guarantee it will be different from what they needed a year ago.”

Thomas says the pandemic has workers reevaluating every aspect of their lives: the work they do, how they do it, with whom, and where they live. Discover ways to keep your best workers via simple, anonymous surveys like Survey Monkey or a focus group.

Employee engagement surveys pose questions like:

What does it take for you to give discretionary effort?

Do you feel you want to give discretionary effort?

How do you feel about the organization’s ability to support you?

Answers reveal opportunities to improve processes, engagement, and culture to keep good workers from quitting.

Retention surveys, Thomas says, are a newer tool used to take a pulse by asking:

Have you thought about looking for another job?

What frustrations do you have about your job?

Also, ask other questions staff dodge if asked face to face.

When good workers quit, businesses are often surprised. Surveys help businesses resolve issues proactively. “Check in with them often,” says Thomas. “Don’t let them suffer in silence.”

RECRUIT FIRST, THEN TRAIN.

Leaders should spend 70% of their time recruiting and developing talent, says Thomas. Granted, that’s a high standard few achieve, but it merits consideration.

“We are hiring people, now more than ever, based on first, who they are,” explains Thomas. “We can train them all day long, but are they a culture fit? Do they align with our passion for community involvement, for being a servant leader, for delighting customers? I can’t train that. It starts with recruiting, making sure you have the right person, and building around that.”

REWARD & RECOGNITION.

Be intentional about creating a team feeling and sense of family with co-workers with a community service outing, cooking class, or happy hour events.

“Figure out creative ways of recognizing people,” Thomas advises. “Rewards need not be monetary. It could be: No Zoom calls today. Or, take your husband out to dinner—on us.” Create a mentoring program for staff.

“People want to feel valued. They want to feel developed. They want to know the line of sight to the vision of the organization,” says Thomas. “That is becoming a big theme because people are so unsure not only about what they want to do in your organization but what they want to do in life.”