A Fortune 40 under 40 with a slew of bestseller books, an iconic TED Talk, and even a number two ranking in the category of “world’s most influential management thinkers”. Adam Grant has developed a well-deserved reputation as the leading expert in organizational psychology. The top-rated Wharton professor is known for his pithy insights and nuggets of wisdom; Grant shares his wisdom across social media platforms, offering food for thought for those in people management roles. As we kick off the new year, people management professionals could use some of Grant’s sage advice to retain top talent in the current professional landscape.
The current employee landscape
The immediate post-Covid landscape was characterized by mass resignation across geographies, industries, and skills. Retaining talent in today’s corporate landscape requires organizations to strategically address the myriad issues employees face. With increased levels of burnout, reductions in compensation packages, and low levels of job satisfaction. Human resource managers need to implement key strategies to ensure they’re retaining top talent in their companies. The long periods of uncertainty, instability across industries, and economic downturn contributed massively to the Great Resignation, and businesses are still feeling the ripple effects of this today. The biggest catalyst for change, however, was the extended work-from-home period. For some working professionals, this was a brand-new concept, while others started their careers in this setting. This prompted and enabled deep introspection, allowing people to think about and focus on what really matters to them outside of work. Homeschooling children, focusing on side hustles, and greater flexibility of hours provided employees with new perspectives and attitudes toward work. The Great Resignation is considered to be an economic movement, with an estimated 71.6 million people quitting their jobs from April 2021 to April 2022, averaging just under four million resignations a month in that period, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Adam Grant’s top five tips for retaining talent in 2024
- Generosity as the company culture
One of the most important aspects of any organization is its culture. One of the biggest factors driving quiet quitting was the lack of a positive and meaningful culture at work. This can be rectified, according to Grant’s research, by inculcating a culture of giving. Generosity as part of the culture is about more than just creating a good atmosphere; it generates the best results in customer service, productivity, and, in some instances, revenue. In his Harvard Business Review article, Adam says employees make dozens of micro-decisions around giving or taking at work, which has powerful implications on how work is tackled. In giving culture, teamwork and collaboration are abundant, as each person freely gives of their time and expertise to assist each other in achieving organizational goals. Generosity, he says, is at the heart of “effective collaboration, innovation, quality improvement, and service excellence.”
- Consider productivity more fluidly
Burnout is arguably the number one reason behind quiet quitting and the Great Resignation. In the fast-paced startup environment, this is particularly true, with employees often taking on hybrid roles and juggling multiple tasks across job descriptions. With a laundry list of action items, KPIs can often be relegated to the realm of to-do lists, leaving staff frustrated when they can’t complete every task in a set period. Burnout is fuelled by prolonged, desperate attempts to do so. Grant suggests using a different lens to view and benchmark productivity, shifting from quantity to quality. He reminds us that human resources is people-centric, and that departments exist to take care of an organization’s core activities and operations. Rather than asking staff to what degree do they impact the bottom line, he suggests asking, “To what extent do your actions build a better workplace?”
- Clear is kind, and unclear is unkind
Providing constructive feedback can be uncomfortable, regardless of how experienced an HR manager is. This is especially true when dealing with senior leadership and C-suite executives. Over the last decade, the “velvet hammer” method has been a favored tool in the HR arsenal, but Grant doesn’t believe it has merit. He argues that sandwiching criticism between two compliments can dilute feedback and even come across as disingenuous. Rather, Adam advises HR managers to prioritize transparency; utilizing honesty to clearly and respectfully deliver feedback ensures employees receive helpful guidance and are clear on what their issues and growth areas are. The aim isn’t to be nice; it’s to be kind, and clarity is the kindest pathway to aiding personal and professional development.
- Preventing burnout to maximize employee satisfaction
Adam outlines a three-point plan to prevent employee burnout that any organization can implement: reduce demand, democratize control, and provide support. In reducing demands, Grant suggests streamlining processes and cutting out red tape where possible. According to research conducted by Microsoft, employees spend an estimated 57% of their time communicating via email, text, and chat, and only 43% of their time on core activities. With mass layoffs across a number of industries, employees are increasingly taking on more work, often without adequate compensation, spurning burnout. Democratizing control is an excellent way to head off quiet quitting. When people are passionate and care about their work, they’re inclined to quit when they have little control over their outcomes. Simple strategies, like allowing team members to choose their own goals, KPIs, and plans for success, can be incredibly effective in preventing burnout. Self-determination in the workplace leverages an employee’s expertise and allows them to contribute to the organization’s success positively. On a practical level, it also means they’re able to sound the alarm much earlier if they need help meeting their goals, and with additional control in this area, they are incentivized to devise their own plans to get back on track. Autonomy provides room for creativity and passion to flourish. Finally, Grant encourages HR departments to create a supportive environment. Care and well-being are more than just 21st-century workplace buzzwords; they’re tangible actions, policies, and initiatives that empower employees to seek help and ask for support. In most cases, instituting this kind of change requires visibility from the HR team, who will need to lead by example. This is particularly true for previously “male-dominated industries” where vulnerability is seen as a weakness. Providing support to employees in real-time prevents their emotional and physical exhaustion from reaching untenable levels, which ultimately leads to burnout.
- Stay open to feedback
Talent retention is no easy task. Trying to guarantee employee satisfaction is a juggling act that requires incredible interpersonal skills, with a massive emphasis on listening. Encouraging feedback is a great way to ensure you’re constantly innovating, improving, and rectifying processes and procedures, from onboarding through to exit interviews and all the way in between. In the current climate, sought-after talent is at an advantage; borders are no longer barriers thanks to remote work, and skills shortages in critical fields allow employees to negotiate better salaries and compensation packages. At the end of the day, the make-or-break reasons for employees staying or leaving, are in the everyday situations and how they get resolved. Opening the lines of communication with staff can provide a wealth of data that can be used to improve on processes going forward, allowing you to better serve your workplace community.
Conclusion
Amid hiring freezes, dwindling talent pools, and the Great Resignation, talent retention has become critical. Employee satisfaction, in a post-covid landscape, is at an all-time low, with millions of Americans looking for greener grass. With work-life harmony being a large contributor to mass resignation, human resource managers need to get creative in appealing to and incentivizing talent to stay. But thought leader and professor in organizational psychology, Adam Grant, has done the research and presented his findings, which all boil down to giving people what they want. Employees want to work, and they’re best at their work when the company culture promotes generosity. Being generous with time and talent fosters an enabling environment for collaboration and teamwork. Instead of expecting and/or enforcing overtime, generosity as a culture makes employees want to stay to reach a goal, together. People want to be productive, where productivity looks at their contribution to the workplace, not just the number of tasks completed per calendar month. Employees want to stay where they can grow and envision a future, and that growth can only be facilitated by clear, honest, and transparent feedback. This is a core function of HR managers, and while it can be a little tricky, clarity is the kindest way to provide constructive feedback. Prevention is better than cure, especially when discussing burnout, the number one cause of resignations. Creating streamlined job descriptions, where employees are empowered to take control of their outcomes and processes, and are supported when help is needed, goes a long way in preventing burnout. And finally, stay open to feedback. Just finished onboarding? Send out that survey. Completed a sexual harassment case? Interview women in the organization to get their insights. No one expects a perfect workplace, but continuous improvement can only be made through ongoing assessment. Open the channels of communication and encourage feedback, because strengthening the HR function impacts the health of the entire organization.
