When the pandemic disrupted everyone’s life, people examined their priorities and purpose. Your employees started questioning the importance of their work and their career. As a result, many talented employees resigned. Some will never return to the workplace. Others are pursuing different careers. And a few have gone to work for your competitors.
Retaining and motivating your employees has never been more critical. The most effective managers keep people employed and motivated by focusing on purpose, reducing uncertainty, clarifying expectations, and building team relationships.
Purpose
As organizations move from face-to-face workplaces to online to hybrid and back again, managers have faced a barrage of questions:
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- What days and hours are we required to be available?
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- Can people take long breaks without informing their manager or team?
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- When are we expected to be in the physical workplace?
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- How quickly should team members respond to texts, emails and phone calls?
While these are important questions that require quick and consistent answers, such concerns can easily funnel all management attention toward urgent, tactical concerns and away from important, strategic matters. In the face of uncertainty and resignations, re-affirming purpose is critically important.
Questions such as:
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- What is our purpose?
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- How does each team members contribute to that purpose?
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- What are our goals and how do we measure achievement of those goals?
Managers often say, “everyone knows that, I don’t need to waste time reminding them.” In fact, few employees can articulate their organization’s purpose and their team’s purpose. They can’t commit to something they don’t understand. And if they have a stronger purpose outside your organization, they’ll resign.
At least quarterly, discuss purpose with your employees. Explain how each person contributes to that purpose. People who feel a stronger connection to a greater purpose are happier and more empowered. The following parable illustrates this point.
After the great fire of 1666 that leveled London, the world’s most famous architect, Christopher Wren, was commissioned to rebuild St Paul’s Cathedral.
One day in 1671, Christopher Wren observed three bricklayers on a scaffold, one crouched, one half-standing and one standing tall, working very hard and fast. To the first bricklayer, Christopher Wren asked the question, “What are you doing?” to which the bricklayer replied, “I’m a bricklayer. I’m working hard laying bricks to feed my family.” The second bricklayer, responded, “I’m a builder. I’m building a wall.” But the third brick layer, the most productive of the three and the future leader of the group, when asked the question, “What are you doing?” replied with a gleam in his eye, “I’m a cathedral builder. I’m building a great cathedral to The Almighty.” *
Uncertainty
Leaders must be able to clearly articulate their organizational purpose and demonstrate absolute certainty. However, managers are not required to be the source of all knowledge.
The hardest words for a manager to say are “I don’t know.” Too many leaders don’t acknowledge uncertainty. Instead, they focus on asserting their authority and exhibiting their expert knowledge. Pretending that they know – and getting caught out – undermines trust. And physical distance exacerbates distrust. Trust is tenuous and building trust is difficult.
Building and maintaining trust requires openness, vulnerability, and honesty. In a changing workplace, no one can be certain where the market is going or where the economy is going. It’s OK not to know. Managers need to be comfortable saying that they don’t know.
Sometimes leaders provide answers (even when they don’t know the answers) to provide a sense of predictability and security for their people. There are better ways to do this.
In order to provide employees a sense of workplace predictability, managers can establish team rhythms and guidelines for the changing environment. For example, workdays can be structured in a predictable (yet flexible) manner.
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- Set “do not disturb” times when employees can work without distractions
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- Encourage employees to take half or full days off by designating “meeting free” times
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- Establish “open door” times when a manager is available
Expectations
Many employees aren’t sure whether their manager believes they’re doing a good job. When face-to-face time is limited or non-existent, people can get nervous. Being out of sight – and out of mind – can make people feel forgotten and create paranoia. Of course, this is a two-way street. Managers may be concerned that they can’t observe tasks being completed. In a virtual or hybrid environment, clear objectives, and consistent feedback take on greater importance. Frequent, informal feedback can help avoid misunderstandings.
In a physical meeting, when the leader tells everyone what is expected, they can often observe blank faces that indicate lack of comprehension. In a virtual meeting, this is more difficult. When a manager can’t see the whole person, they miss the signals from body language. People may simply IM each other for clarification, leading to misunderstandings. The best leaders do not simply ask for nods or yeses. They have subordinates explain in their own words what is expected. After discussion, they provide written documentation.
The best way to reinforce expectations is one-on-one feedback with frequent touchpoints. Be sure to provide positive feedback for small steps in the right direction. Be specific and don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Employees can easily become discouraged if they don’t receive any feedback. And discouragement can lead to resignations. Be sure to provide group feedback in every meeting.
Relationships
Human beings are social animals. Even the most introverted employee craves some social connection. The virtual workplace has connected us electronically, while disconnecting us personally. While most manager understand that cohesive teams are high-performing teams, they find it difficult to build teamwork virtually.
Relationships are built over time with many interactions as people get to know one another. Knowledge, understanding, empathy and trust are prerequisites to effective teamwork.
Many workplaces have drawn a clear distinction between “work time” and “social time”. This approach can get in the way of establishing teams that know each other well and work together well.
Some suggestions:
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- Set aside time for “water cooler” talk. Whether virtual or physical, allow times when people can simply chat.
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- During scheduled meetings, share personal photos and stories. One approach is to highlight a different person each meeting.
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- Conduct exercises to fully understand and appreciate each other’s native strengths. For example, have everyone complete a Myers-Briggs assessment and discuss the results as a team.
Whatever approach is employed, be sure to solicit anonymous feedback to gauge effectiveness of teambuilding activities.
Summary
Retaining and motivating employees is always been important. The pandemic has provided unique challenges that require special attention. The most effective managers keep people employed and motivated by focusing on purpose, reducing uncertainty, clarifying expectations, and building team relationships.
*https://sacredstructures.org/mission/the-story-of-three-bricklayers-a-parable-about-the-power-of-purpose/
