Finish the week strong, with a happy team.

Five times this week I have been contacted by friends who are trying to fill open roles and are looking for candidate suggestions. It got me thinking about how exposed some companies are to staff receiving a slightly better offer, or maybe even a similar offer but in a better environment. Some of the people that immediately sprung to mind are very happy in their roles, I know this because of the way they light up when you ask “how’s work going?”. Others I know are looking for a change. Again it is pretty clear from the simple things they say. I take it very personally when one of my team makes the decision to leave and truth be told I have rarely been caught off guard by someone telling me they are giving their notice. Usually you see it coming well before it happens. There are lots of subtle warning signs and sometimes lots of not so subtle signs. Intervention at an early stage might be as simple as having a coffee and a chat. Failure to intervene may be the difference between retaining the talents of that key member of your team or setting you off on a long and difficult search for a replacement. 

As the week draws to a close are you confident that your team are happy? If I recommended one of them to my hiring friends and they called and offered an interesting new position would they snap at the opportunity? Would that leave you in a tight spot? 

You can never completely insulate yourself from a team member leaving but make sure you are doing the basics.

• Pick up the phone today and check in with your remote workers.
• Send a brief note to individuals letting them know your door is open.
• Go and say hi to your office based folks.
• Then call any people managers you have and make sure they are doing the same.... 

Help your staff feel like they are part of a team! Help them feel like their week is ending well! If this all sounds obvious and you are already doing it, good for you. If this sounds completely alien to you then message me, we probably need to talk. These types of simple actions need to come from a genuine place of concern for your team members. Best of all they cost nothing but a little of your time.

Have a nice weekend!