Keeping talented people

Running a largely volunteer group is similar to managing a small NFP organisation. Finding funding to keep the business open is an obvious parallel, however as I was preparing a presentation today for a client on helping keep employees engaged in change  I was struck by how much similarity there is for a theatre group like Playback with large or small business.

Playback has to meet success requirements through creating goals  that are fit for purpose, and maintain the set of core values as determined by the original founder Jonathan Fox 41 years ago. In that way the integrity of the company, not to mention the brand is maintained.  Why is this important for any group?  Integrity is the "stickiness" that holds volunteers to a cause. It is the glue that makes wanting to be part of the group attractive to join,  and encourage people to seek exposure to experience more.

Any business has to consider individuals in the mix, who have their own reasons for giving contribution beyond what is expected. These few who are fully engaged in going above and beyond still need to know that they are valued.

I was having fun creating a diagram  to explain high commitment  ( mutual  expectations) and high satisfaction ( individual expectation) referenced from the  X model of engagement by Blessing White. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66vXiCFbKBI    For those of you who watch this I substituted the hamster icon for a koala.

We like many other theatre companies have active members and those who are on sabbatical leave. The parallel for business could be ( parental leave, long service leave , reduced hours, casual employed.  If there is not a regular commitment on the part of active members to engage with inactive members, like through a newsletter, email contact txt or telephone contact then there is a risk they will wither away, and no longer see how their previous commitment could still be of value. 

It takes energy to show them ways of how they can remain part of the team, and for active members to value their contribution no matter how small or infrequent. We do this exceptionally well by not leaving it  up to one person to connect , but ensuring everyone can be supportive of those who choose to stay away.  Attracting  new talent is important to ensure freshness and innovation,  however retaining skilled talent matters almost as much if not more.

Think about who you need to reach out to who was a talent that you greatly appreciated and who has been silent recently- off them the opportunity to hear about what is happening and see if they can re- picture themselves returning to share and contribute again.  Next time I'll share about how do you let go of people who are choosing to stay yet are disengaged.