How to Retain ALL Employees, Including of Color
I just found this article from 2007 on the Newspaper Association of America site. Called “Finders, Keepers,” it’s relevant to the complaint I often here from alt-weekly editors: When they hire a good staffer of color, the he or she often doesn’t stay long, and either leaves the alt-media world or gets hired away by another publication. Of course, the retention problem applies to all good staffers, and it’s particularly pressing in a world where young workers feel much less loyalty than in generations past. The article has good food for thought for retaining all good workers, as well as employees of color. Not surprisingly the key is communication, with a focus on peer-to-peer straight talk:
To keep employees, Taylor says, companies should continually gather, track and report turnover data, link retention to key performance measures, set retention goals for every leader and reward progress.
In addition, companies should realize that while good pay and benefits still top the list, more workers report that a healthy work environment, schedule flexibility and a fair, supportive and communicative boss are increasingly important, he says.
“It’s not just about pay, but also a work environment that’s fun and engaging and a boss I like as an individual, and who coaches and develops me,” Taylor says. “The leader is a more critical variable: ‘Yes, of course my job matters, but my leader matters, too. And if I work for a jerk, I’m not hanging around.’ ”
Leaders must communicate openly with their staffs and do what they say they will do – every day – to earn employees’ trust and respect. “It’s a continuous process,” he says. “If you continuously miss commitments and not do what you say you’re going to do … you’re going to erode trust over time.”
As for particular problems retaining people of color, the answer is even more communication, instead of less, which is what we too often see:
s for keeping employees of color, he notes that peer-to-peer relationships are a big factor. “Who do people go to first if they’re unhappy at work? Their friends at work,” he says. “So how can you influence those conversations to be constructive, not destructive?
“We train the boss to ask the employee, ‘If I ever do anything that is inappropriate, or if I break your trust, or if something bothers you with your job, would you commit to seeing me first? And I will commit to acting on it,’ ” Taylor adds.
“We also train the boss to say, ‘If any of your colleagues comes to you with a problem, would you please encourage them to come and see me?’ Now we are beginning to influence that peer-to-peer conversation.”
Recent Comments