Psst…a bunch of your employees are about to bolt! TINYpulse recently released its 2019 Employee Engagement Report, and the results are somewhat disturbing. Here’s what I mean.

  • What would you say if I told you that 43 percent of employees would leave their current employer for a measly 10 percent salary increase?
  • Or that employees think only 9 percent of their co-workers are very happy?
  • And that in spite of this big push to improve company cultures, most organizations are barely moving the needle. Less than one-third of people believe their company has a strong culture.

OK, so now that you know this, what will you do with this information? Here are some ideas to consider.

Employee engagement is an outcome, not a program.

Sorry to have to break this news to you, especially if you just plunked down hundreds of thousands of dollars on some formulaic employee engagement program that promises to turn your miserable organization into a place as happy as Sesame Street.

You’re going to need to take a look at your company culture and make adjustments where necessary. Consider what you want people to say about working for your organization. Compare this with what’s currently being said. The gaps will tell you where you need to do work.

Leadership matters — a lot!

If you want workers to remain in your employ, and to be happy, then focus on one thing — leadership. Why? Because people don’t work for companies — they work for people.

Think about a time when you had a terrific job, but you wound up leaving because you worked for a boss who had zero leadership skills. You told the higher-ups about this. Nothing changed, so you went. You’re not alone.

The good news is that leadership can be taught. But not the way you think. Companies love to throw people into "management training classes" and expect the attendees to transform into stellar leaders immediately. If this were the case, we’d have more great leaders than we know what to do with.

If you want great leaders, then you’ll need to invest in a cadre of coaches to ensure people get the help they need in real time. Sounds expensive, eh? Not when you consider how much it costs every time someone leaves your organization. Don’t believe me? Do the math. Take my free Employee Turnover Calculator for a spin!

Compensation is important.

The people who say money doesn’t matter are usually the people who are making lots of money. For everyone else, money matters.

There are lots of great opportunities out there these days for candidates, and if we’re honest here, many workplaces are starting to look the same. Given that all things appear to be equal, why wouldn’t a candidate take the best offer that comes their way?

Stop trying to low-ball people with the hope that you can buy them on sale. Instead, do your homework.

Know what the market is paying and if need be, offer a little bit more than everyone else. In the end, you’ll wind up paying less than you would have paid, if you need to make several counter offers or if you wind up having to pay a hefty recruitment fee.