Congratulations! You’ve finally put together the perfect team of people for your mission-driven organization. But it’s not time to take your feet off the pedals yet. Because now the real work begins: Making sure your team stays..
No one starts a job with an eye toward quitting. Job hunting is stressful. Being unemployed is not economically feasible for most people. Your team wants to stay where they are. All you have to do is foster the right circumstances that will allow them to be happy and thrive.
Vanderbloemen has helped place 3,000 leaders in mission-driven organizations over the past decade and we’ve seen firsthand what needs to happen–or not happen–to keep your top talent happily employed at an organization.
Here are the most common reasons your best people will quit and look for greener pastures.
They can get better benefits elsewhere
No matter how much they believe in your mission, your employees tend to believe in their health and happiness a little more–especially the most talented ones. We’ve seen this manifest itself primarily when it comes to benefits like working remotely. Unless your team is made entirely of the 5% of people who would prefer to be in the office full time, it might be a good idea to reevaluate your position on remote work.
There are several compelling factors for having a fulltime staff in the office 100% of the time. But we’d encourage you to ask yourself if your organization really needs it. Consider letting team members work from home one day a week to start as part of an incentive structure. If your people truly are the best of the best, you’ll be able to count on their quality performance wherever they’re working from.
You’ll get happier employees who can count on a little more flexibility and the luxury of not having to deal with a commute for at least part of their week. They’ll appreciate that you respect them enough to trust them to work without close supervision. You might even find that you’re saving on office expenses or that you don’t need the large space you’re paying rent for.
They’re not getting paid enough
Budgets are tight. They’re always tight. But they’re likely just as tight for other mission-driven organizations as they are for you. Prevent your best people from looking elsewhere by paying them as competitively as you possibly can.
The cost of hiring and training new staff (who might not even be that great) far outweighs the cost of reasonable compensation for the top contributors that you’ve already got.
They’re not getting acknowledged enough
You may not be able to compete with the corporate world in terms of salary, but you can certainly win out when it comes to heart. Everyone appreciates being told they’re doing a good job. Everyone appreciates being celebrated.
Of course, it’s up to you as a leader to know how each of your team members likes getting praise. Some might want it shouted from the social media rooftops with photos and a cake in the breakroom. Others might prefer a thank you note and a Starbucks gift card.
If you think your team knows how appreciated they are, they probably don’t. Make the effort to acknowledge the great work they’re doing.
They don’t see how their work impacts the mission
This is something that’s becoming increasingly important for younger generations of workers who prioritize the “why” of their careers. Candidates will choose mission and culture even over salary when it comes to job hunting.
Lucky for you, yours is a mission-driven organization. It will be much easier for you to communicate why the work matters than it would be if you worked in, say, corporate finance.
But even mission-driven organizations can get lost in the weeds of the work rather than the why of it. Make sure your team knows exactly how their efforts make a difference.
You’re asking too much
The goose that laid the golden eggs is a cautionary tale, especially if you lead a mission-driven organization. Just because your best person can do the work of three people and can make things happen no one else can, it doesn’t mean you should count on them to perform at this high level consistently.
Save your staff from burnout whenever possible by giving reasonable deadlines, offering comp time and flexibility to offset times of higher workload, and sending them home early for rest and self-care from time to time.
Keep in mind that your best people might not know they’re burning out until it’s too late, especially if they’re early in their career. It’s your job to spot the signs and keep them from pushing themselves over the edge so they can have a happy and healthy relationship with work. Investing in your best people will pay dividends over time.
They no longer have faith in leadership
This is a tough one because it requires taking a good hard look at yourself and your organization’s other leaders. Think about where you may have drifted from the mission.
If you and the leadership team can’t draw a very clear line between your work, your spending, other actions, and the advancement of your mission, it’s time to straighten up and get back on course.
Be completely transparent with your team. Acknowledge what’s working within leadership and what could be better. The more open and honest you are, the more trust your team will have in you.
Vanderbloemen can help
No matter how good your organization is, there may be some blind spots in your assessment of it.
Consider doing a culture assessment. You, your team, and those who benefit from the work of your organization will be glad you did.
