Train 'em & Retain 'em?
Carl, a young professional I know, recently left his company; even though I know he was doing well, was well thought of, and was on the fast track to a higher level management position.
"What happened?" I asked him. "I thought you were part of their emerging leader program."
Now catch this, because his answer is a wake-up call for all of us who are concerned about keeping our best employees in these worst of times.
"Sure, I got lots of training. It seemed like every other week I was going to a training program or doing something online. But it was all about the company. Nothing about developing who I am as a person. My supervisor wasn't big on talking about what I was best at or where I could improve. He praised a lot, but what he said, he could have said to anyone on the team. I honestly don't think they knew what I could have done for them."
So...Carl's been recruited away by a major company and is already being groomed for a leadership position there. He has an executive coach. A member of the executive team is mentoring him. He's scheduled to get some 360-degree feedback in six months.
Managers tell me they often struggle with how much time and money to budget for the training and development of employees like Carl. My response? If you have to ask whether you're doing enough, you probably aren't. It'd be hard to spend too much, especially of one-on-one time. Remember, Carl wasn't wanting more class time; he wanted attention paid to his aspirations, his struggles, his untapped potential.
Training and development are not the exclusive role of HR. As leaders, a big part of our role is to ensure that informal learning is happening every minute of every day. In team meetings. On sales calls. During project launches. This kind of spontaneous, one-on-one interaction is fast and easy and doesn't cost a time. And ironically enough, it's what Carl was looking for at his old company.
Ask yourself these questions and listen to your answers. Are you happy with them?
- How many employees have you groomed and promoted under your leadership?
- How many courses and workshops does your company offer? How many do you personally conduct?
- How often do your employees get to learn from both inside and outside experts?
- How easy it is for employees to access opportunities to learn in your organization?
As parents, we wouldn't think of ignoring our kids or firing them. We know we have to develop them, over time, day by day, in the small interactions we have with them. By applying that same wisdom to our employees, we'll have fewer of them -- like Carl-- feel ignored and leave.











