Recently, a friend, who serves as principal of a middle school, had a valued team member resign to pursue another interest. This colleague is incredibly talented, he thought she was happy, using her talents to her fullest, and aligned with my friend’s organizational mission. Her resignation came as a surprise, although he says he might have seen warning signs. Her leaving caused him to think again about his school’s talent retention strategy.
One study (T&D magazine, December 2007) suggests that 75% of managers are unaware of their organization’s talent retention strategy (No-55%, Unsure 20%, Yes 25%).
It’s not just about dollars and sense either. Some large school districts are trying to pay bonuses for teachers in specific teaching areas or hard to staff schools. Still, the districts have high turnover for a variety of reasons. Exit interviews may give you some clues but usually the issues become cloudy during an exit interview.
As we start the new year, what are you doing to retain your staff? I’ve heard schools that REALLY focus upon small concrete ways to demonstrate teamwork and collegiality, find ways to help their staff balance work and home, which becomes even more important as more and more families are balancing child and elder care. Many strategies would be low cost
Look forward to hearing your ideas and suggestions on low/no cost ways to retain your most talented team members.