Great Leaders Nurture
Would your current team or new hires describe you as a leader who supports, teaches, and encourages them? This type of nurturing often determines whether the members of your team become engaged and retained employees or end up as a costly turnover statistic.
Technology has changed the way we communicate however a combined high-tech and high-touch communication style is most effective. Nurturing plays a significant role when it comes to a new employees’ view on the leadership and vision of their new employer. Nurturing helps them adapt to their new role, feel comfortable, essential, and appreciated in their new workplace.
As new hires understand the significance of your vision, it allows them to develop working strategies which align with your vision. It also helps build self-confidence, knowledge, and the drive to succeed. By helping smooth the transition to their new role, you deepen your relationship with your employee that continues well beyond your on-boarding process.
To assist your nurturing efforts, consider the value of mentorship on new hires as well as your current employees. Mentorship is also extremely effective for employees who may be working remote. Modern mentorship programs are designed to support both the mentor and the mentee with a high-touch approach. A strong mentor-mentee relationship will help new hires learn from an experienced employee. It also provides solutions and approaches to accomplish objectives from the fresh perspective of your new employee.
Mentoring also demonstrates to the new hire the benefits of an open culture where employees share knowledge, generate ideas and work together to build a successful company. Benefits of being a mentor include development of leadership and management qualities, increased recognition, a sense of fulfillment and personal growth.
Another benefit of nurturing is increased referrals of top talent. When your new and current employees have a great experience working for you, they are more likely to refer others. Nurturing is an important element to your internal employee referral program and can dramatically reduce your cost per hire.
Take time to review the new hires you have made in the past twelve months. If a majority were not the result of referrals, it may be time to upgrade your on-boarding, nurturing, mentorship, or employee engagement efforts. Your employees are either your army of recruiters enticing others to work for you, or they are being recruited away.
Too often employees are only interviewed twice, their initial job interview and their exit interview, when it is too late to resolve their issues. Consider conducting regularly scheduled stay interviews, where you ask your current employees why they enjoy working for you and your company. A stay interview will reveal what you are doing well but, will also identify areas that may need improvement.
Stay interviews are much more effective than the high-tech approach of utilizing online employee satisfaction surveys. They are a high-touch conversation where both you and your employee can ask questions and then set a specific date to follow up on any action items discussed.
When your employees are happy, they become more engaged, productive and will help you attain your goals and objectives. In any type of relationship people want the answers to three question: Do you care about me? Can I trust you? Will you do what you promise? When you nurture your team members throughout their career, the answers to all three questions will be yes.
