Retention is like a Marriage - Part III

The Marriage

Now we have the new hire on the job. You've both made a commitment. Hopefully for life. Some relationships even have pre-nuptial agreements. This might not be a bad practice for businesses. If certain expectations and criteria or performance standards are not met in a given time period, then it sets forth the guidelines for dissolution, but let's not discuss that quite yet.

If you give your employee the following:

• Support
• The opportunity to grow and learn
• Challenges
• Creative leverage
• Flexibility

Then you start to set the stage for a long lasting relationship. My parents have been married for 47 years. Their generations employees did the same, stuck it out, worked on the relationship as it evolved. It takes valor, courage to make a relationship work.

You can use some of these ideas to help along the way:
• Date night. This is the opportunity to keep those embers glowing.
• Remind each other why you joined together
• Communicate regularly, openly and respectfully. Don't say or do anything that you wouldn't want to do in front of your mother.
• Take sabbaticals from one another - do things with others. It helps you appreciate what you have. Employees can do volunteer work.

This third part of this series encapsulates my philosophy. It takes Values executed with Valor to create value to both employees and customers.

In the last part of this series, we'll discuss the divorce (exit interview and termination).