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OPINION
You can work to improve retention by promoting a positive culture, giving employees autonomy and empowerment, and actively showing appreciation. Are you helping or hindering your team?
I n the time of the great resignation, what is it about company culture that can make or break an employee’s desire to stay? How do you as a manager inspire your team?
EMPLOYEE-CURATED CULTURE. It’s been said that there are people who see life as a pie, and if one person gets a bigger slice, they see it as less for the other people. And there are people who trust that they can just make or buy another pie. Put differently, there are people who see success as a limited resource and those who know there’s room for everyone to succeed. Studies show that companies that encourage employees to compete, brag about cut-throat environments, and incentivize individualism over teamwork have more turnover. In fact, “When an employee’s success reflects poorly on his coworkers, then the work environment will likely grow tense and even hostile. The way leaders communicate about competition can make employees experience anxiety or excitement about competing.” On the other hand, companies that promote creativity, open and honest communication, and teamwork see better results. Harvard Business Review reports
that productivity and retention are both boosted by friendly company cultures. THE POWER OF AUTONOMY. In an article from Harvard Business Review , the authors write, “The more control employees feel over their own day- to-day, the happier they will be. Autonomy is a key driver of human motivation, performance, and fulfillment; in the context of hybrid working, it is also directly correlated to the amount of flexibility a given employee has access to in their work arrangement.” The leadership at Colliers Engineering & Design have implemented an entrepreneurial style of business, and geographic and regional diversification, with the importance of autonomy in mind. Kevin Haney, president and CEO of Colliers Engineering & Design, has emphasized that the company’s growth means opportunity for employees. He understands that more services and more locations mean an employee has more power to redefine his/her role, location,
Alexis Eades
See ALEXIS EADES, page 10
THE ZWEIG LETTER AUGUST 29, 2022, ISSUE 1455
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