- By now you're probably sick to death
of hearing that phrase, it's almost become a cliche now,
"the great resignation".
Because everybody is resigning on mass
and potentially that could be you.
Michael Kerr here.
Now I talk a lot about what it takes
to create truly rocking, remarkable,
inspiring workplace culture
so that people don't want to leave for greener pastures.
And this is the perfect time
to talk about not the great resignation
but the great opportunity.
In fact, if you go to my website www.MikeKerr.com,
I have a blog there called "Turning the Great Resignation
into the Great Opportunity"
because I believe truly that's what this is.
This is the perfect time to take a pause
and to reflect and to reimagine a more inspiring,
rocking workplace that works for everybody.
If you are a leader, if you are a manager,
a supervisor watching this video
then you know the importance
of focusing on your workplace culture.
It's the number one reason
why people say they leave their job still is because
of their culture.
And even all the different issues that people talk about
when they leave their workplaces,
they're all, for the most part, culture-related.
It is rarely because of the money.
And even when it is related to the money,
sometimes it's what the money symbolizes.
It's not really about the money
when you have a really deep conversation
with those people who have left.
And of course, lots of organizations have exit interviews
to try to figure out what's going on,
why people are jumping ship.
But of course,
the proverbial horse has left the proverbial barn
if you do exit interviews only.
That's why you need as a manager,
you need to do stay interviews
and do regularly scheduled interviews
to check in with your employees
to ask them what will keep them with you
and not just keep them in survivor mode
but keep them thriving
that will keep them in your workplace truly engaged
and happy and inspired in the long term.
Do not look for bandaid solutions or shortcuts
or short-term fixes.
You've gotta be thinking in the long term
because this is a huge cost to your organizations.
Now, if you're an employee,
I wanna suggest that you take control of-
It's your life after all.
It's your career.
You take control
and you schedule "What will keep me here" interviews
if your boss, if your manager, isn't going to do it.
If you are thinking
even just a little part of you
about jumping ship, about going for a new job,
for leaving for greener pastures,
I think you're doing a huge disservice
if you don't have this conversation with your boss.
You're doing a disservice for yourself, for your family.
You're doing a disservice to your colleagues.
You're doing a disservice to your company
because you could potentially fix things.
You could potentially, in a constructive way,
offer some solutions that is going
to help keep you in place
and not upend your family
and cause stress to your family
and stress to your coworkers.
You could possibly be a solution provider
or a catalyst to change in your workplace.
And don't you think you owe it to your boss
to at least be honest and have that conversation with them
so at least they have the opportunity to respond
before you jump ship?
You are doing a disservice to everybody
if you don't have these conversations.
Now you wanna frame these conversations
in a very positive, constructive way
so it doesn't look like you are just self-serving,
so it doesn't look like you're just focused
on your best interests alone,
so it doesn't look like you're just complaining
that you're another negative employee
who's just gonna turn into a seagull
(mimics cry of seagull)
and crap all over everything.
You wanna make sure it comes across
that you're not making threats,
that you're not holding your boss or your company hostage.
In other words, you're not saying, you know,
"Until things...",
"This is my list of demands
until I get this coffee maker in the lunchroom,
I'm leaving.
I'm outta here.
I need this coffee." Right?
You see, you don't wanna do that.
You don't want to come across that way.
You wanna make sure it is positive.
You wanna make sure
that it is as constructive as possible
and go into this with a partnership mindset
with your supervisor, with your manager.
And so a few tips to help guide you in these conversations.
Number one, the first one, just being: be prepared.
Do your homework.
Bring notes if you have to.
There's nothing wrong with bringing a few notes
to a meeting, to a conversation
so you don't forget what it is you want to cover.
But do your homework.
Think really carefully what it is
that is making you unhappy about your job.
What are some ideas or solutions
that you think will help change the situation?
Are you worried about the pay?
Because they may very likely ask you that.
"Is this really about the pay?"
So have a response to that.
Be very, very clear about what it is
that you're concerned about,
what it is you want to focus on in terms of improvements.
Number two, schedule it in a neutral setting
and schedule it at a time
where you're not going to be rushed,
where neither party is going to feel stressed
and time-pressured.
And it's important to do it in a neutral setting
so you're not on each other's turf,
so that you feel as relaxed as possible
and frame it,
frame the invitation for this conversation
as a conversation about your future.
Number three, thank them.
This is a very small thing to do, but it's really important.
Take the time to thank them
for taking the time to meet with you,
for taking an interest in your career,
for taking an interest in your concerns.
Number four, set your intention for the conversation.
Set your intention for the meeting.
Frame it in a positive way.
Tell your boss that you want to talk
about how you can best contribute to your team,
to your organization in the future.
Focus on the organization,
focus on what the company needs
rather than starting coming from where you are
and what you need.
Focus on what's best for everyone.
Tell them what you enjoy about working on your team
for your company, for them.
What parts of your job do you get the most fulfillment from,
the most meaning from?
What parts of the work
or what things does your company do
that really energizes you?
That inspires you?
Focus on the positives first.
Number six, use a bridging phrase now
to shift from the positive stuff
that you're happy about within your job
to bringing up your concerns.
So for example,
"These are the parts of my job I really like,
however I really hate working in a soul-sucking,
fun-sucking, matrix-like workplace."
Okay.
I'm kidding.
You probably don't want to say that
but you may wanna say something like:
"However, as happy as I am with parts of my job,
I feel like there are ways I could be making
an even bigger contribution."
Or, "Even though I'm really happy in some parts of my job,
I feel like I'm not as happy as I used to be.
I'm not as fulfilled as I used to be
and I really wanna explore opportunities with us
for how I could maybe change my job
or how I could help change the culture in our team
so that I'm going to feel more connected
and a greater sense of belonging here
because I really do wanna stay committed
to this company and to this team."
Number seven, get uncomfortable being uncomfortable.
Let's face it.
This could get a little uncomfortable
because the whole point
of having this conversation is to be honest,
to be honest with yourself
and honest with your boss or manager.
So you need to be a little uncomfortable
and know that maybe it is gonna feel a little uncomfortable
because perhaps this is the first time you've brought
up these issues.
And perhaps the issues you are bringing up
is your leader's leadership style,
your boss's management style.
And so, of course, that's going
to feel a little uncomfortable
if you haven't done that before
but it's important still.
This is the whole point of doing that,
that you find the courage to do it.
Life is too short to work in a soul-sucking,
fun-sucking workplace.
And again, I wanna remind you,
you owe it to yourself,
you owe to your teammates to have this conversation
and give your boss the benefit of the doubt.
But you want to keep this positive of course.
Keep it constructive and maintain a partnership mindset
so that you are working with your boss to find solutions.
Tell them that you are willing to support them
in any way you can.
"Here's how I'm feeling though about certain things.
Here's why I'm not as happy as I once was,
why I'm not as fulfilled as I once was in my job.
And I'm hoping that we could explore some ideas
to help me get over this,
to help me find a new connection in my job
because I really do want to stay here
and I value your input.
So let's work together to see if we can find some solutions,
find some creative ideas to make this work
because I really do wanna stay here."
Remember, again, not being honest with them
is doing them a disservice as well.
Not just you, it is doing them a disservice.
They may have never heard this before.
And so how can you expect them to change
if nobody has been willing to step up
and have this perhaps uncomfortable conversation
with them for the first time.
And number eight, finally,
make sure you schedule a follow-up conversation.
This cannot be viewed as a one-off conversation.
You are not gonna solve everything in one conversation.
There's no way you are.
This has to be viewed as a series of conversations,
as the starting point conversation
to finding solutions that are going to work for you,
that are going to keep you happy and fulfilled in your job.
So make sure you schedule at least one
and call it the next conversation.
"Can we schedule another conversation a week from now
or two weeks from now
once we've had time to think about this
and bat around some ideas and consider some opportunities?
I'd like to come back in two weeks,
sit down and have another conversation
to see where we're at."
And it may take a series of conversations, but that's okay.
That's okay.
It could take time but it is worth the time.
It is worth the investment, is it not?
It is worth the discomfort of having that conversation
if it is going to keep you where you truly do want to be,
where you truly do want to keep working.
So don't delay this.
Don't delay having this conversation out of fear.
You are going to regret working
in a soul-sucking, fun-sucking workplace
any longer than you need to.
So before you jump ship,
before you jump aboard the great resignation
and add to those statistics,
give your management team the benefit of the doubt.
Have this conversation,
have a "What will keep me here" conversation
so that you can recommit to your workplace,
to your team, to your job.
Does this resonate with you?
Please leave a comment or question in the comment box below.
I would love to hear from you.
I get a lot of feedback on this topic.
So please leave a comment.
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