Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:05 This is the CAOU podcast network where your trusted advisors are at your fingertips or in your earbuds at CAOU. We are in accounting and advisory firm with a team of specialists in a variety of industries, everything from cyber security to healthcare consulting, to everything in between I'm Tara Arrington. And I'm your host as an ex journalist turned marketing professional, I'm the non-expert who will be chatting with our experts, giving you all the tips and tricks you need to help your business succeed. Today. We are joined by Jeff mcg Gallard. He is our leader of talent and career advancement at Kasu. And Jeff has joined us today to talk about, um, employee retention. We talk a lot about recruiting new employees, but keeping your existing employees is just as if not more important than recruiting. <laugh>. Uh, thank you for coming to the podcast, Jeff.
Speaker 2 00:01:01 Yeah, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 00:01:03 So, Jeff, um, with thinking about, obviously there's a lot of different things that go into employee retention, but, um, for, you know, business owners, other leaders in different industries, what are, um, you know, what are like the key high points of retaining your talent that you have?
Speaker 2 00:01:23 Um, I think it's keeping a pulse on, on an awareness of where they're at. Mm-hmm <affirmative>, um, emotionally, mentally, uh, having a, a good understanding of, are they excited to come to work? Are they burn out hope not, but are they burn? Are they bored? It could be a lot of different things, but you wanna know where they're at so that you know what to do mm-hmm <affirmative> to, um, to either continue or, or remedy the situation.
Speaker 1 00:01:57 Yeah. Um, and what, you know, if you notice, like, you know, if you're a manager and you notice like, you know, one of your employees used to be pretty positive, but now seems like, oh, they're not doing so good. Maybe they are shutting their door a lot. Don't really engage in a lot of conversation. Maybe they seem really stressed, you know, what's like, what should a manager do in that situation?
Speaker 2 00:02:20 Um, it have a, a very open and, and honest conversation with 'em. And I think the key to that is creating a, a safe environment to have that conversation with 'em and having a rapport where they know that they can share thoughts and concerns with their manager without, without there being a risk of mm-hmm <affirmative> of, um, negative, um, crap <laugh> you don't have to cut that out. That's fine. Um, without the risk of there being negative, uh, repercussions for, for sharing that feedback, um, maybe it's not something at work, maybe it's something at home, but they need more time for that and right. Just understanding what it is, and that comes from having that conversation so that you can give 'em whatever it is they need. Is it, is it, uh, more freedom in their work? Is it more time for, um, for life at home? Mm-hmm <affirmative> especially right now with the, the line between work and home life mm-hmm <affirmative>, um, being blurred so much or getting thinner and thinner. Um, it's important to know where they stand so that you can give a little extra when you need to.
Speaker 1 00:03:39 Right. Yeah. Um, I think, you know, flexibility has always been important in the workplace, but it's definitely become a bigger thing right. Over the last two years.
Speaker 2 00:03:50 Yes. And obviously everybody had to be flexible when the pandemic started mm-hmm <affirmative>, but as people start to come back to the office, it's becoming, I wouldn't say more important, but it's, I think I would encourage people to stay or keep in mind how important it is. Mm-hmm <affirmative> um, whereas some people are, are able to just completely come back in the office. Some people still have limitations, whether it be, um, safety concerns, whether it be, um, childcare arrangements, you, you name it. I mean, there, there could still be several factors that play into needs for flexibility mm-hmm <affirmative>. And that also circling back, I mean, that, that plays into the retention factor. Mm-hmm <affirmative> um, because during the pandemic people got so used to that flexibility mm-hmm <affirmative> um, and convenience of mm-hmm <affirmative> working from home when needed or as needed that. Now they're finding it hard to go back.
Speaker 1 00:04:55 Right. So a, a good way to, to possibly create retention strategies is offering some flexibility for employees where it works. Right, correct. Where it works for them and where it works for you and where it works for the business.
Speaker 2 00:05:09 Right. Well, I like, I like to call that within reason. Right. Um, right. Doesn't, uh, it doesn't doesn't work for everyone in all situations.
Speaker 1 00:05:18 Right? Definitely. So, um, you know, we've talked a little bit about being open and honest, to help with retention, being flexible with retention, um, to, to promote retention obviously. Um, but another thing that you want to make to help your comp your employees, number one, be successful, but two stay with you is helping make sure they're trained appropriately, right. And offering those kinds of educational opportunities. Um, so just why, why is that important to make sure your employees stay with you?
Speaker 2 00:05:52 It's important for retention because it's also being used as a recruiting strategy. So, you know, when, when you have employees that are, that may or may not be, are being approached by another company that's offering the same or more pay, and they're also offering career advancement opportunities, training to advance in their careers. Um, you wanna limit, you wanna have as many advantages as you can to keep them, if you're, if you're also offering them the ability to grow in their career role, then that's not gonna be a reason for them to leave. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, and you should want that because human capital is very, very real. And that, that internal knowledge that that employees have is something that you've invested in. You've built with those employees. Mm-hmm <affirmative> and you don't wanna lose that just because they didn't see themselves continuing to grow mm-hmm <affirmative>. So going back to, um, going back to the hierarchy of needs, that is one of the main thing. Individuals need the ability to Excel and grow in their careers. Mm-hmm <affirmative> and that's how you do it is training and developing them for the next stage of their career. Mm-hmm <affirmative> and you wanna prepare them for that and hope that it's gonna be with your company.
Speaker 1 00:07:11 Right. Um, I remember, you know, I'm sure it's like a colloquial saying, or, but I've seen it on social media before is like, um, I don't wanna offer training cuz what if they leave? And it's like, well, what if you don't offer training and they stay
Speaker 2 00:07:26 Exactly. It, it, I I've seen it a lot and maybe it is, I, I still like to hear it every time I, every time I read it, I still like it because it's very, very true. I mean, mm-hmm <affirmative> okay. So if you don't, if you're not training 'em, but if they're not growing, they probably are gonna stay because
Speaker 1 00:07:44 There's nothing
Speaker 2 00:07:44 Else. Why would somebody hire 'em away? Right. And then you're left with people who are taking up salary expense cap and mm-hmm <affirmative> budget and you're not, you're not seeing an increased, you're not really getting a return on your investment. Right. You don't wanna cut that part out, but <laugh>,
Speaker 1 00:08:07 But, um, yeah. You know, if you want, you want your, your people to be successful, not just for themselves, but for your business to be successful.
Speaker 2 00:08:15 Absolutely. I mean, when you here, here's the way I like to look at it. I mean, if you're, when you hire someone, you obviously thought enough of them to hire them, right. Mm-hmm <affirmative> and then as, as they join your team, you're gonna hopefully build a rapport, build a relationship with that individual and they become an ingrained part of your team. I would hope that you care about them enough, the want to see them grow mm-hmm <affirmative> and, and grow in their careers. And part of that is, is providing the tools to get them there. Mm-hmm <affirmative> um, and if you do, you will see returns. That's not, there's not really a question about that. It's just knowing that there is a risk that they could leave, but you gotta give them plenty reason not to.
Speaker 1 00:08:57 Right. That totally makes sense. In addition to train kind of goes kind of goes with training and develop and obviously goes with development, upward mobility, all that kind of thing is, um, goal setting, um, which, uh, we, I think we have a great goal setting process here at CSU. It really helps me personally with my own goals and what I wanna accomplish in a year, but why, why should, you know, employers, um, try to implement goal setting with their employees?
Speaker 2 00:09:28 Um, goal setting goal setting is a great way to intentionally, um, intentionally complete pro uh, projects or, um, to advance growth. Mm-hmm <affirmative> that's outside of normal responsibilities. Mm-hmm <affirmative>, I mean, there, everyone, I think most positions do have opportunities to grow and gain experience and skills. Mm-hmm <affirmative> just in the natural flow of work. However, there might, there might be things that you specifically want them to accomplish to get to the next level, whether it be a, the next title, the next mm-hmm <affirmative>, uh, the next position on their career path, or maybe it's cross-training. So whatever that growth is, or maybe it's an organizational goal that that person needs to help needs to specifically be responsible and accomplishing mm-hmm <affirmative>, but setting those goals and action items to get you, there is very, very intentional way of making that happen. Uh, keeping them in mind, holding each person and the organization accountable mm-hmm <affirmative> for getting them done. Um, long story short it's it's important because otherwise you, you can say you want to do something, but it'll, if you don't have a plan in place, that'll fall to the back burner with everything that everything else that goes on in day to day operations.
Speaker 1 00:11:06 Right. And like you said, like probably a lot of people do have goals, but they may be kind of general, like, you know, having something that's not specific like, well, I want to, you know, um, I just wanna improve, you know, that's, you know, that's not really a goal. Right, right. Um, so, uh, you know, just share a little bit about how especially here and how other companies can, you know, we're very specific with our goal setting. Like, you know, we're gonna do this by this date and that kind of thing, and why that being specific is important.
Speaker 2 00:11:40 It's, it's important to be specific like that, or to make a goal measurable, to know what it is you're trying to accomplish. And to what degree mm-hmm <affirmative>. So that one to keep, to keep your momentum. If you're, if you're able to track it, you can, you can see your progress and you can, you can build momentum. If you don't know how close you are or how far away you are from your goal, it's hard to get any excitement there. It's hard to have any motivation to stay after it. Right. Mm-hmm <affirmative> um, the other, the other reason for that is to know what it to know when you're done to know when it's accomplished, if you don't know specifically what you're trying to accomplish, how can you ever achieve it?
Speaker 1 00:12:26 Right. Exactly. Yeah. That makes total sense. Um, I know, you know, with my own, like looking at my deadlines, I make for myself and I'm like, Ooh, it's getting a little close need to need to work on this sub. So,
Speaker 2 00:12:38 Right. Like if you, if you know what it is, you're trying to accomplish to the example you gave like, oh, I want, I wanna improve X, Y, Z. What does that look like? That's, that's the question I encourage people to ask themselves if they're struggling, cuz goal setting is, is a lot harder than it, um, than it sounds like it would be mm-hmm <affirmative> um, you might have a, a mental picture of what, what you wanna accomplish, but when it comes to putting it on paper, for some reason gets a little tougher mm-hmm <affirmative>. But those that's one of the prompt questions I like to encourage people to ask themselves is okay, what I want to accomplish and why mm-hmm <affirmative>. And if you're still struggling to put into terms what it is, you're trying to accomplish. Just say, how will I know why I'm done? Mm-hmm
Speaker 1 00:13:22 <affirmative> and that's why it's helpful to have a resource like you here. <laugh> um, when you're struggling with that, we can all, we can go to you and talk to you about it. So that's nice. Yep. Yeah. Well the, I think this has been a great conversation, Jeff, on, um, retention and growing and just trying to, you know, be better in, in whatever way that looks. Um, so thank you so much for stopping by and chatting with me.
Speaker 2 00:13:46 Yeah, absolutely. I enjoyed it.
Speaker 1 00:13:48 Thank you. Thank you for tuning into the CA podcast network resources for today's episode are linked in the episode notes. Thank you to our producer, Russ Dorsey and for CAOU for powering this podcast. Be sure to stay up to date on new episodes and more information about today's episode by following at CAOU co until next time. Thanks for tuning in.
