Employees Retention and Growth - Call for Change!

We are all familiar with the sentences and catchphrases about the importance of employees to the company:

• "People are the company's greatest asset"

• "A company is only good as the people it keeps"

• "If you take care of employees they will take care of your customers"

• "Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first"

• "No organization is going to be successful unless it places a high value on it employees"

However, like most things, there is a gap between theory and reality, between statement and action.

One thing I quickly realized as a manager is that my success is entirely dependent on my teams and employees. I can't be successful if they are not, and they can't be successful if they are not happy.

As long as my people were skilled and capable of performing their job well (and most of them were), the focus should be on them and their happiness.

A direct line is drawn between employee happiness and the company's success.

If it is so obvious and straightforward, why doesn't employees' happiness have a higher place in the organization's priorities ladder? And I am not talking about snacks in the kitchen or a fun day at the golf range. I am referring to genuine long-term happiness that is driven by professional development, personal growth, purpose, and fulfillment.

Organizations have tons of metrics, methodologies, and managerial tools to focus on the retention and growth of their customers, but do they have the same for the retention and growth of their employees? And if they do, is it as essential and in focus?

Every manager in the organization, not just those in HR, and not just at the middle and end of the year, should have their OKRs and KPIs aligned with their employees' retention and growth. This is the real way to build a successful organization.

I want to see engineering team leaders who set their OKRs to measurable goals of employee development, or sales executives who set theirs to grow three team leaders organically from the teams.

If people truly matter, let's treat them the way that everything that matters in the organization is treated.

Do you agree?