By Ron Dermady, Chief Operating Officer at Hunter Crown, LLC
One of the biggest misconceptions in business is that your best employees are not being recruited because they seem happy where they are.
The reality is quite the opposite.
The employees you value the most are often the same people your competitors value. They have a proven track record, industry knowledge, and a reputation for delivering results. Recruiters know who they are, and they are reaching out. Some of those conversations go nowhere. Others begin with a simple, "I'm not really looking, but I'm willing to listen."
That should not surprise anyone.
What should concern business leaders is assuming loyalty alone will prevent those conversations from turning into opportunities.
When an employee resigns, many organizations immediately begin asking what happened. Was it compensation? Was it the manager? Was it the workload? Was there something we could have done differently?
Those are important questions, but they are being asked too late.
A better question is, "What are we doing today to make our best employees want to stay tomorrow?"
Retention is not built during an exit interview. It is built through hundreds of small interactions over the course of an employee's career.
Do your employees see a future with your organization? Do they understand what opportunities exist for growth? Are they receiving feedback that helps them develop, or only hearing from leadership when something goes wrong? Do they feel recognized for their contributions, or simply expected to continue producing at a high level?
Compensation certainly matters, but it is rarely the only reason great employees stay or leave. Strong leadership, meaningful work, professional development, recognition, and open communication all play significant roles in creating an environment where people choose to build long term careers.
One of the most effective retention tools is also one of the least utilized: the stay interview.
Unlike an exit interview, a stay interview takes place while an employee is still engaged and contributing to the organization. It is an opportunity to ask questions that often never get discussed.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
What frustrations are getting in your way?
What skills would you like to develop?
What would make this an even better place to build your career?
The goal is not to promise everything an employee asks for. The goal is to understand what matters to them before another organization does.
The water and wastewater industry is built on experienced professionals whose knowledge has been developed over years, and often decades. Replacing that experience is rarely quick, inexpensive, or easy. Every time a high performing employee walks out the door, they take valuable relationships, institutional knowledge, and technical expertise with them.
The organizations that retain great people are not necessarily the ones that pay the most. More often, they are the organizations where employees feel challenged, respected, appreciated, and confident that leadership is invested in their future.
Your competitors are almost certainly talking to your employees.
The more important question is whether your organization is having the conversations that matter before someone else does.
Retention begins long before an employee submits their resignation. It begins with leadership making a conscious decision to invest in the people they already have.