In our heavily visited post titled, "Why Top Employees Quit" we specifically asked readers to comment. A great response came from a guy named Ryan who gave us permission to relay his thoughts to the masses.
Here was the exact question:
"If you have good ways of keeping your great employees happy and productive, let me know. Better yet, tell me what you are getting from your manager today that would make you think twice before jumping ship."
Here was his answer:
Freedom.
Actually ask your employees when they WANT to work, and if there isn't a really damn good business reason to prevent them from working, then let them. When management doesn't leash me to a set schedule, I find that I tend to work quite a bit of unplanned OT, just working on improving things, but on odd hours. Yesterday I worked 2am until 3pm. When you have the freedom to come and go, you find that the urge to "go" isn't quite so strong.
Of course, my position is a reporting/programming/automation position, this wouldn't work for sales or folks who actually have a need for 'set' hours. If I was required to consistently punch a clock on an 8-5 schedule, I would probably be gone within a month.
FYI: Because the OT is unplanned, and I'm working for my own enjoyment/challenge, despite being allowed to log it, I don't to 'reward' my boss. :) Bunch of free productivity.
I think this speaks for itself. As much as some managers like/need/must babysit people, it's actually doing a lot more harm than good. Obviously employees need to earn the right, but if they are constantly killing their goals, why would you say no to giving them some more freedom? In fact, why wouldn't a manager go above and beyond to make sure someone like Ryan is happy and voluntarily offered this freedom?
In my view and based on the position, a good manager would allow Ryan some drastic leeway. However it should be made very clear to the entire team how he exactly earned this freedom and what things specifically needed to be done in order to get this privilege. The last thing you want is a mutiny. This incentive obviously encourages others to perform at the high level you are looking for and in fact, it's almost an intangible benefit that other companies would have a rough time offering as the tried to steal your top guys.
How many Ryan's do you have on your team? How many of them are interviewing and on their way out?
- Frank
PS - hey Ryan, Jay asked me to mention that he's a sales guy and he hasn't worked 8-5 in 15 years...It's more like 5-8. He also says that without sales you'd have nothing to support or build. But hey - I am just the messenger.
