Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/73199
Retention The Shared Services Challenge Good swimmers can be most prone to jump ship. Here's how to keep them onboard. By Simon Brown As a leader of a shared service function, whether it be in finance, HR, IT, or even a combined enabling services model such as global business services, you are often tasked with building infrastructure, leveraging technology, developing wrap-around software solutions, improving first-call resolution, stakeholder engagement, and creating a great customer experience. This takes a lot of our attention, and yet to deliver all of the above we must be sure to focus on our most important asset—our core shared services team. We need to retain and motivate them, listen to them, and involve them, in order to be in a good place to deliver on any of these other business demands and to deliver on our promises. Shared services teams that are particularly prone to unwanted labor turnover are those who have just gone live and are tired from the huge energy it takes to get to that milestone, teams that have expanded beyond the small community to a global function, and those shared services teams who are reaching maturity after two or three years of stability in operations. So what can we do to retain good shared services people? Here are my personal thoughts based on 16 years experience in shared services, including 10 years as a leader of shared services teams. Four Top Tips 1. Re-recruit your good people. Do this with the same intensity that would be invested in recruiting an outsider to join your organisation. Consider the amount of time you would spend interviewing and training a replacement. Invest that time with your good people. Employees sometimes feel unsupported by company systems, and a constantly changing environment can make them restless and weary. They may become more willing than usual to consider jobs outside the organisation. Typically, it is the good swimmers who jump ship. Solution: Tell them you want them and value them. Make them feel important. Show them how great a place your company is • Give individuals the mandate to tackle some of their biggest frustrations in their jobs as real business issues. Empower them, and sponsor them, to remove roadblocks. • Set milestones and deadlines. These should be challenging, but not unrealistic. Do not shoot for targets that will be doomed to failure and frustration, but strive to engineer success experiences for your team and team members. • Build variety into roles where possible, considering work rotation and rotas where applicable. • Try to match staff to the work they love–motivational fit. This way you will capture their imagination as well as their hearts and souls. to work for by reinforcing the messages about vision, strategy, values, and collective progress. Your company has already made significant steps towards a better way of working. Wouldn't they prefer to be developed now in preparation for this new world, rather than join another traditional company with all the change yet to come? Demonstrate your commitment to development by making time to review performance and development plans on a regular one-to- one basis, not just once a year. It is risky to assume that your key players are going to remain on the team just because they have not publicly announced an intention to leave. 2. Create ongoing challenges, and widen the goalposts. Having continuous challenges in one's working life, together with working to deadlines and enjoying a variety of work, are all rated highly in employee engagement surveys. When individuals start to express concern over their lack of job challenge, watch out! If it goes on too long, they are prime candidates for the exit interview. So what can leaders do to satisfy these job needs? • Communicate. Have frequent discussions to take the "challenge temperature." Check that the job is still stretching. If the job is not offering sufficient challenge, act fast to enrich it with wider responsibilities or new projects. • Create opportunities for personal growth and learning. [44] HRO TODAY GLOBAL | SPRING 2012