organizational citizenship

Attracting and retaining talent in the summer of 2021 has been incredibly difficult – so much so that LinkedIn and other news outlets have dubbed this time period as the “Great Resignation”. I have personally interviewed dozens of executives and consistently heard sentiments like this: 

“Business is booming, but we can’t find people to staff the demand we are receiving or keep the people we have!”

Some executives I have interviewed have blamed working from home and the general burnout from the increased uncertainty as reasons for this. Other executives blame generous unemployment benefits as the reason for these hiring struggles.

This article won’t serve as a deep-dive into why the Great Resignation is happening. Instead, I’m going to focus on solutions and highlight one major way we can handle this challenge to our businesses’ viability.

According to a Gallup survey, 75% of employees who voluntarily left their jobs did so because of their bosses, not because of the position itself. 

In other words, the adage ‘people don’t quit jobs, they quit bosses’ seems to ring true for people who are quitting – and with workers quitting at an incredibly high level at the moment, it is paramount that we, as leaders, do more to equip our managers with the tools and resources to be better managers.

There has been significant research into measuring work engagement and its impact on retention and productivity from teams – and if your team isn’t measuring engagement, I would highly recommend starting now. But new research is showing that there are 5 additional criteria that should be measured to understand the level of satisfaction employees have at work and their productivity.

1.       Team Cohesion – Employees’ self-assessment of how well the team has been working together in terms of their camaraderie

2.       Team Productivity – Employees’ self-assessment of how productive the team has been 

3.       Task Performance – Employees’ self-assessment of how productive, they personally, have been

4.       Manager Performance – Employees’ assessment of how effective their manager has been at leading them

5.       Organizational Citizenship – Employees’ self-assessment of their ability to be helpful to the team outside of their explicit work duties 

Caveats about measuring this data: 

1.       It should be measured monthly, at a minimum. Feelings about work and productivity change rapidly and asking annually, bi-annually, or quarterly is not enough to garner an accurate picture.

2.       It should be measured on a team-by-team basis, not a general overview of the entire company. The dynamics that occur within teams are more relevant and critical to an employee’s sense of belonging and willingness to stay at a company. Company-wide metrics are far too broad to be useful.  

3.       Managers should be provided with tools for enacting change based on these metrics. For example, conversation prompts and suggested questions for 1-on-1 meetings with direct reports can help managers address these issues early. Collecting data without immediate action diminishes the employee experience instead of enhancing it.

If you can measure this data on a month by month basis for each and every manager and their respective teams and equip your managers with suggested questions and conversation prompts to discuss with their direct reports based on the data, you are significantly better equipped to elevate the employee experience and feelings of belonging at work.

Why?

Because employees’ feelings of burnout and dissatisfaction with managers don’t happen because the manager is purposefully trying to sabotage the team or individual employees. These negative feelings typically happen because of poor communication between the manager and their employees. Most bad managers think they are good managers.

When an employee receives poor communication from their manager, there are consequences. It may cause them to do work that is not what the manager actually wanted, or to feel they are being treated unfairly, or to feel they aren’t receiving ample feedback (or too much unnecessary feedback), or just feel uncomfortable or dissatisfied with the manager in any way. When this happens, it is VITAL that the manager understands this frustration right away and have a conversation to rectify it (Kim Scott, the author of Radical Candor calls this “challenge directly while caring personally”).

If a manager doesn’t rectify the situation and this feeling of dissatisfaction from the employee festers, they are going to become actively disengaged, bring down other employees because of their dissatisfaction, and eventually leave. 

If you are a CEO and you believe that having an “open door policy” or “clear lines of communication” is enough to gather this information, you are making the MASSIVE assumption that your managers’ direct reports have the same level of psychological safety as your direct reports have with you. You are also assuming that your employees have personality traits in which they are comfortable being optimally objective with everyone they interact with across all levels of an organization. 

Overall, now is the time to equip our managers with the data and the tools necessary to build strong teams. Providing a robust system through conversation prompts helps managers understand how their direct reports are feeling about work in terms of their team cohesion, team productivity, task performance, manager performance, and organizational citizenship. If we can do that, we are much more likely to increase retention and the productivity of our teams.

A quick final note, my team and I at Ambition In Motion are working on tools and ways to research these 5 core areas that increase work satisfaction and productivity across all employees. If you are a manager that is interested in collaborating or learning more about our research, please feel free to send me an email at [email protected].

Managers appreciate having a “high-performing” star employee who consistently exceeds expectations and is highly motivated. An equally valuable, but often overlooked team member is the “silent star”. This individual is also a high performer consistently driving exceptional results, but they are more introverted and less visible in team interactions. While these silent stars may thrive individually, their introverted tendencies can pose challenges in team settings that rely heavily on collaboration. Given their heavy contributions to the team, it's crucial for managers to find a balance between supporting individual productivity and team cohesion 

With silent stars being less vocal about their contributions to the team, it can prove difficult for managers to identify which individuals are truly creating this positive impact. Identifying these employees takes a strong awareness of performance metrics and behavioral patterns. Managers should look beyond vocal participation and pay close attention to consistency, quality, and impact of individuals' work. A strategy to help determine the silent star is to utilize performance measurement software to gain insights into individual team members' contributions and progress toward goals. Additionally, regular performance reviews and observing how team members engage in smaller or more controlled environments may also lead to a greater understanding of which individuals are heavily contributing under the radar. 

Managers may also find a crowdsourcing approach as a more involved approach to determining silent stars. Speaking with team members and others throughout the organization asking them to nominate peers who are strong contributors and don’t receive sufficient recognition from management. Once identified by peers, managers can speak one-on-one to the silent stars and learn about their contributions to the team. 

These individuals are the top talent on the team, but if they feel unrecognized they may leave for an organization that will value them more. One of the main reasons employees quit their jobs is insufficient recognition and appreciation, so managers must actively ensure these silent stars feel valued within their team. Silent stars are often willing to take on thankless tasks within the team and won’t publicize their successes to the team. Despite these behind-the-scenes contributions, they aren’t content with anonymity and this lack of recognition can cause them to disengage from the team over time. 

Managers should make a conscious effort to recognize these employees both in private and in public. Praising contributions privately through email or even a one-on-one conversation to thank them for their work can go a long way. Make sure to publicly recognize employees as well, specifically to other managers and executives so these silent stars know that their work isn’t going unnoticed. Recognizing these efforts not only signals that managers are noticing their contributions it can also boost confidence ultimately encouraging them to be more vocal within the team. 

Along with recognizing their talents, increasing their responsibilities within the team can demonstrate that their work is appreciated. Managers should assign the silent stars to high-impact projects that align with their skill set. This provides the silent stars opportunities to take ownership of their work and encourages them to take on leadership in areas which they feel more comfortable. Ensure that with this increased responsibility they are also given resources that they need to support them in this new role. 

Offering specific training opportunities to support their professional development is another way to recognize and support silent stars. Silent stars may be less inclined to pursue professional development opportunities or situations outside of their comfort zone to grow their skill set. Providing online courses, one-on-one mentoring, or horizontal mentorship opportunities are all great ways to facilitate professional growth. Additionally, it may be beneficial to encourage them to pursue additional certifications to enhance their individual contributions. Providing these training opportunities can be a subtle yet effective way to support silent stars and appreciate the value they bring to the team.

Silent stars may be quieter in team settings due to a lack of psychological safety. It is important to ensure that they have a safe and comfortable environment at work. Managers should create a culture in which all team members feel they can share their ideas free from judgement. Silent stars may be more hesitant to contribute to group meetings, so providing them more time to prepare for meetings or placing them in smaller group settings can increase their psychological safety. Focusing on improving psychological safety may help these silent stars be less silent. 

Work to develop a relationship in one-on-one settings through monthly conversations. Establishing a relationship with silent stars takes a conscious effort and intentional actions. Since they may not engage in personal conversations as frequently as other team members, it is important to reach out to build this relationship. Regular check-ins to discuss their progress with their work and their life outside of work is a great way for managers to gain insights into the motivations of these silent stars. 

Recognizing and supporting silent stars is crucial for creating a balanced and high-performing team. Although these introverted team members may not highlight their contributions, their consistently high performance has a significant impact on the team’s success. Managers must work to identify these under-recognized team members through careful observation and performance metrics. By praising silent stars, increasing their responsibilities, creating development opportunities, fostering psychological safety, and building relationships with silent stars, managers can ensure that they feel valued and appreciated. Acknowledging and supporting silent stars will not only boost their motivations but also retain these top performers who might otherwise go unnoticed.