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Momentum Learning Inc. Facilitator Guide What Keeps You?

Length of Workshop: 4 Hours

For: (Client Name)

Designed by: John Stokdijk, CMA


Knowledge Consultant

Property of Momentum Learning Inc.

CONTENTS

Time

Description

Page

15 Minutes 20 Minutes 40 Minutes 30 Minutes 15 Minutes 15 Minutes 30 Minutes 15 Minutes 30 Minutes 30 Minutes

Introductions, Icebreaker & Context Stay or Leave Part 1 Stay or Leave Part 2 Dimensions of Difference How to Ask Part 1 Break How to Ask Part 2 Hire Right Roles & Responsibilities Creating a Retention Plan

4 5 9 10 12

14 16 18 20

Facilitator Guide

What Keeps You?


Facilitating challenging career discussions Challenge and a clear career path are among the most important elements in employee engagement and retention. Its not uncommon for employees to raise these topics quickly even during their first week on the job. This workshop helps you prepare for these career discussions by helping you:

1. Understand why employees stay with organizations. 2. Understand why employees leave organizations 3. Understand the dangers of guessing about employee aspirations. 4. Learn six questions for positive career discussions. 5. Learn how to have difficult career discussions. 6. Create a retention and engagement action-plan for your team.

Participants will engage in interactive discussions and exercises for building knowledge and building skill. Each participant will leave with a concrete plan of action they can begin implementing immediately with his/her team.

Facilitator Guide

15 Minutes

Introductions, Icebreaker and Context The Facilitator will introduce Himself/herself and share something personal that is not work or career related (to be further explained later). The Facilitator will briefly provide an overview of the Workshop and the Learning Objectives. The Facilitator will have participants introduce themselves and share something personal (within their individual and group comfort zones) that is not work or career related. Indicate to the group that this sharing will relate to an aspect of the Workshop later in the day.

Facilitator Guide

20 Minutes

Stay or Leave Part 1 Learning Objectives Participants will: 1. Understand why employees stay with organizations. 2. Understand why employees leave organizations

Key Concepts Factors that produce job satisfaction are separate and distinct from those that lead to job dissatisfaction. The opposite of job satisfaction is not job dissatisfaction, but no job satisfaction. Intrinsic factors, when positive, motivate employees and create employee satisfaction. Extrinsic factors, when negative, demotivate employees and create employee dissatisfaction. Employees stay for reasons that are different than why they leave.

Why Employees Stay


The Facilitator may refer to The Retention and Engagement Drivers Report (page 12) by Career Systems International and The Jordan Evans Group.

Employees stay because they are satisfied and they are satisfied because they: Have a sense of achievement. Are appropriately recognized. Do interesting work.

Facilitator Guide

Have responsibilities. Have opportunities for advancement. Have opportunities for growth. Why Employees Leave Employees leave because they are dissatisfied and they are dissatisfied because they: Are frustrated by organizational policies. Dont like how they are supervised. Have a poor relationship with their supervisors. Have poor working conditions. Perceive compensation to be inadequate. Have a poor relationship with their peers. Cannot achieve appropriate work-life balance. Experience high levels of workplace stress. Feel they just dont fit in. What Employees Value What employees value and what management believes they value is not always in total agreement. Employees value: Job security. Benefits Communication. Flexibility According to Leigh Branham in his book The 7 Hidden
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Reasons Employees Leave, the top seven are: 1. The job or workplace was not as expected. 2. Job-employee mismatches. 3. Not enough feedback. 4. Too few growth and advancement opportunities. 5. Feeling devalued and unrecognized. 6. Stress from overwork and work-life balance. 7. Loss of trust and confidence in senior leaders.

20 minutes Handout 1

Activity 1a Stay or Leave Part 1 Organize participants into small groups of 3 or 4. Distribute Handout 1. Instruct participants to work individually for a couple of minutes and than share and discuss answers with others. Encourage participants to heed Stephen Coveys advice during discussions: Seek first to understand, then to be understood.

Facilitator Guide

Stay or Leave Part 1 Activity 1a - Handout 1


Working individually, list three (and only three) factors, ranked in order of importance that keeps you with your organization. 1. ______________________________________________________________ 2. ______________________________________________________________ 3. ______________________________________________________________

Working individually, list three (and only three) factors, ranked in order of importance, that would cause you to leave your organization. 1. ______________________________________________________________ 2. ______________________________________________________________ 3. ______________________________________________________________

Share your answers with other members of your small group. Probe differences in responses and ask why in order to gain a depth of understanding of the perspectives of others.

Facilitator Guide

40 Minutes

Activity 1b Stay or Leave - Part 2 Coming back to a large group, capture the output from the small groups on a flipchart and integrate the module materials into the discussion. The facilitator will also share workplace experiences and stories that re-enforce key concepts.

Facilitator Guide

Dimensions of Difference Learning Objectives Participants will: 3. Understand the dangers of guessing about employee aspirations.

Key Concepts Employees vary greatly along a number of significant dimensions and they all dont want the same thing. Because ultimately everyone is an individual, there is danger in guessing or assuming what will satisfy any particular employee. There is always danger in stereotyping. We tend to assume others want what we ourselves want because those aspirations make the most sense to us, but this is a mistake. Dimensions of Difference Employees differ along a number of significant dimensions such as: Demographics Veterans born before 1945 Baby Boomers born between 1946 1964 Generation X born between 1965 1980 Generation Y born between 1980 2000 Gender Culture Personality (as was apparent in the personal sharing during
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the introductions) Values

Activity 2 Dimensions of Difference 30 Minutes As a large group, the Facilitator will lead the participants in the identification of major dimensions of difference amongst employees. The discussion should also link such differences to reasons why employees stay or why employees leave employers. If stereotyping emerges, the danger of doing so should be highlighted and balanced against the value of broad generalizations. The facilitator will also share workplace experiences and stories that re-enforce key concepts.

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15 Minutes Handout 2

Activity 3 How to Ask Part 1 Learning Objectives Participants will: 4. Learn six questions for positive career discussions. The Facilitator will distribute Handout 2 and review the questions with participants, asking them to note their reactions to the questions at both a practical and emotional level. Participants should then complete the sentence But what if with as many variations as come to mind. As this is the last activity prior to the mid-session break, participants should be encouraged to discuss their sentence completions with each other during the break.

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Activity 3 - Handout 2 How to Ask Part 1

Lets set up a meeting to discuss the following questions that are important to you, me and the organization:

What keeps you here? What might cause you to leave? What do you like most about your work? Are we fully utilizing your skills and experience? What is inhibiting your success here? What can I do differently to better assist you?

But what if ______________________________________________________? But what if ______________________________________________________? But what if ______________________________________________________? But what if ______________________________________________________? But what if ______________________________________________________? But what if ______________________________________________________? But what if ______________________________________________________?

Adapted from Love Em or Lose Em by Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans

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30 Minutes

How to Ask Part 2 But what if ? Learning Objectives Participants will: 5. Learn how discussions. to have difficult career

As a large group, the Facilitator will record sentence completions on a flipchart. With prompting from the Facilitator if necessary, the following concerns supervisors may have should emerge: What if they want a raise? What if they want a promotion? What if they want a transfer to another department or project? What if they say I just dont know? What if they are unresponsive and reluctant to engage in the discussion? What if their aspirations exceed their skills and experience? What if their aspirations are low relative to their potential? What if their expectations of their supervisor are unrealistic? After capturing all potential concerns, the Facilitator will lead the large group in identifying solutions to these concerns, integrating concepts covered earlier in the workshop. The facilitator will also share workplace
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experiences and stories that re-enforce key concepts. The following concepts should emerge: Employees want more from work than just a job. There are many opportunities for job enrichment besides promotion. Employees should be seen as an organizational resource rather than a departmental resource. Employees may be focused on matters such as family, health or non-work interests rather than focused on career at this time. It may be necessary to build trust before positive career discussions can take place. Supervisors may need to give very direct feedback to employees in regards to the skills and experience required for promotions and/or transfers as well as feedback on how the employee currently measures up. Ultimately, employees must be self-motivated to develop to their full potential. Supervisors need to be aware of their own strengths and weaknesses and how their own behavior may impact employees.

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15 Minutes Handout 3

Hire Right Pose this question to the group: At what point in time does employee retention begin? The discussion should quickly identify that an employee retention strategy should begin at the point of hire. The hiring process often focuses heavily on matching the skills and experience of candidates to the requirements of a particular job. Ask participants what other factors should be considered. Integrate earlier concepts into the discussion. The facilitator will also share workplace experiences and stories that re-enforce key concepts. The following factors should emerge: Organizational culture (contrasted with formal policies). Organizational considerations). values (including ethical

Organizational leadership. Management style (of the direct supervisor). Workspace (for example cubicle or private office) Work-life balance (both organizational and employee expectations.)
At an appropriate time, distribute (or read out) Handout 3

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Handout 3
A successful engineer, tragically killed by a speeding bus, arrives at the Pearly Gates and is welcomed by St. Peter. St. Peter explains to the engineer that he will need to spend a day in Heaven and one day in Hell before he decides where he would like to spend eternity. With great trepidation he enters Hell and is amazed to find a beautiful golf course, friends and colleagues who welcome him, terrific food, a great party, and even a nice-guy devil. At the end of his day, he regretfully leaves Hell in order to experience his day in Heaven. That experience is quite good also, with clouds, angels, harps, and the singing he expected. St. Peter pushes the engineer to make the decision of a lifetime (and beyond). In which place would he spend eternity- Heaven or Hell? You guessed it he chooses Hell. When he returns to Hell, he finds a desolate wasteland and his friends dressed in rags, picking up garbage. He says to the Devil, I dont understand. Yesterday I was here and there was a golf courses and country club, we ate lobster, we danced and had a great time. Now I see a wasteland and all my friends look miserable. The Devil looks at him and smiles, Yesterday we were recruiting you; today youre an employee.

Adapted from Love Em or Lose Em by Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans

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30 Minutes Handout 4

Roles & Responsibilities Distribute Handout 4 and organize participants into small groups of 3 or 4. For about 15 minutes, have participants identify the roles and responsibilities of employees, supervisors, Human Resource Departments and CEOs and VPs in regards to managing employee careers. Coming back to a large group, capture the output from the small groups on a flipchart and integrate earlier workshop concepts into the discussion. The following concepts should emerge: Ultimately, employees must set their own career goals and take responsibility for their own growth. But supervisors and managers are responsible for employee retention and must therefore engage with employees on these matters. Human Resources Departments should support the processes that both help employees develop their careers and supervisors retain their employees. CEOs and VPs are responsible for the high level strategies that create organizational success and consequently allow employees and supervisors to reach their individual goals.

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Handout 4 Roles & Responsibilities


With regards to career development and employee retention, identify the responsibilities of each of the following:

Employees: _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Supervisors: _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Human Resource Departments: _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ CEOs and VPs: _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________

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30 Minutes Handout 5

How to Create an Employee Retention and Engagement Action Plan Learning Objectives Participants will: 6. Create a retention and engagement actionplan for your team.

Distribute Handout 5 and review with participants. This final activity will also serve to summarize the workshop and achieve closure.

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Handout 5
How to Create an Employee Retention and Engagement Action Plan

What you need to KNOW:

Why Employee Stay Have a sense of achievement. Are appropriately recognized. Do interesting work. Have responsibilities. Have opportunities for advancement. Have opportunities for growth.

Why Employee Leave Are frustrated by organizational policies. Dont like how they are supervised. Have a poor relationship with their supervisors. Have poor working conditions. Perceive compensation to be inadequate. Have a poor relationship with their peers. Cannot achieve appropriate work-life balance. Experience high levels of workplace stress. Feel they just dont fit in.
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How Employees Differ Demographics Veterans born before 1945 Baby Boomers born between 1946 1964 Generation X born between 1965 1980 Generation Y born between 1980 2000 Gender Culture Personality Values What you need to DO: Clarify roles and responsibilities. Discuss staying and leaving with employees: What keeps you here? What might cause you to leave? What do you like most about your work? Are we fully utilizing your skills and experience? What is inhibiting your success here? What can I do differently to better assist you? For each individual employee, working together, identify and seek to enhance job satisfiers. For each individual employee, working together, identify and seek to reduce job dissatisfiers.

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: LOVE EM OR LOSE EM


by Beveryly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. 2005 A 258 page easy-to-read book with 26 research-based strategies for engaging and retaining employees.

The 7 HIDDEN REASONS Employees Leave


by Leigh Branham AMACOM American Management Association 2004 A 238 page book identify seven causes of turnover and creative solutions.

Generations At Work
by Ron Zemke, Claire Raines, Bob Filipczak AMACOM American Management Association 2000 A 263 page book with provocative insights and practical solutions for understanding differences, resolving conflicts and managing effectively in todays age-diverse workplace.

The Retention and Engagement Drivers Report


by Career Systems International & The Jordan Evans Group available at www.keepem.com A 28 page statistical report representing 7,665 responses collected since March 2001.

CAREER MANAGEMENT GUIDE A Managers Guide for Developing People


Nova Scotia Public Service Commission available at www.gov.ns.ca/psc/pdf/InnovationGrowth/amanagersguidefordevelopingpeople.pdf A comprehensive 33 page Guide for developing employees.

One More Time: How Do You Motivate Employees?


by Frederick Herzberg Harvard Business Review Reprint R0301F An 11 page classic HBR article that has stood the test of time.

Thriving in the New Millennium: Career Management in the Changing World of Work
by Roberta A. Neasult available at www.contactpoint.ca/cjcd/v1-n1/article2.pdf A 5 page article on emerging theories in career development.

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