Does Your Team Feel Welcome?
According to recent research, it’s literally a coin flip whether or not your team feels welcome enough to stay with your company.
Gallup’s most recent State of the American Workplace report reveals that 51% of employees in the United States are actively looking for a different job right now.
Work Institute’s 2019 Retention Report conservatively estimates the average cost of turnover at $15,000 per employee.
That is to say, every time someone puts in their two-week notice, it costs $15,000 to replace them – recruiting costs, selection costs, orientation, onboarding, training, lost productivity during ramp up time, etc.
Can we all agree, people stay where they feel welcome?
As humans, we genuinely enjoy places and people who make us feel welcome. When employees feel welcome – guests, customers, and clients enjoy a great experience.
This is the first transferable truth of the spirit and essence of hospitality, in the context of leadership.
As leaders, we have many deliverables, To Do’s, and responsibilities on our plate. We’re expected to drive results on various fronts – financial, culture-changing, team building, process improvement, customer service scores, and whatever else comes up in the board meeting or C-suite. Yet getting into the manager, director, or vice president role is only half the battle.
Inspiring appropriate levels of action and productivity is among the first of many tall tasks awaiting any leader on any level. However, before anyone is compelled to act, they first must feel.
This may sound glaringly obvious, but it’s worth stating to convey the importance of leading with hospitality.
The extent to which any leader is successful in leading a team depends largely on whether or not members of said team are compelled to follow them, as their fearless leader.
As John Maxwell says, “Leadership without followers is just a long walk by yourself.”
The first step in compelling anyone to follow you as a leader is to first and foremost, make them feel welcome.
If they feel welcome, they will stay on your team, in your corner, on your side, and most importantly, with your organization. Perhaps even more important than them staying with your organization is what they do and how they perform while they’re in it.
Inspire joy among a team which consistently delivers results, and your own leaders will notice, your peers will emulate your style, and your employees will become inspired to give even more to the cause.
You’ll also find droves of people lining up outside your office to follow you.
This all will have started because you first made the members of your team feel welcome.
- Help Them Relax by showing them you truly value their work.
- Put Their Mind at Ease by showing them you’re there to help them, not hurt them.
- Take Away Their Worry; share your vision for success and their integral role in creating it.
- Have Fun; be serious about inspiring great work among your team, but don’t take yourself too seriously.
A serious question for you:
When is the last time you asked members of your team – collectively or 1:1 – how welcome they feel on your team?
What if you asked them this week?
Regardless of how they answer, how do you think they will feel when you simply ask the question?
They’ll probably feel a bit more welcome. And they just might stay.
Make somebody feel welcome today, and you’ll not only make someone’s day, you’ll save your company $15,000.
Have a great day.
Taylor
