Three Ways Learning and Development Can Help Retain Gen Z Staff
Do you ever feel like you're having two different conversations with someone? It’s like you're saying one thing, and they are hearing something completely different. This happens regularly in our workplaces. Your Gen Z staff are waiting for you to set clear expectations and if you don't, they just might leave.
In this episode, I’m going over three ways we can help ensure clear expectations are set for staff and in turn, increase staff retention.
Listen to the episode or scroll down to read the blog post ↓
Key Points:
03:37 How Learning and Development is related to staff retention
05:19 Using a competency model to define expectations
06:09 Developing people managers
7:41 Building relationships and trust
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Three Ways Learning and Development Can Help Retain Gen Z Staff
Do you ever feel like you're having two different conversations with someone, like you're saying one thing, and they are hearing something completely different?
I have three kids, so I have some experience with interpreting what other people mean. If my middle child doesn't know a word, she makes it up and proceeds with confidence. So instead of ruffles, you might get crumbles. And you just have to figure out that she actually means ruffles.
I have a recent favorite. Instead of the Brazil team, referring to a group of people we know who recently went to Brazil, she talks about the Brazil-a-teers. It's pretty much the cutest thing ever. But it can be difficult to decipher what she means because she isn't using the same language the rest of us are using.
And this happens at work too.
We're often listening, but not understanding. Or talking, but not communicating.
This is a problem for a multitude of reasons. But I want to focus on just one of those reasons: Your Gen Z staff are waiting for you to set clear expectations.
And if you don't, they just might leave.
I've worked with nonprofits all over the country, and I've learned a few things along the way. But my learning doesn't stop there. I'm also always reading books and articles, listening to podcasts, and talking with other industry leaders so I can stay up to date on trends and best practices.
Today I want to share why setting clear expectations may help you retain your Gen Z staff and what you can do to support it. It's based on data from the YoPro Know, a consulting firm that helps businesses attract and retain young professionals. They've researched what young professionals want and need in the workplace, talking with 1000s of young professionals in over 35 states and 65 different industries. I can't wait to share what they found and how we can apply it in Learning and Development.
How Learning and Development is Related to Staff Retention
I know what you may be thinking, we are Learning and Development, what does retaining staff have to do with anything?
This report, called The State of Young Professionals Today, identifies several things that are important to Gen Z. And in fact, some of them may be more apparently related to L&D things like professional development and onboarding. But I wanted to look at the data from a different angle.
The YoPro Know found that the number one reason young professionals leave a job is related to communication and expectations. I've talked a lot about setting clear expectations with staff because I think Learning and Development has a role to play. And if L&D has a role to play in setting clear expectations, we have a role to play in staff retention.
The YoPro Know report found that 39% of the young professionals they interviewed had left a job within the first two years due to. . . expectations not being clearly shared even as early as the recruitment process. So how can we help? I’m sharing three ways we can help ensure clear expectations are set for staff:
1) Use a Competency Model to Define Expectations
The first thing we can do is use a competency model to define expectations. Competency models are a great way to set clear expectations.
When you create a competency model, you take the time to identify the skills that are needed to be successful in your organization. And then you define what those skills look like in action through behavioral indicators. And this becomes the foundation for everything else.
You can use these behavioral indicators in your job descriptions during the interview process and in performance reviews and goal setting for your leadership development efforts. When you say you want staff to have critical thinking skills, there's no guessing what you mean because it's been defined at every level of the organization.
So a competency model helps you define those expectations clearly.
For some more information on competency models, check out my past episodes:
Episode 51: Using Your Competency Model to Develop a Comprehensive Training Program And Boost Workforce Development
Episode 39: Ask These Two Questions to Identify Your Nonprofit's Core Competencies
Episode 20: How to Determine Which Competencies Are Right for You
Episode 19: One Nonprofit's Honest Opinion after 6 Months with a Competency Model
2) Develop People Managers and Build Skills Around Feedback
The second thing you can do is to develop people managers and build skills around feedback.
Your people managers, especially those frontline people managers, are still building their people management skills.
You can provide them with a competency model as a framework.
You can provide them with the performance review or the goal-setting forum with competencies embedded.
This is super helpful in and of itself, but it doesn't make up for poor management skills.
One of the skills that is most needed is the ability to give and receive feedback.
Imagine if your people managers could easily give and receive feedback. if it felt natural. That doesn't typically happen without skill-building and experience. So one of the things that L&D can do is to create training and leadership development programs to help your people managers give better feedback.
This two-way feedback opens up the conversation with Gen Z staff.
People managers can share expectations, acknowledge when those expectations are met, and provide guidance when they're not.
Gen Z staff then can ask questions and clarify expectations or ask for the resources they need to be successful.
And I recognize that some of your Gen Z staff may already be people managers, but this is going to benefit them no matter what their role is in the organization.
3) Leverage Training and Development to Build Relationships and Trust
The third way you can help ensure clear expectations are set for staff is to leverage every opportunity to build relationships and trust.
Training and leadership development programs are often the convener of staff.
You can bring people together in in-person environments, virtual instructor-led environments, and online discussion boards.
You can bring people together through training, book clubs, and mentor programs.
We have so many opportunities to bring people together and every time we bring people together, we have the opportunity to build relationships and trust.
Trust is critical:
To feedback
To asking questions
To getting clarity
Now I don't know where L&D sits in your organization.
Are you part of HR?
Are you part of operations?
Are you a separate function altogether?
That will impact how you approach conversations like this one about staff retention.
But the next time your organization is talking about staff retention, remember that you have a role to play and you want other executives to value what L&D can do too. So share some examples of how L&D can help improve retention.
There are so many more ways L&D can help improve staff retention too. We bring so much value to the entire organization. Let's start talking about it.
The YoPro Know cites Gallup as saying that young professional turnover in US companies costs $30.5 billion. We can be part of the solution.
To hear the full conversation I had on the Learning for Good Podcast, scroll all the way up and tune into episode 60.
The Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective
Do you wish you could connect with other nonprofit learning and development leaders?
I know what it feels like to want someone to bounce ideas off of and to learn from, someone who really understands you and your work. Imagine if you could have a simple way to meet people in the field, ask questions, and share information.
That's why I created the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective – so nonprofit L&D, talent management, and DEI leaders can connect with each other quickly and easily in a virtual space.
When you join this community, you will walk away with a new, diverse, and powerful network – and a sounding board for your staff development needs.
So if you're ready to exchange ideas and collaborate with your peers, come join the Nonprofit L&D Collective.
