[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2015\/08\/19\/crm-employees-engagement\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2015\/08\/19\/crm-employees-engagement\/","headline":"Going beyond CRM: Don’t drive your talent to the competition","name":"Going beyond CRM: Don’t drive your talent to the competition","description":"Practice what you preach in your CRM strategies by applying that same ideal to your employees","datePublished":"2015-08-19","dateModified":"2020-11-17","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/ted-rubin\/#Person","name":"Ted Rubin","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/ted-rubin\/","identifier":120,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c668c8821df1a2ed296584c5b0b15e9cacfc7ce1ed2cdbd97351315123a748e7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c668c8821df1a2ed296584c5b0b15e9cacfc7ce1ed2cdbd97351315123a748e7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FOC_2015-08-17_HERO1.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FOC_2015-08-17_HERO1.jpg","height":370,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2015\/08\/19\/crm-employees-engagement\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/customer-experience\/","name":"Customer Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_experience","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q984142"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/customer-experience\/employee-engagement\/","name":"Employee Engagement","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Employee_engagement","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q14937678"]}],"wordCount":1206,"keywords":["CRM | Customer Relationship Management","CRM Trends","Employee Engagement"],"articleBody":"Today\u2019s job market is recession-weary and hyper-competitive, with a flood of potential employees for every open position. To many employers, it might seem that the odds are stacked in their favor. They can afford to be choosy, demand more and offer less. After all, there are plenty of qualified applicants waiting in the wings.However, there\u2019s a big danger in treating your employees like a commodity. The best employees\u2014those with high skills and\/or knowledge, flexibility and a great work ethic\u2014are hard to come by in a market flooded with desperate applicants. And those types of employees are being actively sought by your competition.Great employees are the lifeblood of any organization, yet many feel under-appreciated for their efforts (or even invisible). Are your best and brightest secretly updating their resumes? Here are seven ways you can lose them to your competitors if you\u2019re not careful.No one is listeningEvery human being needs to feel that their contributions are appreciated and that their opinion matters. Otherwise, work is a mindless drudge with no purpose (other than a paycheck), and the employee has no emotional connection to the work they do or the company that employs them.Practice what you preach in your CRM strategies by applying that same ideal to your employeesThis kind of disconnect results in poor performance, high levels of emotional stress and turnover. When no one seems to be listening and nothing they do seems to make a difference, your employees will seek that fundamental validation somewhere else.Culture only values successThere\u2019s nothing wrong with setting the bar high, but pitting your employees against each other in terms of performance is a recipe for failure. People want to feel they belong to a workplace community where they can develop friendships, encourage others and feel encouraged themselves. Companies that only seem to value \u201cquota crushers\u201d and don\u2019t encourage a culture of community lose out. Those that value team building, on the other hand, tend to keep quality employees longer.No internal mentoring… from both sides\u00a0Speaking of teams, it\u2019s really no secret that mentoring (both being mentored and the act of mentoring another person), is a valuable practice for both new and established employees. It instills a sense of welcome for the new employee who\u2019s a little nervous about fitting in, and helps all participants establish good relationships in a collaborative atmosphere. Why are so many companies not making this a priority for their HR departments?Nothing is more frustrating than entering a new job and feeling isolated as you\u2019re trying to learn the ropes. If you were to walk into a new company and be told, \u201cWelcome to Company X! Here\u2019s your desk, and here\u2019s a copy of the company employee manual\u2014good luck!\u201d How would you feel? Not having an internal mentoring system is plain old poor business practice. If you want to retain good people, set up one. Otherwise you\u2019re shooting yourself in the foot.People are afraid to voice their opinionsAre your employees afraid that if they voice an opinion they might get put down, harassed or even fired? This is another culture issue that is overlooked by those organizations that are out of touch with their staff. Remember, you\u2019re not the only game in town. There are plenty of companies among your competition that encourage open communication as an integral part of their culture. If your employees feel they have to be silent drones and watch their backs in order to keep their positions, you can bet they\u2019ll soon be looking around for a more positive environment in which to work.Senior leadership is removed and doesn’t lead by exampleYour employees watch your leadership style and take cues from it. If they never hear a word from the C-suite outside the executive office, or if they feel there is a disparity between your stated values and what you actually do\u2014watch out. It\u2019s hard to \u201crally the troops\u201d if they don\u2019t feel connected to you or your ideals. Leaders who truly inspire their employees lead by example. They\u2019re personable and accessible, and employees feel they can trust them. Do more of that or your likely to lose your employees with the highest integrity\u2014the ones you really want to keep.Stifling social environmentDo you require that employees shut down (or severely limit) their social presence? Are violations of this policy grounds for dismissal? If you\u2019re afraid of what your employees might say about you in their private networks, then you\u2019ve either hired the wrong employees or you\u2019re in the wrong business. Every company should have a clear social media policy, but it shouldn\u2019t include draconian measures to control conversation.More and more companies are finding value in empowering their employees to be advocates for them in their private networks. Your best employees can also be your top advocates to the outside world\u2014and garner more trust with your brand than your executives. Trying to quash social connection is short-sighted and ultimately destructive. Employees are going to \u201cbe social\u201d anyway. They will seek a work environment that penalizes them less and appreciates them more.No ability to work remotely occasionallyI\u2019m always surprised by the number of companies today that are inflexible when it comes to allowing personnel to work remotely (at least some of the time). It\u2019s a \u201ccontrol\u201d thing, and it\u2019s seldom warranted. Do you really have to have every worker under your thumb at the office every day? Current technologies make it relatively easy to set up remote networks, monitor hours, set up group meetings\u2014everything you can do from the office.Most employees view being able to work remotely (even one day a week) as a great perk, and it can benefit your organization as well. In fact, some large-scale enterprises are finding it cheaper to send a significant number of their personnel home to work rather than having them take up expensive corporate space. Given the right tools and support, any employee who\u2019s disciplined and dedicated can manage their time well enough to work from home effectively. Watch your competition\u2019s practices. They might be stealing some of your best workers with this perk.Retaining great employees isn\u2019t just a matter of paying them more. You need to also pay attention to them more… which means focusing on how to help them grow, improve and build relationships. If the people who run your company\u2019s day-to-day operations feel ignored, unappreciated or stifled, they most likely won\u2019t stick around long.The best way to keep great employees is to show them you truly value their contribution. Avoid the above scenarios. Chances are good there are competitors going out of their way to offer support, a flexible working environment and a sense of family and common purpose. If you do the same, perhaps always looking to go one-step beyond, chances are good that your relationships with your best employees will flourish.Show your employees that you’re genuinely interested in them, and they are incredibly likely to reciprocate\u2026 Return on Relationship, #RonR"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2015","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2015\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"08","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2015\/\/08\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"19","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2015\/\/08\/\/19\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Going beyond CRM: Don’t drive your talent to the competition","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2015\/08\/19\/crm-employees-engagement\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]