No matter your sport of choice, you can take a few lessons from your favorite sports team into the workplace.
When a team is down at halftime, they don’t throw out everything they’ve done to that point. No coach throws out their entire playbook in the middle of a game.
Instead, they make adjustments based on what happened in the first half. Taking into account player strengths and weaknesses, the overall environment, injuries, and other factors, coaches make second-half tweaks to their strategy. They still maintain their overall playbook and philosophy – they just make little adjustments based on their competition.
If you’re struggling to retain staff, and what you’re doing to keep them at your organization isn’t working, it’s probably time for adjustments on your end, too. That doesn’t mean you have to throw out your entire way of doing things. But take into account what you’re up against (rampant employee turnover) and see what kinds of adjustments you can make.
Do you and your managers (coaches) have the tools to analyze the situation your company is in and adjust properly? Have you been trained on how to manage certain types of players (Millennials)? Have you identified exactly when and why new hires leave?
If you don’t know the answers to these questions, it might be time to regroup. Do you keep doing what you’re doing, the way it’s always been done? Do you accuse the staff of being lazy and entitled?
Or, do you evaluate where you’re at in the game, own the situation, make adjustments, and win the game?
You’re the coach. And this play is up to you.