People problems
People can notice you, choose to join, start with real enthusiasm and still disappear somewhere along the way.
Sometimes the issue is getting the right people interested. Sometimes it is what happens while they apply or join. Sometimes good people start well and slowly drift away.
The hard part is knowing where the problem actually starts.
Where can the problem sit?
Attract
Can the right people find you, understand the opportunity and choose you?
You might be seeing:
• Plenty of effort going into recruitment, but not much response
• Lots of interest from people who do not seem the right fit
• Good people looking but not applying
• People misunderstanding what the role or opportunity actually involves
• Other organisations seeming easier or more appealing to join
Engage
What happens when interest becomes an application, joining, work or participation?
You might be seeing:
• People applying and then disappearing
• Good candidates dropping out before they start
• Joining taking longer or feeling harder than it should
• People arriving unsure what is expected of them
• Early enthusiasm fading quickly
• Different people getting very different joining experiences
Retain
What makes people stay, contribute, drift away or leave?
You might be seeing:
• Good people leaving sooner than expected
• People quietly becoming less involved over time
• The same few people carrying more and more
• Recruitment constantly having to start again
• Problems only coming to light when somebody leaves
• People staying, but no longer giving what they once did
The obvious answer might be right. But do we know?
If people are leaving, pay might genuinely be the problem.
But the same symptom could also come from:
• Unclear expectations
• A difficult joining experience
• Poor or inconsistent communication
• The reality feeling different from what people expected
• Small frustrations building up over time
• Something changing between joining and everyday experience
Those are different problems.
They need different fixes.
So before spending more money fixing the obvious answer, it is worth finding out where the friction actually starts.
We look from the outside first
We start with what someone can actually see, hear and experience when they consider joining you.
Then we look inside the organisation at the systems, process, communication, evidence and intentions behind that experience.
The useful part is comparing the two.
What people experience.
What you intended.
What is actually happening.
Where the gap begins.
Different people problems need different kinds of help
Learn about a common people problem.
Explore a shared people problem with other business owners.
Work through one people problem inside your business
Investigate one focused part of the people experience.
See the whole People picture across Attract, Engage and Retain.
