Intentional Development: Combatting the #1 Reason People Leave Companies

It was 2021 and I remember drafting a message to the entire firm at Baker Tilly.

The month was September and we were still at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and 'The Great Resignation" was in full effect. 11.5 million people were leaving their jobs and leaders at organizations were panicking.

It felt like so many leaders were scratching their heads trying to figure out why people would want to leave their organizations...

"We have great benefits and pay... what gives?"

To me, the introduction of the pandemic highlighted how the ways we had been working weren't working anymore.

• Requiring people to come into the office...

• Evaluating people based on their time inputs...

• A standardized 40-hour workweek (which often ballooned to more)...

These aspects of the work experience had been broken for a long time and it took a major global experience to bring them to light.

There's something else though...

While pay and benefits (features) are important, I believe a crucial thing organizations need to get right to retain the best talent is the way they develop people.

And if you think that means things like providing standardized leadership training... my definition of intentional development is very different.

Today I'll share how I define intentional development and how intentional development can combat the #1 reason people leave organizations.

Remember, growing and scaling an organization requires financial capital and intellectual capital. Translated: money and people.

Attracting and retaining great people is crucial to your ability to thrive as a relevant and sustainable firm. So if that's what you aspire to, it's imperative you get this part right.

Here's how...

Why are people leaving?

If you do a quick Google search about why people leave companies, you'll see the top results reflect things like:

• A lack of opportunity for growth or promotion

• A lack of development and training

• A lack of a clear career path

• A desire to try something new

To me, these signify a main idea: People don't see a future for themselves at their organization.

They don't believe that staying is going to provide them with long-term personal or professional benefits.

So of course they leave! I don't blame them....that's a HUGE issue!

And things like pet insurance, foosball tables, 401K's, or monthly gym stipends aren't going to address the heart of the problem.

People want their leadership and organization to understand them as individuals, what they want to achieve in their career, and help them design a path to get there.

Intentional Development Defined

Alright, so if intentional development is so important, what is it?

Here's how I define it:

Intentional Development(n): Understanding people's unique values and aspirations and providing tailored professional opportunities that align with the organization's strategy and goals.

Let's break this down...

1) "Understanding people's unique values and aspirations"

When's the last time you had a conversation with a team member about what their professional goals are?

What's important to them? What new things do they want to learn and experiences they hope to be afforded? What type of position do they seek to hold someday?

So often, leaders hire people for a role and wait for that person to express they want something else (or that person says they are leaving) before the leader even thinks to do something about it!

If we want to retain great people, we have to be proactive about understanding where people want to go and what's important to them.

Either you are having that conversation with them or someone outside of your company is. You decide.

2) "Providing tailored professional opportunities"

I once had a talented team member who was an operations leader of a practice I was leading.

Their career aspiration? To become a COO. Of course, I only knew that because I had an intentional conversation about it.

Talented person. Sharp individual. I could tell they had useful skill sets, but the work they were doing within the practice wasn't relevant to their abilities.

So they were doing the work we needed, but not in a way that was bringing them or the organization exceptional value.

Since I knew this person's goals, recognized their talent, and also saw they (and the organization) weren't maximizing their abilities, I had two options:

1) Keep this person in their current role (and likely start the timer before they came to me telling me they were leaving the company).

2) Be intentional about finding this person a new opportunity within the organization that fits their skillsets (and likely keeps them in the company).

So, I took a short-term "loss" and identified an opportunity to move this person into a new role in another part of the organization. A new role that utilized their skillsets and would provide a better path to their career aspirations.

Sure, it may have hurt my team in the moment because it left a hole I had to fill.

The way I look at it... either it was going to happen now (when I decided) or it was going to happen later (when the person decided to leave).

And by the way, these tailored professional opportunities I'm talking about can also look like specialized training or skill development to help people grow in areas of interest.

If you know someone wants to grow in a certain area, help them identify work or training opportunities to support that growth.

At the end of the day, we need to consider the cost of keeping people in roles that don't benefit or challenge them. Because you better believe there is a cost—to the person and to the organization.

3) "That aligns the organization's strategy and goals"

I've often said that "people before numbers" is BS. It's "people AND numbers". It's the reality of leading an organization (or team)—one doesn't come before the other.

Look, I've sat in the CEO chair and I recognize we can't prioritize people's career aspirations over the organization's success.

Those things need to go hand in hand.

Identifying new opportunities for someone within the organization needs to support the organization in reaching its goals.

If it doesn't?

That's ok to recognize! It might mean it's time to have a difficult conversation and explain to the team member that their career goals aren't aligned with the organization's path. It's ok to allow the person to identify if they'd be better suited to grow and accomplish their goals with another organization.

It's still a positive long-term result for both parties.

As leaders, we still have a responsibility to help the organization accomplish strategy, so the people decisions we make need to support that.

Be intentional.

Here's the thing... I've had enough mentorship calls with people recently to know that this approach to intentional development isn't some nice idea or optional approach.

It's required—if you want to retain talent, that is.

People are looking for someone to listen to their goals and aspirations and help them design a path to get there.

Either that person is you (and your organization) or it's someone outside of your company.

I'll be choosing to act with intention and working with the organizations and leaders I advise to do the same.

With intention,
Alan D Whitman