Give Retention Front-Seat Attention

Everyone is familiar with a house of cards. And if not, they’re familiar with Jenga, either from childhood or from the play area at your favorite bar.

Both things capture the same theory — that a missing card or a misaligned wooden brick could turn a solid structure into a fragile one and send it tumbling to pieces. The same can be said for business.

And that’s the idea behind H.A.L.O., the proprietary business system developed by WHYFOR’s founder and used to assess and find solutions for one or more of the six challenges every business faces. Because every business, regardless of industry, faces the same universal challenges.

We’ve talked about how relationships can impact reputation and how reputation can impact recruitment. See? Jenga. One loose brick, or one challenge in one area of a business, can hamstring other departments or initiatives.

And sometimes it happens without anyone ever even realizing it. Because not all of the six challenges, the ones we refer to as the six Rs, have the same voice. They don’t all get paid the same level of attention. Some stay in the background, making it easier to overlook their impact.

One example is retention, the last of the six Rs in our H.A.L.O. series. Retention, as in employee retention and client retention — both of which are pretty critical to successful business operations.

For both scenarios, why would a business struggle with retention? Greener pastures, or at least the perception of it, could be one reason. And what’s in those pastures?

From an employee perspective, likely more money, better benefits, better alignment with values, more convenience or more inner fulfillment. From a client perspective, it could include spending less and getting more, better results, improved service and better alignment on values.

Either way, revenue growth depends on retention. Current labor statistics indicate it is a worker’s market with a record-breaking 10.1 million job openings in the U.S. as of the end of July, according to Forbes. And competition for business has never wavered as those seeking service are perpetually interested in receiving the most for the lowest cost possible.

So it’s fair to say that those who cannot retain employees will have a difficult time retaining clients, too. And if retention is a challenge, it’s very possible that reputation will suffer, which will undoubtedly impact revenue.

That was the sound of several cards falling after just one was pulled from its position.

But there are solutions for retention challenges and the H.A.L.O. business system bakes them right in. It begins with understanding why retention is a challenge and then determining how to adjust to improve the situation.

It may mean improved communication or an adjustment of roles or it may involve switching health insurance providers. The point is, everything is unknown until the work is done to dig in and expose the sore spots. And the same goes for client relationships.

H.A.L.O. helps with both. To learn more about our H.A.L.O. business system, download our one-sheet.