Back in my sales management days, I used to regularly hold “Personal Consultations” – or “PC’s – with my top reps.
This was basically a half-hour a week with my top performers to talk through their work ad help them advance to the “next level,” whatever that next level looked like for them. And that was the point. It wasn’t about forcing my objectives on them, but rather to see where they were at, where they wanted to be, and help them create a plan to get there. To provide them with the resources, the training and/or the time to move forward. I never had a rep quit the week I had a PC with them, which was kind of an amazing thing in a high turnover industry like direct sales.
Your team wants to feel that you care. That you’re there for them. That they have someone in their corner who understands what they’re going through and is willing to help them achieve their goals. I’ve said before that there is a lot we can learn from the Direct Sales world (regardless of how your company is structured) and I think PCs are one of the big takeaways.
When was the last time you had a real conversation with your top performers? Don’t wait for an annual review to find out they’ve been looking for another job. You retain top talent by helping them achieve their best.
Don’t spend all your time putting out fires… your top people need you as much as your problems do.
