The Pro: Denise Graziano
Title: CEO
Company: Graziano Associates (asi/213121), Fairfield, CT

Denise Graziano has not only had a distributorship for almost 30 years, but she’s also the author of Talent Is a Team Sport: The C-Suite Action Guide for Collaboration and Communication. It’s the result of years of studying corporate trends and recurrent challenges that leadership faces. “Attracting and retaining top talent is a pain point that’s not going away,” says Graziano. “Today’s talent challenges are more complex than ever. Solving them requires a team effort.”

Why is retention so difficult? One of the reasons is that sales reps in general tend to be what Graziano calls “flight risks” that have their eyes peeled constantly for new opportunities, of which there are many. “They’re some of the most in-demand workers right now,” she says. “Talented ones are hard to come by because selling isn’t an innate skill and not everyone’s had the same training. Companies need to make sure reps are a good fit and show them they’re valued once they’re hired.”

One way to mitigate turnover, Graziano suggests, is to use predictive analytics and sales assessment tools that can show if a prospective hires are a good fit by analyzing their personalities and motivations. While their resume may check all the boxes, analytic tools look at personalities, motivators, values and interests. It gives the employer deeper insights into what makes applicants tick, which can indicate whether or not they’re a good fit, thereby mitigating the chance of them leaving at a later date.

If it looks like a rep is preparing to leave – or maybe she even says it outright to her manager – don’t make the mistake of just offering a pay increase. There are various generation-specific wants and needs, and they’re often make-or-breaks when it comes to sticking with a company.

Millennials and Gen Z want flexible work hours, work/life balance and the ability to work remotely. They also may be looking at student debt pay-down opportunities, while older workers would appreciate healthcare pay-downs. Options should be tailored to the different generations in a given workplace.

Unfortunately, leadership doesn’t often understand the importance of personalized options when it comes to retention. If it’s been several years since a company has addressed the changing needs of their employees – particularly now that there are five generations in the workplace, sometimes all in the same building – it will be at a disadvantage when it comes to retaining talent.

Organizations that use sales assessments at the time of hire lower turnover rates by more than 11%. (HireDNA)

“Management often fails to ask for feedback,” says Graziano. “Workers then assume the employer doesn’t care. Or if they do survey employees but take no action, workers figure why even bother?”

Gleaning feedback from employees and taking steps to improve also requires collaboration among departments, says Graziano. Too often, companies are siloed and don’t communicate about their collective expectations and pain points to solve the talent problem. That makes it hard to find and retain talent, and creates a challenging environment for reps where expectations are often changing.

Instead of instituting real improvements, “they make assumptions about why people are leaving,” says Graziano. “Meanwhile, competitors are always circling, looking to poach talent.”

Stop the cycle of assumptions and excuses and start having real conversations with employees, says Graziano. Otherwise, managers will keep missing the signals their reps are giving them that they’re unhappy, and turnover will continue, with huge costs in dollars and morale.

Engagement efforts shouldn’t be too far apart, because then nothing actually changes, says Graziano. “More frequent check-ins allow companies to pivot and make changes quickly,” she says. “Any hiccup or friction that goes unaddressed can cause people to look elsewhere. Departments need to work together and everyone needs to take ownership.”