What Makes an Agent Unhappy? – Part 3

by | Jun 7, 2019

by Ben Hess, Managing Director, ThirdPool Recruiting

When stuck in a work routine, many people operate from a dark place. It becomes difficult for them to recognize the reality of their situation.

Your job as a recruiter or hiring manager: Turn the lights on!

Researchers have discovered what tends to make a workplace a bright place. We covered two factors yesterday, and here are two more.

Culture Fit. Performance and happiness at work are really high when employees feel they fit within their organizational culture. Not fitting in a job is like wearing the wrong clothes to a party—all the time. It’s hugely draining and de-energizing.

Shared Commitment. Commitment matters because it taps into the macro reasons of why you do the work you do. Some of the underlying elements of commitment are perceiving you’re doing something worthwhile, having strong intrinsic interest in your job and feeling that the vision of your organization resonates with your purpose.

To turn the lights on, craft questions that uncover the unhappiness that a recruiting prospect may be experiencing.

“Do you have good friends and colleagues at work who value you and how you contribute?”

“Do the goals and objectives of your broker resonate with your personal goals?

The research leads you to the place where the pain most likely exists.  The questions bring the pain to the surface.

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The Attrition Variables

The Attrition Variables

While these attrition constants still have the greatest influence, there are some emerging attrition variables worth noting. People also tend to leave companies when: They feel like they’re not doing as well as others in their peer group outside the company. They feel like they’re not as far along as they should be at a certain point in life.

The Attrition Constants

The Attrition Constants

If you’re not focusing most of your retention effort on these issues, you’ll miss the mark. If you’re not focusing most of your recruiting effort on exploiting these weaknesses among your competitors, you’re missing the best opportunities.

The Persistence Mindset

The Persistence Mindset

A leader equipped with this mindset can have a profound effect on the life and career of each individual they engage. It works because an agent is getting a real-time glimpse of what it would be like to work on your team. But it only becomes believable when it is persistently applied over time.