Come the New Year, people traditionally reconsider their career paths. Recent press has highlighted that women are increasingly leaving the corporate world to become entrepreneurs.
Like it or not, your female workforce won’t be able to picture a future with you if you fail to motivate them. Take a moment to put yourself in their shoes and think of what they want from you:
“I’m not passionate about my job”
This is not about fake enthusiasm when the boss is within earshot, this is the fundamental premise that a woman’s heart must be in what she does in order to thrive. Our research, and numerous studies such as the On-Ramps, Off-Ramps Revisited by the Centre for Work Life Policy, shows that the primary reason women leave is because they don’t do a job just to pay the bills. The dollar sign is not as important as having their heart in their role…
“My job is taking over my life”
Put more pressure on your female employees’ workload and know that she is forced to balance this by subtracting from her family and home commitments: more flexibility is high on the wish list of most female executives. So, push her too far and next time she takes an inventory of how she spends her time, she may feel she wants to stretch her wings elsewhere.
“I feel creatively stifled”
This employee enjoys her job and has looked for ways to improve her situation, but can’t turn the job into what she really wants. Nearly half of those surveyed in our recent research said that they wanted to be able to innovate and collaborate more. Don’t turn her into someone she’s not by keeping her nose to the grindstone.
“This is not the right place for me”
Women are more likely to align themselves with a company whose ethos mirrors her own. Embrace her world, offer her strategies for a sustainable working life and she will reciprocate with a strong commitment to your business.
“Other jobs look better”
If this is your first step into gender-savvy recruitment and retention, the good news is that you follow the lead of some clear leaders in the field. Don’t let your investment go to waste, act now to develop a strategy to retain and reinvigorate your female workforce.
Want to find out how to retain your top female talent? Buy Your Loss: How to Win Back your Female Talent- A gender savvy business plan for competitive advantage.
