'Khun Kriengsak, I'm worried about my talent turnover. I've already received some resignation letters," Komsan tells me. "I anticipate an increasing trend of higher turnover among my key talents. What do I need to do?"
"Khun Komsan, what made them quit?" I ask.
"From the exit interview reports, there's no clear indicator."
"How accurate do you think the exit interviews are?"
"Not very. Why is that?"
"Thai people are not very straightforward, particularly when giving bad news. Usually people don't want to express specific reasons why they're leaving _ particularly if they're leaving because of their boss. As Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman wrote in First, Break All the Rules: 'People leave managers, not companies."'
"Coach, how do I prevent my talented people from leaving my managers?"
"It's unlikely that you will be able to prevent them all. With the kind of growth we are experiencing, organisations are expanding. A talent shortage is not unusual," I tell him. I note that The Nation on Feb 7 cited research from the Grant Thornton International Business Report, in which 39% of businesses around the world said they were struggling to recruit the right people. A lack of technical skills cited as the primary problem by 64% of respondents.
"With that in mind, Khun Komsan, what do you need to do?" I ask.
"Coach, I have to ensure that my leadership team sees this issue as a top priority."
"That's good. What else?"
"I have to ensure that my managers are not a major reason for talent leaving."
"How do you do that?"
Khun Komsan searches for a document and shares it with me. "According to our talent turnover report, only one business unit has the highest turnover rate compared to the industry. The rest are in line with the market. I need to discuss this with the head of that unit. Once I learn more about the situation, I will be able to help her more."
"Khun Komsan, how would you describe the leadership style of this business unit head?"
"She's a high achiever who's eager for success. She has delivered a strong business performance for the past three years. I know that she's a demanding boss. But she's a straightforward person. I can be direct with her and she is direct with me as well. She's also a defensive person."
"How do you plan to approach her?"
"I think I will start by asking her about what's going on in her unit? Why is a high turnover rate of talent there?"
"What do you anticipate her reaction will be?"
"As a defensive person, she probably would feel that I am accusing her as a cause of the problem."
"What makes you think she would feel that way?"
"Because I've given feedback to her over the past three years about her aggressiveness, cautioning that it can lead to stress on the team. Eventually, they would not be able to tolerate it and would leave her."
"Khun Komsan, from what you just said it sounds like she's the only reason for the high turnover rate. Do you really think she's the only reason?
"Who else could be responsible for this problem?"
"Me!" He laughs. Then, he's quiet for a moment while he reflects.
"Actually Coach, I am also part of the problem because I have seen this trend for the past three years without taking any action. It's not fair to accuse her alone."
"That's great. I really admire your courage to take responsibility.
"Khun Komsan, let's do it over again. How would you approach the business unit head differently?"
"I will start by discussing the last year's performance with her. She had several remarkable achievements and I want to learn more about them. So, I will ask her to shed light on those achievements for me. Then, I will ask her about her concerns for this year. It's highly likely that she would raise the talent shortage issue with me.
"Once she mentions talent turnover, I will let her know that I had anticipated this trend since last year. Unfortunately, I didn't take it seriously. Hence, I helped create the problem. I know that no one is perfect. We should work together to overcome this problem.
"Then, I will ask her about her ideas to prevent this problem. She's a smart person. I am sure she will come up with reasonable answers."
Kriengsak Niratpattanasai provides executive coaching in leadership and diversity management under the brand TheCoach. He can be reached at coachkriengsak@yahoo.com