A STUDY CONDUCTED BY academics at the Grenoble École de Management in France and the University of Surrey in the U. K. shows that people who energize their work colleagues are less likely to voluntarily leave a job. In addition, the study also found that poor performance and lack of fit are not the only reasons why an employee may get fired at work. Employees who dampen the energy of those around them are also likely to get the pink slip.

The in-depth study was performed with IT workers over a four-year period, and concludes that people who have“ energetic activations” with fellow employees stay on the job longer than their low-energy counterparts. However, employees with both high levels of energy and performance are more likely to leave an organization voluntarily. This is most likely due to having better alternatives elsewhere.

“ When someone leaves a job, it is rarely a total surprise— usually colleagues and bosses are aware that the person is growing more distant,” says Alexandra Gerbasi, director of Surrey Business School’ s Centre for Leadership & Decision Making.“ What this research shows is that having a low level of energizing interactions, which causes an individual to feel isolated in their job, is often a major factor behind their decision to leave.”

So, what does this mean for your company? Retaining staff is a key area of focus for many because turnover can cost big in terms of recruitment fees and training. It is estimated that replacing a high-level executive can cost a company up to 4.5 times his or her salary. That’ s enough to make any company work hard to retain their best and brightest talents.

According to researchers, there are several strategies managers may implement to retain staff, such as including enthusiasm and energy as dimensions in rating schemes during the hiring process and performance evaluations, and focusing on increasing energy in leadership training.

What strategies are you implementing to retain your best employees? Do you notice a dip of energy levels among your spa staff? If so, what are your strategies to turn the culture around? n

March / April 2017 ■ PULSE 17