Should I stay or should I go?

I spent some time recently watching a documentary about PGA golf.  It is called “Full Swing”.  It is a series that provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the lives of various players on the PGA tour, highlighting success and failure along the way.  Throughout the documentary, it addresses the division that has been created among players who were once colleagues, and often friends, as the result of the newly formed LIV Golf.  Several top players on the PGA tour have opted to leave and join the controversial LIV Golf.  They did this knowing they would potentially lose sponsors and tournament exemptions, which has happened to some.  Most would say they did it for the money, which was likely a huge factor, but some have said it affords them a better balance with their personal life.  Others stayed despite the incredible offers they received.  

While watching the tournament, I started thinking about all of the controversy within golf these days and the fact that top players are leaving the PGA, while others stayed, no matter how much they would benefit financially if they left.  It sparked a healthy debate with my husband.  The debate surrounded this question…Is the organization responsible for the success of the players or are the players responsible for the success of the organization?  Think of the players as your employees.  Do they owe their success to your organization or do you owe the success of your organization to them?  It’s kind of a chicken vs. egg argument.  Every good employer affords their employees opportunities to learn and grow, which contributes to the employee’s future success.  Likewise, every good employee cares about and contributes to the success of the organization.  In a healthy employer-employee relationship, both parties should benefit… at least in my opinion.

Competitors will always be a threat, especially when it comes to retention of top talent. Does whoever pays the most always win? It has sure felt that way recently when it comes to nursing talent during the pandemic.  Since 2020, it has been nearly impossible for ASCs to compete with the high wages offered by hospitals and travel agencies. So did those organizations win?  I would say, not necessarily.  Once the bar is raised, it is not easily lowered.  Now that the gold rush is ending/over, I often wonder what the retention rate is?  I also wonder how many of the nurses who took the short-term gain are still happy with their decision?  When LIV Golf raised the stakes and players migrated from the PGA, the PGA had no choice but to respond to ensure they could retain their remaining talent.  That is exactly what ASCs were forced to do when faced with the unmatchable pay and bonuses being offered to nurses by hospitals and travel agencies.  The PGA increased the purses and lowered the minimum tournament requirement to compete with the perks that LIV Golf was offering.   My ASC did something very similar.  We raised our pay scale and made sure we assessed our culture so employees would continue to be happy working for us.  Obviously our new pay scale was not nearly enough to directly compete, however, it was enough to make employees feel very appreciated.  I know of several other facilities who took a similar approach.  When faced with a threat, you must respond to neutralize it as best you can.

One thing I have learned for certain is that a person who finds reasons to be unhappy will be unhappy no matter how much money they make.  The key is to identify the employees who are basically happy and who support the organization and its mission – then do everything in your power to help them be successful and grow.  Loyalty isn’t a guarantee, it is earned. That’s true of both sides.  As an employer and leader, I would want to be sure my employees have a reason to turn down a better financial offer.  As I was saying earlier, several golfers turned down significant offers from LIV Golf.  Some offers were reported to be hundreds of millions, yet they were rejected.  It has been reported that Tiger Woods turned down somewhere between $700 and $800 million.  Whether it be out of loyalty to the sport, loyalty to the PGA, or loyalty to their principles – I have to think loyalty was a factor.  Money is clearly not what motivates these people.

My advice is to take time to understand what motivates your staff (besides money).  There are many ways you can do this.  A survey is one of the easiest ways to gather information, especially if you have a large staff.  I don’t mean an employee satisfaction survey, which is still very important to do.  I mean a survey to determine what motivates them.  The survey could include questions like “Other than making money, what do you like most about coming to work every day?”.  The response options could be “my work friendships”, “taking a break from my personal life”, “learning new things”, “being challenged”, etc…  Another question might be “Besides monetary rewards, what things make you feel appreciated?”.  You’ll be surprised what you learn.  If you can’t offer a fat paycheck, you may be able to offer perks that will make the employee feel equally appreciated.  Sometimes a simple “thank you” will do the job.

Getting feedback from each staff member will help you focus your retention efforts in the right way.  Similar to the five love languages, not every employee speaks the same language when it comes to motivation and satisfaction.  Not every employee requires the same things to be happy.  While I always let staff know that I do care about their happiness, I also remind them that I am not responsible for their happiness.  Leaders can only provide a framework…the employee has to decide to be happy or not.  We all hope to have a team filled with happy employees, but that isn’t reality in most situations.  Recognize that if you do your part, the rest is out of your control.  You might also ask yourself this question, “If I were offered 50% more than I currently earn, what would stop me from taking it”?

Drop me a line to tell me what topics in the ASC world interest you!  

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