The Great Retention - Finding Product-Market Fit With Your Team

It’s a new year, and while the champagne’s fizz has settled, a different kind of effervescence is bubbling up in the tech world: The Great Resignation. It’s the headline dominating every HR newsletter and the hushed whisper in every virtual water cooler. Employees, it seems, are voting with their feet (or rather, their mouse clicks to job boards) in record numbers. And let’s be honest, as leaders, it’s got us a tad bit nervous.

But here’s the thing: I’ve spent the better part of two decades building products that people love, products that solve real problems, and products that, frankly, keep users coming back for more. And in those years, I’ve learned a thing or two about the power of product thinking. So, instead of panicking about this wave of departures, what if we reframed it? What if we saw our employees not just as colleagues, but as our most valued users? What if we treated our workplace like a product?

This isn’t about ping-pong tables and free kombucha (although, hey, I’m not complaining about either). This is about applying the same rigor, the same user-centricity, the same iterative approach that we use to build world-class products to the very experience of working at our companies. This is about finding product-market fit with our employees.

The “Employee Experience” is Your Most Important Product

Think about it. We obsess over user journeys, pain points, and delight factors when crafting our apps and services. We A/B test everything, from button colors to notification frequency, all in the pursuit of creating seamless, engaging experiences. Why should our approach to our internal teams be any different?

The “employee experience” encompasses everything from the moment a candidate first interacts with our careers page to the day they (hopefully not too soon) move on to their next adventure. It includes onboarding, compensation and benefits, learning and development opportunities, team dynamics, the tools we use, the flexibility we offer, and the overall culture we foster. Each of these touchpoints is an opportunity to either delight or disappoint, to retain or repel.

Applying the Product Playbook to People

So, how do we bring product thinking to the people side of the equation? Let’s break it down:

1. User Research: Listen, Really Listen, to Your Employees

Just as we wouldn’t dream of building a product without extensive user research, we can’t hope to improve the employee experience without truly understanding our people’s needs, motivations, and frustrations.

• Surveys are a start, but they’re not enough. We need to go deeper. Conduct regular “stay interviews” (the proactive cousin of the exit interview) to understand what keeps people engaged and what might be driving them away.
• Create feedback loops. Implement mechanisms for continuous feedback – suggestion boxes (physical or virtual), regular one-on-ones, anonymous Q\&A sessions with leadership. And most importantly, act on the feedback received.
• Segment your audience. Just like users of a product, employees have diverse needs and preferences. Consider factors like role, tenure, location, and even personal circumstances when analyzing feedback and designing solutions.

“The purpose of a business is to create a customer who creates customers.” — Shiv Singh

2. Empathy: Walk a Mile in Their Shoes

Empathy is the cornerstone of great product design. It’s about understanding the world from your user’s perspective, feeling their pain points, and anticipating their needs. The same principle applies here.

• Map the employee journey. Identify all the key touchpoints in an employee’s lifecycle, from recruitment to offboarding. For each stage, ask yourself: What are their goals? What challenges might they face? How can we make this experience smoother, more rewarding, and more aligned with their aspirations?
• Shadow your team. Spend a day in the shoes of different roles within your organization. Observe their workflows, the tools they use, the challenges they encounter. This firsthand experience can be incredibly eye-opening.
• Remember the human. Behind every data point, every KPI, every line of code, there’s a human being with their own unique set of circumstances. Be mindful of work-life balance, mental health, and personal well-being. It should not take a pandemic to remind us about these.

3. Iteration: Experiment, Measure, Learn, Repeat

Product development is an iterative process. We launch MVPs (Minimum Viable Products), gather data, learn from our mistakes, and continuously improve. We should apply the same agile mindset to the employee experience.

• Pilot new initiatives. Don’t be afraid to experiment with new programs, policies, or perks. Start small, gather data, and see what resonates. For example, you might pilot a flexible work program with a small team before rolling it out company-wide.
• Track key metrics. Define the metrics that matter for employee retention – things like employee satisfaction (eNPS), attrition rates, internal mobility, and even qualitative feedback from stay and exit interviews. Monitor these metrics closely and use them to measure the impact of your initiatives.
• Embrace failure as a learning opportunity. Not every experiment will be a success. That’s okay. The key is to learn from your failures, iterate, and keep striving for improvement.

4. Build a Culture of Ownership and Empowerment

Great products are built by teams who feel a sense of ownership and empowerment. They’re not just cogs in a machine; they’re active contributors, problem-solvers, and innovators.

• Foster a culture of psychological safety. Encourage open communication, where people feel comfortable sharing their ideas, challenging the status quo, and admitting their mistakes without fear of retribution.
• Give people autonomy and mastery. Provide opportunities for employees to take ownership of their work, develop new skills, and grow their careers within the organization.
• Recognize and reward contributions. Celebrate successes, acknowledge hard work, and show appreciation for the contributions of every team member.

“To win in the marketplace you must first win in the workplace.” — Doug Conant

The Future of Work is a Product We Build Together

The Great Resignation is not just a challenge; it’s an opportunity. It’s a chance for us to rethink the way we work, to build more human-centric organizations, and to create workplaces that are as compelling and engaging as the products we build.

By applying the principles of product thinking to the employee experience, we can create a “product-market fit” that not only attracts top talent but also retains them for the long haul. We can build companies where people don’t just show up for a paycheck but are truly invested in the mission, passionate about their work, and excited to come to work (or log on) every day.

This is not a quick fix. It’s a journey, a continuous process of listening, learning, and iterating. But I believe it’s a journey worth taking. Because at the end of the day, our people are our greatest asset. And when we invest in them, when we treat them like our most valued users, we’re not just building better workplaces; we’re building better companies, and a better future for all of us.

Let’s turn this “Great Resignation” into a “Great Retention” – one thoughtful, user-centric step at a time. Let’s make 2022 the year we find product-market fit with our amazing teams!

What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear your perspectives and experiences. Connect with me.