Focus on Employee Strengths for High Engagement, Retention

On a recent Called to Coach: Australia Edition, we spoke with Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach Murray Guest.

Much of Murray's work is with organizational leaders who are continually looking to keep employee engagement and retention as high as possible. In order to do this, he says it's important to get leaders to focus on the strengths of their people, rather than trying to fill in the deficiency gaps. When leaders position employees into areas that don't play to their strengths, it has a negative effect on their engagement levels, and can compromise the quality of their work.

Murray said that although incorporating strengths into an organization's day-to-day operations is imperative, ingraining them into the entire framework of the company is even more crucial. To do this, strengths must be introduced into all areas and timelines of an employee's career and development, from onboarding all the way to retirement.

One of the stories Murray shared involved a client who felt disengaged in his job and wanted to turn his yoga hobby into a career. During the transition process, Murray noticed that his client was pushing aside his strengths, which caused him to lose confidence in this endeavor. But as soon as he began to purposefully apply his strengths into his yoga business, his entire demeanor changed, and he was once again energized and confident.

To hear more about Murray and his coaching experiences and expertise, watch the full video or listen to the audio above.

Murray Guest's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are Relator, Futuristic, Individualization, Communication and Responsibility.