In Part I (Scarlett Letter #49), I placed an emphasis on why low turnover is a valuable marketing asset for any professional services firm. Now, as promised, I’ll present some of Nagle Hartray’s secrets to staff retention success over all of these years. I checked in with Joe Hirsch, Business Development Director; Don McKay, Principal; and Kristin Baker, Marketing. This is what they shared:
Nagle Hartray’s Secrets to Low Turnover:
-Discipline to pursue only projects that staff would enjoy working on
-Cross pollination of design ideas, non-studio environment (e.g.: Healthcare, Education)
-Open and honest rapport across all levels of the organization
-Staff’s communal desire (shared values) to 1) achieve design excellence and 2) consistently exceed client expectations
-Cultural balance – between taking work very seriously and maintaining a loose office environment; enhanced by a multi-generational staff comprised of Silents, Boomers, X’ers and Millennials
-Co-worker respect among one another
-Better than average compensation package
-Atmosphere that promotes creativity
-Constant, but low-key mentoring
-Collaborative environment
Just because there is an excellent turnover rate does not mean that a firm does not also experience ups and downs. But here, in this example, something is going right at Nagle Hartray. Could it be that staff retention is what keeps them solid—surviving the various economic storms and world events during all these years?
It makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Perhaps it makes you want to take another look at the turnover rate in your own firm. Is there something you could be doing better, for the sake of the individuals, the marketing efforts, and the firm’s overall health?
