Answer 'Yes' to Your Employees' Biggest Question

Only four in 10 U.S. employees strongly agree that they get to do what they do best every day at work. Over half are actively looking for a new job or are open to one -- and when they do land a new role, 91% of the time it's at a different company.

Those numbers signify something greater than a search for the "correct" career. They represent employees' search for an answer to the question, "Do I get to use my strengths here, and do I get to do what I do best every single day?"

If you're a leader, it's a question you need to answer affirmatively, enthusiastically and daily.

That answer can be -- should be -- your employee proposition: Workers who use their strengths every day are three times more likely to report having an excellent quality of life, six times more likely to be engaged at work, 8% more productive and 15% less likely to quit.

And when asked to list the top three characteristics of work in order of importance, every age category that Gallup has tested -- from baby boomers to Generation Z -- says the single most important aspect of a job is that it "allows me to do what I do best."

You can't identify the correct career for everyone, but you can create a culture that brings out the best in your employees. Here's how.

Start With Strengths

Every employee, starting with your executive team and working outward, needs to learn their complete, rank-ordered list of strengths.

Those traits are innate, unchangeable and powerful, though coaching refines them. It improves business outcomes too -- strengths-based employee development returns up to 29% increased profit, 19% increased sales, 72% lower attrition and 7% higher customer engagement, on average. The most promising place to look for natural talent or potential career alignment is in an individual's approach to the role, and CliftonStrengths is the map.

Move From Boss to Coach

Managers are almost entirely responsible for the employee experience -- 70% of the variance in team engagement can be traced back to their manager's behavior.

If a worker feels motivated, inspired, ambitious or capable, it's largely because of the manager.

But few managers know how to coach workers toward their strengths. Almost half of employees (47%) get feedback from their manager a few times a year or less, and it makes their performance worse about a third of the time. Managers have to get better at coaching. There's no other way to enable employees to use their strengths and do what they do best every day.

Focus on Development

Employees need to learn and grow. It's a seminal element of their engagement and wellbeing.

Their retention too: Gallup analytics finds that companies that invest in development are twice as likely to retain their employees and that the No. 1 reason people change jobs is for "career growth opportunities." A focus on strengths is half the battle -- they show you where you shine -- but investing in development is crucial to enabling workers to do what they do best every day and retaining talent. This is particularly true of high-performing teams and workers, Gallup research indicates, who want to achieve and have plenty of opportunity elsewhere.

The employee experience at your company will encourage people to stay or leave, develop or stagnate, produce or spin their wheels. Your wheels too. The ones that take you to organic growth -- or behind your competitors. So when your employees ask themselves, "Do I get to use my strengths here, and do I get to do what I do best every single day?" they must be able to answer "yes" as affirmatively as you do.

A positive answer means your workforce is operating at its peak. A negative answer suggests a serious loss of potential -- and a probable loss of employees.