Good retention strategy respects staff concerns
RETAINING talented employees is one of the topmost priorities of employers today. Reasons for attrition could be the innumerable changes engulfing workplaces, like reorganisation, higher performance standards and resultant high-pressure levels.
The challenge is not only to attract the best talent but also to retain them. Rising opportunities for career development, lifestyle decisions, job mobility, unbalanced work life, poor mentoring and stress are some factors which influence an individual's decision to continue or quit.
Among other things, a retention strategy demands respecting employees' concerns right from their entry into the organisation till their retirement. It also encompasses the organisation's ability to provide the best of work climates.
What troubles employees?
Employees expect employers to:
Provide induction
Create a good work environment
Motivate them to work
Train them
Provide a suitable compensation package
Implement reward strategies
Counsel them
Hold affable exit interviews
Appropriate HR strategies alone can satisfy employee expectations. Retention will not be a major concern if the organisation stands firm on its values and promises and builds employee trust. Before designing its retention strategies, the organisation must do some homework in terms of:
Corporate image: Maintaining corporate image is an effective way to attract the talented. The organisation has to ensure that it is sought after for employment by cashing on its goodwill and reputation
Saleable features — The organisation must identify its strengths and opportunities and portray them effectively. This is almost equivalent to selling the organisation to the new recruits, it helps in building positive impressions initially
Turnover - Organisations must hold strict exit interviews and review reasons for turnover. The information must be ideally used to plan strategies for retention. Those issues that might drive talent to leave should be dealt with immediately
Continuous development - Unless organisations adapt to changes and develop, they cannot mentor their employees and new recruits. Give the new recruits every reason to work for the organisation and build a long-term relationship
Information use — All information about the new recruits should be kept in mind even after the recruitment process ends. This will help in identifying their potential and setting performance targets thereby, maximising the recruit's performance
Cultural profile — Matching the profile of the recruit with the cultural profile of the organisation is crucial. Organisations should look for the best fit into their territory with reviews from their colleagues, customers and managers.
Retention strategies
Training programmes — Organisations should design training programmes that match employee competencies with current trends. For example, PriceWaterhouse, Hewlett Packard and Ernst & Young introduced a new online training and counselling programme that significantly brought down the turnover rate. IBM set up a career centre where career development programmes were emphasised
Work-Life equilibrium — This is essential, as it caters to employees' personal needs while retaining them. Steve Bigari introduced "McFamily Benefits" to tackle turnover in McDonald's fast food restaurants in Colorado Springs. The scheme offers education, health care, housing and transportation facilities along with stock options to its employees. The idea was to create trust between the employee and the employer
Effective mentoring — Another reason for turnover is lack of effective mentoring skills. Employees get de-motivated in the absence of proper mentors
Challenges — They help employees prove their worth and bring out their latent potential
Autonomy — Giving employees responsible tasks, while giving them the freedom to work in their own style motivates them to stay on
Good relationships - Healthy relationships among the line members and staff members inspire employees to stay on in any organisation
Attractive compensation package — Compensation plays an important role in attracting, motivating and retaining employees.
Loss of human capital, lower productivity and dismal performance levels are the negative consequences of high turnover. Creative retention strategies therefore have to be emphasised. This is the responsibility of management and every employee of the organisation has to view it as a calculated organisational challenge.
BINDU MADHAVI
faqs@cnkonline.com
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