RETENTION STRATEGIES

Rapidly changing business environment

Important to attract and retain employees

High employee turnover affects morale of the other

employees Resignation of an employee Hiring cost, training cost, productivity loss Importance of having a good retention strategy

Some facts from Employee Attitude Surveys

Areas of Concerns

Lack of appreciation/recognition felt by

employees Not receiving feedback on performance Not establishing career goals for employees No clear understanding of how employees role fits within the organization
Study after study continues to direct to the link the link between these behaviors and the retention of talented employees

Interesting!
88% of employees leave their jobs for reasons other than

pay. However, 70% of managers think employees leave mainly for pay-related reasons.

Reasons for Employee Leaving

Employees feel the job or workplace is not what they

expected There is a mismatch between the job and person There is too little coaching and feedback There are too few growth and advancement opportunities Employees feel devalued and unrecognized Employees feel stress from overwork and have a work/life imbalance There is a loss of trust and confidence in senior leaders

Tools for Employee Retention

Employee Reward Program - You can make a provision

of Monthly or Quarterly Award (depending upon the budget) for the best employee, awarding 2 or 3 best workers each month. The award can be in terms of gifts or money. If it is money then it should be divided into two parts, first part to be given with the next month salary and the remaining after 6 months. In this way he/she can be retained for 6 more months. These rewards shall be considered at the time of appraisal.

 Career Development Program conditional assistance

for certain courses company will bear the expenses only if --- Performance Based Bonus - By this employee will be able to relate himself with the companys profit and hence will work hard. This bonus should be productivity based. One can make sure that this bonus is not adding extrapressure on the budget of the company and can be arranged by cutting a part of the salary hikes and presenting it to the employees in the form of bonus

 Employee Referral Plan -

This will reduce organizations cost (charges of external consultants and searching agencies) of hiring a new employee and up to an extent you can rely on this new resource. On every successful referral, employee can be given a referral bonus after 6 or 9 months of continuous working of the new employee as well as the existing employee. By this one can get a new employee at a reduced cost as well as are retaining the existing one for a longer period of time.

 Loyalty Bonus - One can introduce a Loyalty Bonus

Program in which employee can be rewarded after a successful completion of a specified period of time. This can be in the form of Money or Position.

 Employee Retreats/Recreation - Employees can be

taken to a trip or for an outing every year or bi-yearly. This trip can be started with an opening note about the management views and plans, strategies etc. At the same time the top management can be involved into some of the fun activities as this will make the employees feel that they are working in an open culture

 Gifts at Occasions Birthday gift vouchers, movie-

tickets for spouse at anniversary etc Mentoring - With a mentoring program, an organization pairs someone more experienced in a discipline with someone less experienced in a similar area, with the goal to develop specific competencies, provide performance feedback, and design an individualized career development plan (Goldenson, 2007).

 Instill Positive Culture - A company should establish a

series of values as the basis for culture such as honesty, excellence, attitude, respect, and teamwork (IOMA, 2008). A company that creates the right culture will have an advantage when it comes to attracting and keeping good employees.

 Use Communication to build Credibility - Many

employers get communication to flow up through a staff advisory council (or similar group) which solicits and/or receives employees opinions and suggestions and passes them on to upper management. Its also important for employees to know that the employer is really listening and responds to (or otherwise acknowledges) employee input.

 Show appreciation via compensation and benefits -

Offering things like competitive salaries, profit sharing, bonus programs, pension and health plans, paid time off, and tuition reimbursement sends a powerful message to employees about their importance at the organization. The rewards given to employees must be meaningful in order to impact their perception of the organization and therefore have a marked influence on its retention efforts.

 Coaching/Feedback - Its important for companies to

give feedback and coaching to employees so that their efforts stay aligned with the goals of the company and meet expectations. During an employees first few weeks on the job, an employer should provide intensive feedback. Employers should also provide formal and informal feedback to employees throughout the year.

Thank you!

Make Employees Feel Valued