Getting and Keeping the Very Best

By Joel Myers

We all know that employee turnover is expensive. Attracting and retaining key employees has been and continues to be one of the most important human capital management isssues. Based on a recent examination of this issue, here are some thoughts that may help you guide your initiatives.

Three Keys To Retention

There are three basic thoughts to help you prioritize and shape your strategy for employee retention.

  1. Decide which positions and which employees really are key. While we acknowledge that every job and every individual is important to the business, some are more key than others. If we will admit it, there are some people or key roles where trunover would have a measureable impact on the company’s success. It is a good idea to identify those “mission-critical” roles and make sure that you are doing all that you can to avoid turnover in these key spots. Don’t limit your thinking to just the executive suite, unique capabilities can reside at any level.

  2. Make the environment rewarding and fun. Employees are less likely to leave a company where they have a good relationship with their manager, where they are recongized for their performance, where they are challenged and learn new things, and where they have friends. Pay, while important, is not a primary reason why people change jobs.

  3. Appeal to individual needs. More and more, companies are looking toward enhanced benefits for both full and part-time employees to help attract and retain key people. Part-time employees frequently earn paid vacation and holidays, prorated according to the number of hours worked. Quality of worklife benefits are also key, such as EAP services, flexible schedules, child care referrals, elder-care referrals, tuition assistance, family/work seminars, wellness programs, and telecommuting.

Taking Action

As a human capital strategist, what should you be doing to make sure that your organization is doing all that it should to attract and retain the best talent available?

  1. Survey your employees to learn what they think about their workplace. Initiating changes without the benefit of good data to guide you is risky and can be expensive. Why not ask first? Make indicated changes, and then ask again later. That way, odds are good that you will be spending your resources more wisely.

  2. Audit your compensation and benefits programs to make sure that they are competitive. Make sure your reward system recognizes perfromance.

  3. Train your leadership to make sure they are effective in managing your diverse workforce. An effective leader must manage his/her team one team-member at a time. This is a skill that can be learned through experience, through training, or, best, through a combination of training, coaching and practical application.

  4. Hire right in the first place. Hire only those who possess the right technical capabilities and the right experience. Equally important, hire those who possess the right personal characteristics to add value to your organization and to be successful.

The Centre Group provides human capital management advisory services in four broad areas:

  1. Reward Systems (compensation) design, development and implementation.
  2. Retained Executive Search
  3. Employee research (opinion and climate studies)
  4. Leadership Skills Development

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