Retention Strategies

Transcription

1 Insights Retention Strategies Staying One Step Ahead of the Competition Copyright Excel Global 2013 Excel Global Consulting Limited Page Consulting Limited

2 High Turnover is Costly: As an HR professional are you managing your top talent effectively? Whilst the prospect of losing your top performers may fill you with fear this has become a reality across the globe. High turnover is costly. Research suggests that direct replacement costs can reach as high as 50-60% of an employee s annual salary not to mention the hit on employee morale and customer loyalty. Losing high performance, skilled workers for any reason needs to be minimized and managed effectively to reduce the impact it has on your organizational performance. Regardless of the current economic climate, high performers with an extensive skills base will continue to jump ship. Even if you have been fortunate enough to weather the storm of the financial downturn with your best people still on board, it may be another story altogether once the market turns and more opportunities become available elsewhere with seemingly better prospects. Employee retention has become a critical issue for business performance and as HR professionals it is your job to ensure that attracting and retaining your top talent becomes a priority for you and your senior management team. High turnover can be costly both in time and money yet many organizations still do not have a comprehensive understanding about what makes some employees stay and others leave. Developing this understanding in your own organization as well as delivering this message loud and clear to your senior management is the first step towards creating a culture of commitment for attaining and retaining talent. Where to Begin? It s important to start at the very beginning and take a good look at your recruitment and hiring processes. Ask yourselves, are you hiring the right people to start with? Evidence suggests that recruitment practices will strongly influence turnover. Focus on attracting the best and hiring the right fit Excel Global Consulting Limited Page - 2 -

3 What Can You Do To Attract The Right People? Create an employer brand to attract skilled workers: Be clear on your values and focus on your direction and communicate these through your advertising, job descriptions, the hiring process and your recruitment partners. Recruit for Retention: Be sure your recruitment process is effective and focuses on helping you to get the right people on board. Research shows that some organizations have such a protracted and impersonal hiring process that top talent will not wait around for weeks or even months on end to hear about a job. Needless to say they will neither jump through hoops before looking elsewhere to be snapped up by an organization which recognizes their talent from the outset. Engage, Engage, Engage: Bright people need to be stimulated and kept focused. Create a culture of mutual respect between employer and employee which enables your staff to use their initiative and generate a sense of value. Attract and create loyal staff by offering opportunities to learn, develop and lead within a framework which benefits both the individual and the company. Select the Right Cultural Fit: During the hiring process assess the compatibility of each individual with your organization and the environment in which they will work. It is also worthwhile looking at whom they will be working with and if they will make a good addition to the team. Past work history, education and experience are all good indicators on whether or not your new hire is likely to stay with you long term. Why Do Employees Leave? There are a number of reasons an employee will leave their job some factors may be in your control, others may not. Reasons can vary from an impulse decision based on a work-related or personal issue, leaving for a better opportunity, following a spouse, following a career path or simply leaving with no plan or retiring. Generally an individual will chose to stay within an organization as long as they feel they are valued and the time and effort they contribute is met with an equal respect and reward in terms of praise and financial remuneration. This is a fine balance affected only by the individuals desire to leave the organization as well as the ease with which they could depart. Research shows that employees tend to follow one of four main paths when choosing to leave their job. Each path will have its own implications for the organization: 2013 Excel Global Consulting Limited Page - 3 -

4 Dissatisfaction: If the opportunities are not in place for professional career development talented employees will become disillusioned and frustrated. Investment in the individual is critical to performance and organizational success. The Grass is Greener: Talented people who feel undervalued or simply looked over will always seek out a better opportunity elsewhere and your competition will be waiting with open doors to welcome your best people. It is vital that you are constantly reassessing the market to ensure you are competitive in terms of rewards, opportunities for advancement and working environment. You can guarantee your best workers will constantly be reviewing the situation especially once the economy picks up and many more opportunities become available. Simply Following a Plan: Disciplined individuals will have a career plan laid out before them and moving up on the next rung of the ladder may not necessarily mean it will be with your organization. For example if they wish to return to further education. There are ways in which this can be addressed which may lead to some individuals changing their plans if they are generally satisfied with their employer such as offering rewards based on tenure or further education funding etc. Leaving on Impulse: This is often the most negative way for an individual to leave an organization and often leaves the question hanging-could this have been prevented? The answer is usually yes. An impulsive reaction strong enough to force an individual to quit their job is usually as a result of a build up over time with a final straw event or action. As an HR professional it is your responsibility to provide training and education to ensure conflict and unfair treatment is minimized and dealt with swiftly and appropriately. Why do Employees Stay? It s important to understand why individuals would choose to stay with an organization long term in order to create an environment which fosters more of the same. We are by our very nature emotional beings and creating attachments is part of our DNA and so it is with our working life. Some individuals become a part of the organizations community, building a web of connections and relationships extensive and deep enough that it would be too damaging to sever those ties. Others may find that the work life balance the company offers is good for their family life and their lifestyle or the job location is perfect and convenient right now and any change would seriously impact their overall happiness. By keeping these employees focused and continuing to create such a loyal and committed workforce companies will thrive as they produce happy and productive workers Excel Global Consulting Limited Page - 4 -

5 Reaching your Retention Goals There are a number of effective practices which can be implemented to help you keep your top talent. Here are some of the best practices to examine within your own organization: Management: The manager/employee relationship is often cited as the most important reason for an individual to quit their job. It is not always about money but about fair and honest treatment where the employee feels valued and heard. Communication is key to developing effective managers who bring out the best in their people. Focus on management training and development to realize your people potential. Engagement: This cannot be emphasized enough. Engaged employees are happy employees and happy employees will work hard, enjoy their jobs and remain committed and loyal. Communication: Involve employees in decisions that affect their jobs, discuss important issues with them and the overall direction of the company. Communicate goals, roles and responsibilities so people know what is expected of them and what they should expect from their managers and the business. Ask their opinions and listen to them, use their ideas and encourage and motivate them. Money Matters: Money always matters but more now than ever with today s uncertain financial climate. Link pay to performance and recognize excellence. This issue cannot be overlooked and should not be dismissed even in financially hard times. Learning & Development: Offer abundant opportunities for training and personal development and you will develop your own team of highly skilled individuals. Further education, mentoring and interesting projects are all good opportunities for growth. Motivation: The organizations values may be widely known, but what about your employees? Do you know what they value? Whilst you cannot adhere to the whim of every single member of staff, you may be able to gain an overview of what really matters to your best workers, the ones whom you do not want to lose. Would some fathers rather have extra paternity leave than a pay rise? Would some working mums be willing to take a pay cut for more time with their kids? Getting to know your staff, what motivates them and offering an open forum to discuss a more flexible approach may pay in more ways than you imagined Excel Global Consulting Limited Page - 5 -

6 As HR Professionals it is your role to develop and review the company s retention strategies. An in-depth analysis of turnover figures and current practices incorporating both internal and external benchmarking will help you and your senior management team to determine whether or not turnover is a problem within your organization. Begin by creating a culture within the organization where information is shared and discussed and encourage effective two way communication. Motivated and focused workers will remain loyal and committed but complacency amongst senior management who are not willing to recognize and reward good staff will ultimately pay the price on their bottom line. Reducing turnover of any size and its related costs will strengthen morale amongst workers, minimize disruption to teamwork and projects and dramatically reduce the pressure on the financial stability of your organization. Whilst contributing to productivity and overall business performance this is a critical and strategic move towards staying one step ahead of the competition. To gain more insight into developing effective Retention Strategies within your organization: Contact Emilia Gallo at egallo@excelglobal.com or visit Excel Global Consulting Limited Page - 6 -