The Difference is in the Design
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The Difference is in the Design |
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How to Retain Valuable Employees by Audrey Choden Today's companies face a difficult challenge: retaining valuable employees. When they quit their jobs, these employees take valuable skills and knowledge with them to another company. At a time when the available workforce is shrinking, companies must compete for new workers. Even then, they end up replacing experienced employees with ones who require significant training and time to become productive on the job. Yet many companies fail to recognize the importance of retaining valuable employees and are ill equipped to handle their turnover.
AC: In your book, you mention Four Keys to retaining the right employees:
How
common is it for employers to rely on providing benefits to
employees such as telecommuting, on-site day care and so forth,
rather than changing those things that cause high
turnover such as poor management or inadequate working
conditions? LB:
It is very common for employers to try tangible solutions first.
The tangible things are important, like a ticket to enter the
stadium, but they are not the difference makers. Few are doing
the more difficult intangible things that truly distinguish the
work environment and culture and require more commitment, energy,
time and caring. That's why there will always be only a handful
of true employers of choice. AC:
You wrote in your book
"Companies that truly regard their employees as assets in
which to invest still seem to be in the minority." Why do
you think this is the case? What would it take for
more companies to share this perspective? LB:
Good question. I think it's an attitude that has been around for
ages, since slavery/serfdom, that views people as mere resources,
objects, stick figures, cannon fodder, and fuel to be burned,
instead of feeling human beings whose welfare needs to be
sustained in order to sustain their productivity. Many
senior leaders have over-developed their thinking function at the
expense of their feeling function in order to make the tough
decisions they have to make. The challenge now is to convince
these leaders that the humane way is also the most
profitable way, which has been proven. Still, the need to be
tough, macho, hard-nosed, lean and mean too often overrides that
recognition. AC:
Have you found managers to be willing to change
their own behavior in order to increase retention? LB:
Not as willing as they need to be in order to make their
companies employers of choice. Most are in their late 30's to
late 50's and grew up with a different employment contract than
the G-Xers they are now trying to keep. Many of them hold
out-dated beliefs, such as money or benefits is the main reason
people leave and is the only solution to turnover. They believe
that turnover is an
acceptable cost of doing business. They think younger workers should just shut up and pay their dues
as they did. AC:
What types of training and development initiatives play an
important part in an employee retention program? LB:
The top 100 best places to work in America in Fortune magazine
averaged 40 hours of training per year--that's commitment to
training, and that's what today's workers are looking for,
because they want to increase their value/portfolio, no matter
how long they stay. Some employers chafe at the idea of training
their people, then watching them leave, but the research shows
that employees who receive the most training are more likely to
stay than those who receive little. AC:
In an article you wrote for the KC Star, you mentioned that
"many companies are now withholding managers' bonus money if
they fail to achieve desired retention results." What other
ways do companies motivate managers to fulfill their role in the
employee retention initiative? LB: I am encouraged to hear of more and more companies who recognize the importance of the manager's role and are trying new initiatives. Right Management Consultants provides training for managers to help them become better career coaches ("Partnering With Your People") and a workshop called "The Right Way to Retain." Some
are introducing new manager selection initiatives where they have
to take more extensive personality assessments, and programs,
like FedEx's Leadership Effectiveness and Evaluation Program
(LEAP) where prospective new managers have to sit through a day
listening to current managers discuss the people management
headaches they face. One company has a 20% dropout rate from such
a program, which is a good thing. Others,
like Security Benefit Companies in Topeka have upward evaluation
systems, where employees rate their managers on their people
management capabilities and the feedback goes to the manager's
boss. Other companies use employee surveys and exit data to
identify managers who are driving employees out, and then they
are put into a coaching program, reassigned or terminated. The main thing is to create a new sense of accountability among all managers about the criticality of their role in keeping good people, then follow through by truly holding them accountable. Very few companies truly do this. General Electric has made a new commitment to it, but I haven't heard how well it's working yet. AC:
What is the first thing a company with a high turnover rate
should do to turn itself around? Assuming that management is usually
interested in short-term results, what action would provide the
greatest benefit in a relatively short amount of time? LB:
The first thing
companies should do is to ask their present employees why they
stay and former employees why they left. We recommend that
companies hire a third party to do this, as employees won't tell
the company the truth for fear they will burn a bridge. The exit
interviews should take place 2-6 weeks after the employee has
resigned. Based
on what companies learn from this "retention audit
survey", they must design new initiatives, often revolving
around selection, new hire orientation, and manager training, and
sometimes pay and benefits, that provide what has been missing.
Without the survey process, it's a hit and miss proposition.
There is no magic bullet, but the simplest thing to do is to
communicate with the highest value employees, tell them how much
they are valued and ask, "What can we do to keep you." AC:
Many of today's businesses are having financial problems and
laying off employees due to the economic slowdown. What should a
company do to keep valuable employees from leaving voluntarily? LB:
When companies conduct layoffs and downsizings, they should
immediately communicate to those they most want to keep what the
new vision for the company's future success is, tell them how
important they are to achieving this future vision, then ask them
what it will take for them to become more committed to the
company, then they do all they can to give it to them. Many
companies fail to do these simple, common sense steps. Leigh Branham is vice president of consulting services with Right Management Consultants in Overland Park, KS. He can be reached at leigh.branham@right.com or 913.323.2303. His book Keeping the People Who Keep You in Business: 24 Ways to Hang On to Your Most Valuable Talent is published by AMACOM. Like this article? Check out other Timely Topics. Timely Topics is written by Audrey Choden. Please send
questions or comments to achoden@trainingbydesign.com. |
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Send mail to achoden@trainingbydesign.com with
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To get a better idea of
what
companies are doing to retain employees, I interviewed Leigh
Branham, author of Keeping the People Who Keep You
in Business: 24 Ways to Hang On to Your Most Valuable Talent.