Employee retention is about keeping hold of your best employees so that the employees have the feeling: “able to go but happy to stay“. Employee retention measures can be applied to a rational and normative level. Rational commitment is based on the costs associated with leaving the company. But, when work is done mainly for rewards and not for the sake of the action itself; the measure misses its original purpose, and the employee loses his enthusiasm at work.
An ideal employee experience during the entire employee journey sounds simple, but organizations that succeed in motivating employees and allowing them to do the right things are scarce. The Gallup Engagement Index – a study on job quality shows that out of every 100 workers in a company, only 15 people have an effective commitment – a high emotional attachment and voluntarily commit themselves beyond measure to their employer. They identify with their department and with the products of their company. Retention management requires structural work to improve the employee experience based on a well-structured employee journey.
Selective employee retention: No one likes to throw money out the window
We must admit that there is always a certain level of turnover, whether voluntary and avoidable dissatisfaction of the employee. Employee turnover, when it has a moderate level, can have a positive impact: it is then synonymous with new ideas and approaches.
Some time ago, an article appeared about staff turnover, “why Amazon offers employees up to $5,000 to leave the organization”. It can also be beneficial to let people leave via natural turnover. However, high turnover is associated with the necessary costs. It also seizes the other employees who have to train new colleagues and to fill unfilled job openings.
Keep your finger on the pulse:
It is essential for the company to put in place a strategy to retain their best employees, who represent a real competitive advantage. And accordingly, the measures should target the right employees. Experts recommend answering these questions:
- Which employees are hard to replace within the industry?
- Which employees hold key strategic positions?
- What are the causes of the turnover within your organization?
If you are not aware of this, we recommend conducting the exit interview. The exit interview can provide useful information when it comes to the reasons and cause of your staff turnover.
Some days and projects are more challenging than others. Talk to employees regularly and ask them how they are doing;
- Are the employment conditions not aligned with the current time and market?
- Is the workload too high?
- Is the atmosphere not safe?
- Are there too few career opportunities?
Problems can also arise due to an uncompetitive, unequal or unfair payment system. And, possible actions may include revision of wage levels based on market research and involvement of workers in the development and implementation of a performance appraisal system and a payroll system based on results.
Define the long-term vision:
New employees without proper training may experience an “adaptation crisis” when they start work.
Discuss the future perspectives of employees.
Help them set and achieve goals.
Identify whether employees are interested in this. Provide regular, informative and understandable feedback. And,
Find out what the training options are.
It is necessary to develop and launch training programs and training series that allow you to speed up for new employees the process of acquiring and learning the basic skills; skills and knowledge necessary for the successful start of their work activities.
In the past, companies mainly invested in younger employees, who then remained with their entire working life in the same company. Nowadays it’s no longer like that. Today, older employees are often more loyal. No doubt – it is also necessary to invest in them – depending on their individual qualification needs.
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