Employee retention has become one of the critical staffing challenges of our time. And the rules of the game have changed dramatically. Stable employment and lucrative compensation no longer have the influence they once did to keep workers with a company for the long term.
As a manager or business owner, you know that high retention levels are good for your company. But why should a worker stay with your firm, especially when the marketplace beckons with other opportunities? To hold onto your best workers, you must re-think your retention strategies.
“Re-recruit” Top Performers
You can bet that if you employ a number of talented and experienced professionals, there are plenty of other companies out there that have taken notice. Before your competitors have a chance to woo those workers away, you must “re-recruit” them yourself. This means “selling” them all over again on the advantages of working for your company, highlighting what’s unique and special about it.
Provide Well-Defined Career Paths
While you should avoid making pie-in-the-sky promises, you should be able to help them envision tangible rewards on the horizon — including promotions, raises, bonuses, training opportunities and profit-sharing. This applies to both junior staff as well as to those employees who already have considerable tenure.
While the old-style corporate hierarchies are a relic of the past, you can still create tiers of advancement within your business. In the context of performance reviews, talk to your employees about their aspirations and goals.
Foster Skill Building Through Cross-Training
If your company is a small one with limited upward mobility, you may want to offer cross-training as a way to help staff develop new skills and stay motivated and interested in their work. Your employees will value opportunities to gain exposure to roles and projects not necessarily in their job descriptions or current competency areas.
The benefit for your company is that you will have a more versatile group of employees with a better understanding of how all the separate parts (their individual responsibilities) come together to make the whole (a successful, profitable business).
Institute Comprehensive Mentoring Programs
In addition to traditional one-on-one mentoring relationships, consider setting up groups of mentors from various areas of the company who will focus on high-potential employees. Each group will meet regularly to brainstorm ways to help a specific top performer build on key strengths and achieve professional goals.
Another variation on the mentoring theme is a bi-level system. New hires, including those with prior industry expertise, are paired with a “buddy” who has a similar level of experience. These individuals help new employees assimilate into the firm.
Explore Flexible Work Arrangements
A strategy best reserved for top performers, flexible work options can help you hold on to valued employees who might otherwise be tempted to leave. While some employers are wary of nontraditional arrangements, it is possible to set up mutually-beneficial situations. The key is to tailor the alternative arrangement — whether telecommuting, flex-time or compressed schedule — to the individual employee.
Keep In Touch With “Alumni”
As you adopt new retention strategies and programs, you may find yourself wishing you’d done it sooner, so that you could have held onto valued former employees. But remember that in today’s job market, “good-bye” doesn’t mean forever. Nowadays, workers may transition in and out of employment over the course of their careers. Instead of forgetting about workers who have left your company, maintain contact and call these alumni when you have suitable openings.
When creating or refining your retention program, aim to select strategies that are affordable, sustainable and compatible with your broader business goals. But once your program is established, don’t treat it as though it were cast in stone.
In Mercer’s 2007 Total Rewards SnapShot Survey, which evaluates organizations’ talent and rewards strategies, 78 percent of companies polled said they made changes to their rewards strategy in the last three years. Periodic review and revision of your retention program is a good idea, as it will ensure that the strategies you’re using are appropriate and effective for your business.
Anna Soderlindh is Hartford Branch Manager for Robert Half International.
