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Employee Retention Programs
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Employee Retention Programs
Discuss workforce management, performance management, retention, communication, motivation, contributing to business results and other topics.
Hello,
We are in the process of developing an Employee Retention program. We do not currently have one, and are a small company with 45 people. Can anyone provide a sample program that they have us
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Forums » Topic Forums » General Forum » Employee Retention Programs
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Employee Retention Programs
posted at 2/11/2010 11:30 AM EST
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Posts: 7
First: 9/17/2008 Last: 12/6/2010 |
Hello,
We are in the process of developing an Employee Retention program. We do not currently have one, and are a small company with 45 people. Can anyone provide a sample program that they have used, or any suggestions on how to get started? Thanks. |
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Employee Retention Programs
posted at 2/11/2010 11:55 AM EST
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Posts: 7
First: 9/17/2008 Last: 12/6/2010 |
We haven't in the past, but have recently starting having issues with employees leaving. We have been completing exit interviews, and are looking at those for possible reasons, but are looking for other ideas to improve retention. |
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Employee Retention Programs
posted at 2/12/2010 4:18 AM EST
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Posts: 2146
First: 2/15/2006 Last: 9/14/2011 |
Until you have solid reasons why employees are leaving, it will be hard to come up with a plan. And I do understand that you don't always get the truth from a departing employee....
You could try to do an employee survey, but unless you can implement a high percentage of what is suggested, these often backfire. There is nothing worse than an employer who asks for input and then ignores it or can't make changes based on what is written. Might be better to have an anonymous comment box. Some things to look at: (1) Is your pay and benefits structure comparable to your industry and local market? In this economy with pay and benefits mostly decreasing and definitely not increasing, morale does seem to suffer. Check to make sure incoming new hires aren't making more than those who have been there doing the same job. (2) Can you allow flexible work schedules? How do you deal with timeoff requests? Does the employee feel like they are punished for taking time off? Do your employees feel like they have a good home/work balance? (3) Are there inexpensive changes that could be sought that would increase the feeling of loyalty and heighten morale? Are your managers seeking out positive job performance and rewarding it? Even if it isn't monetary, sometimes there are intrinsic rewards that are worth more. Just my thoughts. |
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Employee Retention Programs
posted at 2/12/2010 11:54 AM EST
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Posts: 544
First: 9/27/2004 Last: 9/13/2011 |
If this has not been a concern before, something has changed. Your intervention needs to match the problem.
Are there any particular patterns? For example, sometimes people leave because they are bullied by co-workers or because their supervisors are charm school drop-outs. If this is the case, a blanket policy could be viewed as ignoring the problem and it could back-fire. It is very important that the company decision-makers don't look like they are out of touch with their employees' reality. |
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Employee Retention Programs
posted at 3/9/2010 5:18 AM EST
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Posts: 5
First: 1/25/2005 Last: 3/9/2010 |
I recommend undertaking a culture survey of your organization. A proper culture survey will tell you so much more about what is motivating and de-motivating people in your organization than exit surveys. A key outcome from a culture survey is the active engagement of the staff in being the architects of the kind of workplace culture they want. You can learn more about culture surveys at:http://www.stormindex.com/
I have used this with good success. |
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Employee Retention Programs
posted at 3/9/2010 5:19 AM EST
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Posts: 5
First: 1/25/2005 Last: 3/9/2010 |
I recommend undertaking a culture survey of your organization. A proper culture survey will tell you so much more about what is motivating and de-motivating people in your organization than exit surveys. A key outcome from a culture survey is the active engagement of the staff in being the architects of the kind of workplace culture they want. You can learn more about culture surveys at:http://www.stormindex.com/
I have used this with good success. |
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Employee Retention Programs
posted at 3/9/2010 7:17 AM EST
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Posts: 1103
First: 3/16/2007 Last: 8/19/2011 |
aside from employing ahume and using their culture survey you can accomplish much the same, and probably with better results, if you target your exit interviews and the reporting of the results in a way that actually tells you something.
This won't happen with a single event, it must be ongoing and a part of the overall onboarding and separation process. I have done this with my employers and using data from the recruiting process, the onboarding process, post hire surveys and exit data determined where real issues are and the appropriate solution. You don't need a culture survey for that. You need a good (excellent) understanding of your process. Enough so that you can properly map that process, measure key points, aggregate the data, dis-aggregate specific data and reach informed conclusions. It is really that simple. |
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Employee Retention Programs
posted at 3/9/2010 10:44 AM EST
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Posts: 1
First: 3/9/2010 Last: 3/9/2010 |
I would recommend conducting "Stay Interviews", which are similar to a culture survey but more targeted towards finding out what incents people to stay vs. what would make them leave. Exit interviews do provide some information but talking to current employees before they leave is key. Taking a hollistic approach beginning from the recruiting and hiring process, followed by ongoing targeted talent management and development, effective coaching and leadership, continued communications with employees, ensuring fair and competitive compensation and benefits, etc. are just some areas to look at with regard to employee retention. "Love Em' or Lose Em: written by Beverly Kaye is a great book on retention. Diagnosing the issue is the first step and then creating a targeted plan with specific strategies, tactics, goals, and measures and ultimately holding everyone (managers and employees) accountable are the keys to success. It has to be an ongoing initiative for the organization and needs to be funneled from the Top-Down. |
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