E-Report: Employee Retention Strategy: How to Implement a Retention Strategy

Get Ready, Here It Comes Again

Despite economic changes, the issue of employee retention is here to stay. The labor shortage that plagued employers at the height of the economic boom has not vanished. It may be off the radar now, but it is returning strong as ever.

Successful organizations realize employee retention is integral to sustaining their leadership and growth in the marketplace. Most businesses focus on employee retention when employee turnover starts to increase. However, good organizations make employee retention a core element of their talent management and organizational development strategy. Those that fail to make employee retention a priority are at risk of losing their top talented people to the competition.
 

In the next several years, this nation will face a mass exodus of employees leaving their current employers for better jobs. As a business management consultant, I have surveyed and consulted with hundreds of organizations. One thing is clear--there is a large chasm of discontentment. People always think the "grass is greener" with another company. My surveys show voluntary turnover has increased by 30 percent.
 

What are you going to do? What is your strategy in preventing valuable employees from leaving?

Consider the following driving forces.

Job Defections – The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Wall Street Journal website completed the Job Recovery Survey. The key findings revealed 64 percent of employees said they were extremely likely to begin or increase the intensity of their job search. An additional 19 percent said they were somewhat likely to increase their search.

"We employ 11 million people now, and we're going to need more," says Steven Anderson, President and CEO of the National Restaurant Association. "We're projecting a need for another two million by 2010. Our biggest concern is where to find these folks."

Skill Shortage – Many industries already experience major shortages of talent. For example, the healthcare industry suffers from a nurse shortage, and now is importing nurses from other countries. This places a burden on employers to provide the best place to work possible to attract and retain key staff.

Importance of Job Satisfaction – Yes, people need jobs to pay their bills, but a large segment of the workforce places job satisfaction as the top reason for staying with or leaving companies. I interviewed one person shortly after 911. He said, “If I die tomorrow, I want to make sure I am doing a job that means something.” His comments are a reflection of a new trend existing in the workforce today.

Our employee retention strategy is easy to implement and provides you the six steps you need to adopt in establishing an effective retention strategy.

Assess the organization. Hold people accountable. Measure what is important. Increase employee ownership and involvement. Build relationships and create a positive first impression. Devise intervention strategies.