Employee Retention (What's your People's Policy?)

(Source: The Economic Times, the authors are owners of San Diego Consulting Group -- Kevin & Jackie Freiberg)

Okay, so here’s the pointed question: how many of your employees do you think are interested in leaving their jobs? Well the shocking truth is based on national surveys conducted by the Saratoga Institute, Spherion and Randstad Staffing agencies. Believe it or not, more than half, 51% of the US workers surveyed are interested in leaving their jobs and 75% of them want to make the change within the next year.

Different Set of Expectations:

In the aftermath of 9/11 and with the increasing number of corporate ethics scandals being brought to light, people are continually re-evaluating life/work priorities. The rules have changed and employees are bringing a different set of expectations to work. Again, national surveys show that people in general are placing a huge priority on other things. Less people are willing to put family on hold for career goals. At the end of the day people want to feel like the gifts and talents they offer to the company actually make a difference. They want to engage in work that matters.

People want to live life:

People also want the freedom to take care of life’s issues and challenges when they happen. Guess what, life doesn’t just happen before 8 am, after 5 pm and on the weekends. Life happens when it happens. People want to work for a boss who is willing to give them the flexibility to live it. Employees want the opportunity to participate in things like flextime, telecomuting, onsite day-care and community service projects. Unfortunately, 75% of those surveyed said their companies do not offer them.

Good relationships have become a priority at work:

With as much time as people are spending at work these days, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. People want to like their work team. They also want and need information. They want to know the good, the bad, and they want to know what you don’t know. So don’t hold back, communicate like crazy!

What do we know about the key retention factors in light of the heightened expectations people are bringing with them into the work environment ? In other words, what will help you hang on to the talent you’ve currently got? Once again we lean on the survey data. Traditionally, money and earning potential are not top motivators. They are not the top retention factors either. Compensation falls to fourth place.

The top three retention factors are:

1. Relationship with the immediate supervisor,
2. Culture,
3. Training and continuing education.

This is powerful information for any company that wants to give its people a compelling reason to want to return to work each day. It should come as no surprise that the most important factor influencing an employee’s satisfaction at work is their relationship with their immediate supervisor. Leadership is critical. But, if leadership is first, why is it that when you conduct your exit interviews people will typically tell you they are leaving for more money, or a better compensation package? Hey, it’s a whole lot easier to talk about money than it is to say, “I’m leaving because I don’t like you!”

Culture is vitally important. But, if you have created a great work environment that tries to meet current day employee expectations, it isn’t enough. You can have a great corporate culture, an impressive corporate reputation, and be on the best or most admired lists, but if you hire a person who is a lousy leader, it can be disastrous. Remember, talented people will go to work for great companies but they will always leave because of a bad boss. The only reason to be a leader (to hire a leader) is to serve and if you are not good at serving then you should not be in a leadership position.

Training and education are also key. Employees want to continually stretch, grow and develop. When you provide opportunities for this to happen, you are accomplishing some very powerful things: Honing talent, building confidence and gaining loyalty. Isn’t that what your company needs too?

SAS Institute is one of the companies highlighted heavily in our book, GUTS! It is one of the most successful privately held software companies in the world. They have taken gusty leadership to a new level when it comes to hanging on tight to talent and preparing for the future. Most IT companies have either downsized, right-sized or frozen hiring all together. But SAS Institute did the GUTSY thing, they’re hiring like crazy. SAS has been bulking up on talent and taking advantage of the talented people who have, for one reason or another, been left out on the streets. SAS has increased its staff by about 17% in the last three years and attrition has never exceeded 5% in its 27-year history.

Be gutsy, surround yourself with gifted talent, do whatever you can to give them a compelling reason to stay and get the heck out of their way.