Retention Deficit: How To Keep Your Best
Improving Business And Job Market Puts Retention At A
Premium.
Now that the economy and job market have rebounded, how can you
retain your best people?
That’s the challenge, according to many recent studies. At the
very least, retention requires a competitive salary and great
benefits. Employee involvement, recognition, advancement,
development and pay, based on performance, are just the
beginning of your quest to retain your best.
As The Market Improves, Many DMers Are Ready To Jump Ship
Two years of steady, if not spectacular job growth in direct
marketing–and business in general–has emboldened more people
to look around. Retention is the top priority at growing direct
marketing organizations that are facing stiff competition for
certain talent. I’m speaking specifically of seasoned
merchandise, finance, IT, marketing, and general management
professionals.
A top marketing executive I know, wasn’t looking for a new job
when a recruiter (not this one) suggested he consider leaving
his employer of 12 years to work for another company.
“I was well respected, well compensated, and my relationships
with my peers and boss were very good,” the 43-year old told me.
“This came up and it was too good not to explore.” Explore he
did, and joined his new company in October.
This Is Excedrin Headache #1
A growing number of direct marketing job changers are seizing
good opportunities in this improving labor market–creating
major headaches for companies trying to retain their best
people. How do companies hold onto them in an improving labor
market?
Employee Loyalty, Retaining Customers Go Hand In Hand
Finder’s keepers? Not necessarily. Most direct marketing
merchants are experts in finding and retaining customers, but
many have trouble attracting and keeping top-notch talent.
“Employee loyalty drives brand loyalty, which drives customer
recognition for a company,” according to Diane Durkin, president
of Portsmouth, N.H.-based The Loyalty Factor. “For a customer,
the one employee they interact with is the company.”
Hold On To Your Best: Retention Tips You Can Use
Recruiting the right people and keeping the right people
matters, especially now.
A recent survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource
Management (SHRM) and CareerJournal.com asked 300 managerial or
executive employees what they plan to do in the rebounding job
market. The survey also asked 451 HR professionals which
programs or policies they use currently to help retain
employees–what types of retention efforts to keep their best
employees on board.
For executives, key reasons to begin searching for a new
job: ·53 percent seek better compensation and benefits. ·35
percent cited dissatisfaction with potential career development.
·32 percent said they were ready for a new experience.
For HR professionals, the most common programs employers are
using to retain employees: ·62 percent provide tuition
reimbursement. ·60 percent offer competitive vacation and
holiday benefits. ·59 percent offer competitive salaries.
More Retention Tips The three retention tips offered by
HR professionals in the above survey are your key retention
strategies. They’re common sense and basic, but not all that
easy to find in organizations today. Here’s more:
Select the right people in the first place through
behavior-based testing and competency screening (covered in my
previous newsletter). That’s your starting point. Offer an
attractive, competitive, benefits package with components such
as life insurance, disability insurance and flexible hours.
Provide opportunities for people to share their knowledge
with training sessions, presentations, mentoring others and team
assignments.
Show respect for your people at all times. Listen to them
sincerely; use their ideas; never ridicule or shame them.
Offer performance feedback and praise good efforts and
results. Your people want to enjoy their work. Make work
fun. Engage and employ the special talents of each individual.
Enable your people to balance work and life. Allow
flexible starting times, core business hours and flexible ending
times. (Yes, her son’s baseball game is important.) Involve your
team in decisions that affect their jobs and the overall
direction of the company whenever possible.
Recognize excellent performance, and especially, link pay
to performance. Base the upside of bonus potential on the
success of both the employee and the company and make it
limitless within your company’s parameters.
Recognize and celebrate success. Mark their passage as
important goals are achieved.
Staff adequately so overtime is minimized for those who
don’t want it and people don’t wear themselves out.
Nurture and celebrate organization traditions. Have a
costume party every Halloween. Direct marketer, Celebrate
Express, supplies them. Run a food collection drive every
November. Pick a monthly charity to help. Have an annual company
dinner at a fancy hotel or restaurant.
Provide opportunities within the company for
cross-training and career progression. L.L. Bean is known for
this. People like to know that they have room for career
advancement. Provide the opportunity for career and personal
growth through training and education, challenging assignments
and more.
Communicate goals, roles and responsibilities so people
know what is expected and feel like part of the in-crowd.
According to research by the Gallup organization, encourage
employees to have good, even best, friends, at work.
You’ve got the list. Start making your organization one that
truly honors and appreciates its people. Treat all members of
your team this way, and you may never lose them. If some leave,
that’s okay…they may be back.