by James Urbaniak

Created on: September 29, 2009

Developing a Successful Retention Strategy

At the height of the worst job market since the Great Depression, this may not seem like the time to worry about staff retention. In fact, every day, be it in a good or bad economy, is the time to be concerned about staff retention. Successful businesses do not rest on their laurels. They grow through continual focus on self improvement, talent upgrade and business expansion. Business is driven through the workforce. A happy workforce will be more productive, will strive to improve business and stay with the company longer and thereby reduce business waste through unwanted turnover and replacement training costs. Developing a successful retention strategy isn't about keeping everyone in your workforce. It's about keeping the people you want to retain in your workforce.

While money is a motivator for most employees, it is not the greatest reason affecting employee decisions to leave. To truly develop a successful retention strategy, first look at your weaknesses and where you are most likely to lose staff. The biggest motivators for job dissatisfaction are typically lack of respect; lack of recognition; lack of career advancement or reaching a dead end in the employee's current role; lack of work and life balance. Develop your strategy around these points.

Is your management team contributing to the cause of issues among employees? One of the starting points in your retention strategy may include evaluating further development, retraining or even disciplinary action of one or more managers. How do your managers communicate with their employees and how well do they know their staff? How well does their staff know them? Consider facilitating a Get to know each other meeting any time a new manager comes on board. It helps to clear away many false assumptions on both sides of the aisle.

Do employees receive acknowledgement for significant contributions, resolution of challenging obstacles or for simply a job well done? It might be time to evaluate your employee recognition program. Even small, simple changes implemented on a consistent and regular basis can make a world of difference. People need to hear when they are doing well.

What do your employees tell you when it comes to whether or not they feel challenged by their duties? Does their performance significantly exceed the requirements of their position? Is their perception of their abilities in line with your view of their performance? If you don't know the answers to these questions with every single employee, you have a serious problem right here!

Do your employees seem like they are burning the proverbial candle at both ends, either by choice or demands of their job? If so, evaluate what can be done to help ease the burden, if possible. During these difficult times, when most companies are scraping by with reduced staff, this may be easier said then done. Employees are more than aware of this reality these days. It's still an area to evaluate for retention opportunities. Do any members of the team need help in working smarter, not harder? Who's putting in extra hours unnecessarily? How efficiently is the workload organized within departments and teams?

The core of a successful retention strategy is getting to know how your people feel and what motivates them. Regular communication is essential to developing your strategy. It also bolsters the confidence of your employees in the company and you as their leader, when they know they have your ear. By strengthening the areas, which have a negative impact on retention, you fortify your business as a whole in other measurable ways. Build a plan around your people and you will improve retention among your top talent.

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