Eight Strategies For Staff Retention

Articles

The cost to the organisation is a powerful incentive to reduce staff turnover.

There are many calculations regarding the cost of staff turnover.  The most conservative is that the total cost of replacing a member of staff is equivalent to a minimum of 30 weeks income of that staff member.

At the other end of the scale this balloons out to a minimum of 100 weeks.  Whatever the figure, it is a preventable loss to the organisation.

If we take the middle ground and use a figure of 60 weeks, the total loss to the organisation could be significant.

It makes sound business sense to calculate the losses through turnover incurred by the organisation and use figure as an initial budget for staff retention strategies.

From the point of view of the organisation, this loss is deducted from their net profit.  How many companies would willingly reduce their net profit by the cost of staff turnover?

Staff retention is a low-cost initiative.  It represents a huge return on investment and every competent organisation could invest in strategies to retain their staff because it is an economically sensible decision.

The alternatives to the introduction of a staff retention strategy are limited.  Some organisations try to pay well above the norm to keep their staff.  Regrettably, this has the effect of recruiting wage and salary sensitive staff.

If you are able to employ somebody at a higher rate, they will also leave you for an even higher rate.  The secrets of staff retention are relatively simple but must be managed carefully.  Income is only one of the many, many aspects of staff retention.

Surveys over the years in different countries show that there are different factors that have been identified as what people want from their work.  High income typically is fourth or fifth in the wish list of desirable benefits achieved from work.  Things that come before income are, recognition, being involved, respect and personal development.  Surveys and studies show that most employees want to do a good job and also work to their potential.

1.      Sense of involvement.

A lot of staff feel that they need a sense of involvement with the organisation in which they work.  Many people feel that a lack of information and a lack of involvement is a great disincentive in the workplace.  Coupled with involvement is the sense of "belonging." 

The workplace is a social environment and members of staff like to feel that they belong to it and not be treated as a cipher.  People like to belong to a team and participate in teamwork as a general rule.  This also creates another powerful factor of behaviour.  When somebody is part of a team, they feel a strong obligation to the other team members.  The sense of obligation, if it is fostered, will contribute to staff retention. 

2.      Recognition.

Recognition is closely coupled to the sense of involvement and it could be said that recognition creates a feeling of involvement.  Recognition can take many forms.  Acknowledgement of a job well done and specific information of why the performance deserves your special attention is a good form of recognition.  Recognition of a person who is working under difficulties such as pressure and stress, goes a long way to reducing the effects of the stress on the individual.  It is surprising the number of managers and supervisors who do not use recognition and praise as part of their leadership style.  It is one of the most effective leadership tools and costs very little.

Motivated contributors are proud employees.  They feel they belong to something worthwhile.  They feel they matter.  Their performance reflects their self-image.  Recognition has to be meaningful and specific.  Letting employees know how much you appreciate their input makes them more receptive to what you are trying to do.  On the other hand, meaningless praise serves only to confuse people about what behaviour is desirable and what isn't.   Saying, "well done" to somebody is not specific enough and is unlikely to reinforce desirable behaviour. 

3.      A comprehensive and effective induction process.

There is a clear link between the quality of the induction process and staff turnover.  Companies that retain their staff have an effective induction process. Therefore, it seems sensible as part of staff retention strategies to include an effective induction process.

Induction sets the standard for the time the person is employed in the business.  Poor induction sets poor standards and vice versa.  Induction can be a quite complex process but is another cost-effective strategy

When staff turnover is a problem, look objectively at your induction process.

4.      Clear expectations of performance.

Many organisations do not clearly lay out what expectations of performance they have from their staff from day one.  Expectations and performance become the topics of the conversation only when something has gone wrong.

Rather than state expectations during the induction process, the employer only mentions his or her expectations after there has been some problem.

The difficulty of this approach is that, when the crisis arises, emotions are running high and blame is normally a factor.  This is a counter-productive approach and can be handled quite easily by setting expectations and repeating expectations on a regular basis throughout the person's employment.

There is compelling evidence that people who work with clear expectations, perform better and are much more fulfilled in their work.

5.      Feedback on performance.

It is strange to think that in every hobby, sport or pastime, people keep score.  They count how many shots when they play golf, they count how many goals were scored at a football game, they count the fish they caught, they count how much beer they drink, and so on.

At work, often there is very little feedback on performance.  This means that members of staff don't know how their performance is measured. 

When feedback is provided, it is much easier to share goals and targets.  There appears to be a strong need for people to know how they are getting along.  One of the ways to fulfil this need is to provide feedback.

Feedback can be the number of rejects produced, the amount of "up time" the machine operates during a working day, the distance travelled, the fuel used, the deliveries on time, the cartons filled and so on.

The psychologists call it Knowledge of Results and have concluded that this is a strong motivator of behaviour.  It also helps people to see that their work is worthwhile and is a valuable activity.

This sort of information not only contributes to higher performance but also strengthens the bond between the employee and the employer.

6.      Feedback from customers.

One of the most neglected practices in the workplace is the lack of information about what customers think of the service or products the company has been delivering. 

This information is also a strong motivator for behaviour and because it gives purpose to the work being carried out.  Furthermore, it places a measure of importance on the activities of the individuals and the group.

Feedback from customers has an extremely positive effect in creating an environment where the staff member is valued.  Every piece of information either negative or positive should be fed back to the staff concerned.  This will also improve performance and give valuable direction to changes that should take place in the workplace.

In the absence of feedback information from customers, managers, supervisors, employees will tend to assume that they are doing the right things or that no-one cares.

7.      Well maintained tools and equipment.

It is very hard for people have pride in their work if the tools they have to work with are substandard or poorly maintained.  It borders on being a Health and Safety issue.

Quality work does not normally come from poor quality tools.  It is a false economy to supply employees with equipment which is substandard because it sends a clear message that the work is not important, quality is not an issue and that the employees are expendable.

A situation like this can adversely affect staff turnover, safety, pride, and discretionary effort.

8.      Leadership

Leadership is absolutely necessary to create a stable workforce.  It is the single most important factor in determining staff turnover.  However, effective leadership is rare.  People get placed in leadership positions without any training and are expected to be effective.  But the sad fact is that most of them fail.

Failed leadership is the single biggest cause of staff leaving.  Competent leadership on the other hand is found to retain staff and fulfil the needs of the staff so that they can perform to their potential.

The key to raising business performance is clear.  Raise the leadership skills within the organisation and business performance will follow.

The late Gordon Lippitt, professor at George Brown University, after studying the subject for years, concluded:

"Leadership is the worst defined, least understood, personal attribute sometimes possessed by human beings."

The Carnegie Foundation did a study to determine what contributes the most to a person's success, regardless of career.  They found that only 15 percent of a person's career advancement was determined by technical skills, and that 85 percent came from people skills----their ability to manage their own behaviour, their approach to other people, and their understanding of themselves.