Avoiding the Talent Turnover Nightmare! – Why employee retention deserves your attention…

One of the oldest selling cliches is when a salesperson asks their client “what keeps you up at night?”, intending to open a question about a “pain-point” that the salesperson hopes to respond with their solution.

It has occurred to me that I already know one of the key things that keep leaders “up at night” or possibly causes them some considerable consternation, if not during their times of slumber, then certainly quite regularly during their daylight hours.

This is the subject of employee retention. It is an issue that looms large for a huge number of organizations.

When I have asked leaders “what is your company policy on retention?” I often will hear the sound of silence, followed by uncertain mutterings about compensation and bene?ts, the unique culture of the organisation, the quality of the products, followed by more silence.

Why?

Fundamentally the retention of employees has often not even been on the C-suite radar. It might be a phrase lumped in with recruitment; “recruitmentnretention” becoming a spoken but nonetheless meaningless blandishment.

The workforce has fundamentally changed. In the current marketplace that I operate in there is a talent shortage. In this market there are many companies all chasing the same people, and, if they are sensible, trying to retain their best people against a barrage of temptation put their way from their competitors for the same talent.

Employees themselves are also far less easily pleased than they may have been in the past, and certainly more easily irritated and dissatis?ed. A company that gives out the message “shut up you snow?ake and just do your job” is certain to see a retention problem.

Additionally, a belief that there is a kind of sausage-machine recruitment process to turn a handle and easily replace said “snow?akes” is also likely to end up in disappointment or even business failure.

What then should be done to make a difference?

Organisations need to build a speci?c retention strategy. I was talking with an HR colleague only yesterday who told me how when she was at her previous company, a large corporate, she was able to reduce their staff turnover from a worrying level to less than half through the application of a de?ned retention strategy.

Such a strategy may include the following:

1.????? Understand why people leave and why they stay. Survey current and even staff members who have left. This may be painful, but if done in a sensitive and open way may produce some interesting and easily actionable remedies. Work the extremes with the managers: Low retention risks- what are you doing/not doing? - Learn and share. High retention risk:- be prepared for rationalisation and pointing ?ngers to all sort of things, except themselves. Encourage a culture that is inclusive and respects and values people’s opinions and ideas. Ensure that psychological security is respected and avoid the zero- error culture.

2.????? Develop a Talent Map to discover the needs for your organisational growth and prevents “over hiring” that can lead to productivity issues but also insecurity. Talent mapping provides internal development opportunities and paths that may be discussed with employees to give them reasons to further engage with the organisation for the long term, with succession planning and the facilitation of genuine employer branding values and Employee Value Propositions at the heart of this.

3.????? Make onboarding of people into new roles structured and meaningful. Too often companies think the job is done when the person is hired or promoted. There are certain points after the person that has started where there are considerable risks of derailment or a longer than needed learning curve. A structured program that interacts with the new employee and all their internal customers ensures mitigation of these risks. One of the processes that my friend and colleague Holger Rathgeber has developed is called Key Hire Assimilation and this looks speci?cally into how a person is integrating into their new role.

4.????? A critical area is to ensure your leaders are properly equipped for the task ahead. Do they know how to fully engage with their team? What training are they receiving? Have they had any coaching or mentoring to ensure that they understand the needs of the new dynamics of management and leadership, indeed the differences between these two things?

5.????? Understand your team members’ “bright spots”. Ensure that they are able to utilise what they are passionate about and where they are able to gain maximum satisfaction in making a difference.

6.????? Encourage a culture of appreciation across the team. It is not just the job of the boss to tell someone they have done a great job. Making team members feel they are part of a team that respects and recognises their contribution is one of the ?nest ways to make someone want to remain with an organisation…talk to the 5 languages of appreciation and the challenge of “speaking the language of the receiver.”

These are not just strategies for large corporates. It is probably even more essential that SMEs, that may not have the employer branding advantages of bigger names also adopt these approaches and take a tailored approach to what they need.

Improving employee retention requires a strategic and holistic approach. By understanding the employee retention landscape and implementing effective strategies, organizations can create an environment that fosters employee satisfaction, engagement, and loyalty. From establishing a positive work culture to providing opportunities for development, these strategies can signi?cantly contribute to enhancing employee retention and driving organizational success.

Additionally, we should always look out for helpful practices that work rather than conceptual bubbles.

For further information and a chat about your business retention strategies please contact Nigel Job, [email protected] or DM Nigel Job via LinkedIn.

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Remtec Talent Management Ltd

Nigel Job, CEO/Founder

+44 (0) 7710 836 825

[email protected]