Most organisations are becoming like transit zones

Due to the volatile economy that most businesses in the third world operate within, this has made a number of organisations act like transit zones that most employees regard as a place to wait for the next big opportunity. Though as a fellow HR practitioner i value growth at an individual level i also prescribe to the school of thought that organisations can grow through the retention of employees. When employees leave organisations this leads to the growth of the organisation being impeded as it would have lost valuable human capital. Now the question is how best can these organisations which operate in a volatile economy help in the growth of organisations while also recognising that employees grow as well. This presents organisations with the opportunity to retain human capital which is essential in gaining competitive advantage.Below some ways on how best to do that will be suggested.

• ?Drive workforce strategy at the C-level.?

Preparation for the future workforce means more than just reacting to changing trends.it requires that workforce issues, including developing talent, implementing learning programs, succession planning, and onboarding, be on the C-suite agenda. In HR, urgent tasks often take priority over big picture ones, making it difficult to pay attention to what’s truly strategic. Yet the survey shows that companies that perform well place an emphasis on board-level discussions of workforce strategy. Making time to implement strategic workforce issues will help organizations achieve high-performer status.

• ?Prioritize training and mentoring.

More than half of high-performing companies say they offer supplemental training programs as an employee benefit. In fact, high- performing companies were nearly 10 percent more likely to have a mentoring program as compared to underperformers. Additionally, high-growth companies are 16 percent more likely to have a formal mentoring program than underperforming companies.

Training programs are important because the new generation of workers expects these initiatives to be in place in order for them to grow and succeed. The survey found that Millennials rated development as a bigger priority than compensation in the United States. This is a big factor in attracting the next generation of talent. Plus, as baby boomers exit the workforce, there will be a strong need for new leaders to replace them. Organizations should start developing leaders through training programs and developmental job assignments in order to be ready for the future.

• Reward based on merit, not tenure

Sixty percent of high-growth companies say they are more merit driven than tenure driven, compared with less than half of underperformers. In other words, underperformers may be more likely to focus on developing internal talent and engendering loyalty as they look toward downsizing (and may be outmaneuvering high performers in this area). However, they may be bypassing more qualified candidates to reward more tenured candidates when filling leadership roles.

Some of the most admired companies in the world, such as Apple and Google, have average employee tenures of only a little over a year. According to a study commissioned by the Freelancers Union, over one third of the workforce in the U.S. reports having at least some contingent work aspect. We are increasingly moving toward employee relationships that look more like stints than long-term engagements. Recognize and promote people for their performance and contribution, and they are likely to remain loyal. Recognizing loyalty above results doesn’t always yield high performance.