It’s every manager’s nightmare and too often a harsh reality: One of your most valued employees suddenly
resigns. You are shocked. From where you sit, you’ve been the model employer. Your pay scale is in line with
industry norms, but for more valued employees – like this one – you do even better. You don’t micro-manage. In fact, you trust this employee so much you would go weeks without touching base. You switch into damage control mode, exploring for areas of
dissatisfaction and resolution, and offer a significant salary
increase. Yet your efforts to save the employment relationship fail. He
has no real issues, he says, just a strong feeling that it’s time to
move on.
 Employee retention has always been an important issue, but in this current period of high employment where the demand for good workers far outweighs the supply it’s even more of a challenge. Conservative estimates
suggest the costs to replace a fully trained employee range from $50,000 to $100,000 per employee, taking into account recruitment and training costs, and lost productivity. For professionals and senior management the cost is even higher. Few among us can afford to be constantly replacing our personnel, particularly our stronger players. So what’s the secret to employee retention? How do you keep your star performers happy and motivated?
It’s not just about the money
As employers, we tend to believe that salary and benefits are the two most important factors for ensuring job
satisfaction. In reality, even though everyone expects to be remunerated fairly, salary and benefits are not on the top of the list of job satisfiers. Many workers relocate for lower salaries in Every manager should know the ABCs favour of a perceived “better” work environment, and seldom will a departing employee be convinced
to stay simply because of a salary hike. So what does constitute a good work environment? What are the prime contributors to job satisfaction and, hence, employee retention?
Key elements to job satisfaction
Job satisfaction is primarily dependent upon the employee’s sense of achievement, belonging, and control. We can refer to these as the ABCs of a well-rounded employee retention strategy. They are distinct but interdependent. Evidence-based research demonstrates that when management works to cultivate feelings of achievement, belonging, and control, length of tenure increases and turnover decreases – significantly.
Achievement
Achievement relates to a person’s sense of accomplishment, and of contributing to the success of the organization. We all appreciate that, on a macro level, each employee makes a unique contribution. But most of us are not big picture thinkers. We need more tangible evidence of our impact within our own job function,
and we need it to be visible and measureable on a continuous basis. Sales representatives can easily identify and measure their achievement by counting new orders and new accounts. That’s not the case for the order filler, the receptionist, the production supervisor, or the construction site superintendent.
By helping each employee identify milestones that are specific to their job function, that are meaningful to them, and that can be measured by them, ideally on a daily basis, management can help employees maintain a strong sense of personal achievement.
Belonging
Belonging, the second and perhaps the most important of the three key elements, speaks to the degree to which an employee relates to, and feels part of the organization. Alignment between an employee’s values and those of the organization is critical, and sense of belonging is enhanced when the organization cultivates
a family-like atmosphere. A recent study by The Gerity Group found that employee turnover decreased significantly when these two factors – values alignment and family-like atmosphere – were maintained. Open
communication regarding the company’s plans, performance, and future direction also helps promote employees’ sense of connectedness and belonging.
Control
The third element, control, relates to the degree to which employees feel they have autonomy over their own work activity and a voice in higher level decisionmaking. Feelings of control are dependent upon the management style within the organization. Organizations that foster a self-management environment and
seek input from all levels in corporate decision-making contribute to their employees’ sense of control. The result is a satisfied, committed workforce and lower turnover rates.
Putting the A-B-Cs into play
Ideally, a customized approach should be taken when developing strategies for fostering the ABCs within any workforce. The work environment, job type or design, and the unique personalities of individual employees
must be considered. As a starting point, companies can try:
- Helping employees identify and measure fun and interesting achievement milestones appropriate to theirjob function.
- Fostering a family-like corporate culture where employees feel they belong.
- Implementing participatory management strategies at all levels of the organization to increase employees’ sense of voice and control.
The ABCs of employee retention: they’re simple, they make sense and they work.
Gail Rieschi MEd, is president and CEO of vpi Inc., Employment Strategies. Working Solutions, a firm that specializes in employment and HR-management services. Visit www.vip-inc.com.
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