Retention Strategies

Next month, we’ll be highlighting some key ways to engage employees.  Improving your ability to effectively achieve that goal, in turn, supports and improves your ability to achieve retention goals.  So, suffice it to say, we’ll have some more tips for you in October as we delve into the topic of employee engagement

In the meantime, here are twelve key retention strategies:

1. First and foremost, recruit the right people and match them to the right jobs.  Focus on building the right team(s).
2. Know what employees want.  Get to know each person as a unique individual and his/her core values and interests.  (Actually, you should acquire this information as part of the selection process.)  Survey your workforce to determine overall values.  More often than not, employee surveys produce surprises.  Be informed.
3. Design your recognition and reward systems to align with individual and group values.  Make sure these are consistent with organizational culture and values.
4. Redesign your performance management and compensation plans to afford maximum flexibility and responsiveness.  Provide timely feedback (“timely” is relative and differs by generation).
5. Train supervisors, line managers and senior leaders to understand and apply their knowledge about how to align individual recognition with individual preferences. 
6. Train your supervisors, managers and leaders to mentor and coach effectively.  Measure and reward them for reaching desired performance standards.
7.  Design unique training and development programs involving strategic partners in order to maximize access to professional development opportunities for employees at all levels.
8. Become very clear about the differences between generational coherts (there are now four of them in the workplace).  Understand what motivates each generation and what hinders their ability to succeed.  Know their “must haves.”  In October and November, we will be leading a series of workshops on “What You Need to Know to Better Manage a Multigenerational Workforce.”   Email us at info@wright-group.ca if you would like more information. 
9.  Invest in career pathing and succession planning at all levels.  Even if you have less than 10 employees, this is an important activity.  People want to know how they fit into the bigger picture and where their career is headed.
10. Invest in multiple initiatives that encourage social interaction.
11. Constantly articulate a clear vision.  Help employees see how it serves their personal goals.  Keep lines of communication open and flowing with relevant information.
12. Provide a competitive compensation and benefits package.
    
    These twelve strategies represent only half of the options available to you.  We can help you deliver on all of them and more, so do let us know if we can be of assistance.  Here is a bonus strategy to reward you for having read this far:
    
    
13. Be unique.  Use subsidized residential mortgage rates to attract and retain good employees.  Curious?  Ask us how.