As the economy slowly improves, companies everywhere are starting to worry a lot more about an issue that had just about been forgotten during the recession and its aftermath: employee retention.
Yes, more of your employees are moving on or are looking to move on, and unless you think that the 1.95 million workers who quit their jobs in November 2011 (more than in any single month in 2009-2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics) is just a fluke, this is an issue you need to be concerned about.
That’s why Dr. John Sullivan’s post on this subject over at TLNT’s sister website ERE.net is important, because it details very specifically what your organization needs to do to have a world-class retention program. It’s a checklist you should look closely at to see how many of the things he lists are things that YOUR company is doing to help keep employees in the fold.
It’s important because retention is something many organizations don’t do very well. Even companies that spend a lot of time and effort recruiting and hiring frequently fail to worry about the other part of the equation — holding on to all those people you worked so hard to bring on board and get up to speed. Take a look at what Dr. John has to say and see if you don’t agree:
If you have a current or upcoming major retention problem at your firm, review your probably “rusty” current program in order to identify where it needs improvement. If you consider retention to be a major business problem, you need to decide if you’re willing to go the extra steps necessary to develop a true world-class retention program.
After over two decades of researching and implementing retention programs, I have found that there is a significant difference between the average program and an excellent or world-class one. Most HR executives don’t seem to have the time or interest in moving beyond the simple answer “yes, we have a retention program.” But if you need dramatic improvement in yours, you will find this easy-to-scan checklist to be a valuable tool in assessing where you are and where you need to be in retention.
I guarantee that it will be the most thorough and comprehensive checklist on retention that you will ever see (simply because most in the field of retention are satisfied with an average program).”