10 RETENTION STRATEGIES that can be implemented IMMEDIATELY

10 RETENTION STRATEGIES that can be implemented IMMEDIATELY

1.     Competitive compensation - Just a reasonable compensation alone can’t assure employee loyalty. If an organization offers below-market salaries, it is likely for its employees to lookout for better avenues.

a)       Benchmarking & Industry Surveys can be used as tools to stay informed on wage trends.

b)       One time performance pay for meeting specific goals aligned with business objectives can be introduced.

c)       Exit interviews data can reveal the main reasons of pain points amongst the departing employees. HR can then collate & use this data to make corrective actions.

d)       Let employees decide their own reimbursements/flexi salaries.

e)       HR can run periodic Employee Engagement Surveys, to find out what perks, benefits and forms of compensation other than money will help keep employees motivated.

Incentive policies, awards and recognition like "Best project", "contribution", "mentorship", Individual/group recognition at departmental/organization levels are few outstanding examples of recognition strategy.  Eg. Pay Exception is a procedure at FedEx, which allows managers to recommend and give exceptional pay increases to their highly performing employees when it is not covered by normal policy. Intel Technologies has cash bonus plans and performance based bonuses for employees.

2.     Various Benefits & Perks - Although benefits are not a key reason why employees stick with a company, however the offered benefits must be better as compared to competitors and like minded industries.

a)      Group Medi-claim Insurance Scheme and Personal Health Care (Regular medical check-ups)

b)      Corporate Credit Cards and Discount Coupons

c)       Cellular Phone/Laptop and other latest technology on-board

d)      Interest free loans for higher educations

e)      Performance based quarterly incentives

f)       Flexi-time and Flexible Salary Benefits

g)      Wedding Day and Birthday Gift

h)      Own a car policy

i)        Sabbaticals

 

3.     Retention Bonus - Seniority-based rewards such as a paid membership in a club after an employee's professional association after one year, a paid membership to a local gymnasium after two years, and full reimbursement for the cost of the employee's formal dress are some new & trending retention tools.

4.      Managing Superior –Subordinate relation - We all know people leave or stay because of their bosses and not the companies. Organizations need to make sure that Managers aren't driving technologists away. Harp upon the competencies and substantially invest in human capital. Managers' leadership, communication and interpersonal skills should be honed through coaching, training and feedback. These key skills must be rated in their evaluations, and compensation to performance should be tied up.

5.     Roles & responsibilities needs to be dovetailed - Employees should know what is expected of them every day, every month and every year, what types of decisions they are allowed to make on their own, and to whom they are supposed to report. These things sound simple but play a major role because contented employees achieve amazing things. Clear vision, robust and consistent communication, teamwork and respect for efforts should be provided. Organization’s vision/mission should be clearly and regularly communicated.

Eli Lilly & Co.(India) Pvt. Ltd has a Red Book on Code of Business Conduct which provides standards for conducting business consistent with the company's legal obligations, global policies and core values. There is a structured training program on the Red Book and the employees are required to sign the Responsibility Statement of the Red Book to certify that they agree to comply with the principles and values.

6.      Development opportunities – Career path makes sure employees know what they must do to earn and go in for progression. A clear professional development plan gives employees an incentive to stick around. Do away with your PMS if it has turned to NOVA (Non Value Added Activity) and go in for instant performance rewards. Think! Think out of the box! Sabbatical policies providing fees & time for higher studies are amongst the best & trending ways of assuring employee loyalty.

7.     Process Owner – A process owner responsible for implementation of retention strategies must be nominated. If customer returns, in-house rejections and non-confirming products can have a process owner as a countermeasure why not a process owner for retention strategies implementation. Think better, think bigger, think brighter, think broader, think bolder, think positive and set higher audacious goals.

8.     Employee Engagement Practices – 

a)      One idea: Ask employees what they want more of and what they want less of – Capture Voice of Employees

b)      Value addition in terms of ASKPT (Attitude, Skills, Knowledge, Practices, and Trust) has to be the end product.

c)       Stay Interviews and its implementation, call back your employees and ensure ombudsmen concept. 

 Mindtree Consulting has been active in its social responsibilities. MindTree has identified social responsibility as one of its core values and therefore, regularly encourages it in the organization. It has adopted an old age home and a home for children of Sri Lankan refugees in Bangalore. Every third Saturday, MindTree employees visit these places and spend half a day with the inmates there.

9.     CBIC’s & CFT’s -  It takes effort to build an effective team, but the result is greater productivity, better use of resources, improved customer service and increased morale. Give great emphasis on cross functional approach as it endorses acceptance and accountability.

a)      Make sure everyone understands the department's purpose, mission or goal.

b)      Encourage discussion, participation and the sharing of ideas.

c)       Rotate leadership responsibilities depending on your employees' abilities and the needs of the team.

d)      Involve employees in decisions; ask them to help make decisions through consensus and collaboration.

e)      Encourage team members to show appreciation to their colleagues for superior performance or achievement.

Sapient Corporation has a practice known as "Team Storming". When a team (project team or an internal team) has worked very hard, teams from across the office get together and storm the team with a 'goodies' basket to recognize the team and lift their morale.

10.  Fun@Work is Must - Celebrate successes and recognize when milestones are reached. Buffet lunches, birthday parties, employee picnics and creative contests will help remind people why an organization is a great place to work.

The companies organizes cultural program as and when possible but most of the times, once in a quarter, in which all the employees are given an opportunity to display their talents in dramatics, singing, acting, dancing and sports programs such as Cricket, football, etc