Recruiting, Retaining and Rewarding the Right People Are Challenges the Employers Face!

Leadership must be deeply invested in retention.can either hold on to their employees tight or lose them
Management must be skillful communicating companyto competition. For gone are the days when
policies in a way that creates "buy-in" from their staffemployees would stick to an employer for years for
and be open to employee input. Help createwant of a better choice. Now, opportunities are
"ownership" in your employees. The companies withabound.
the best retention percentages are the samePhilosophically, employee retention is important. In
companies that are actively committed to retention.almost all cases, it is senseless to allow good people to
They know that is costs less to keep good peopleleave your organization. When they leave, they take
than to continuously have to replace unsatisfiedwith them intellectual property, relationships,
employees and managers.investments (in both time and money), an occasional
Human Resource Management is both an academicemployee or two, and a chunk of your future.
theory and a business practice that addresses theEmployee retention strategies help organizations
theoretical and practical techniques of managing aprovide effective employee communication to improve
workforce. The Human Resources Managementcommitment and enhance workforce support for key
(HRM) function includes a variety of activities and keycorporate initiatives. These strategies also provide full
among them is deciding what staffing needs exist andsupport to the marketing-communication efforts by
whether to use independent contractors or hirehelping the organization build customer loyalty by
employees to fulfill these needs; recruit and train thedistinguishing and positioning the organization's unique
best employees, ensure they are high performers;products and services in today's crowded
dealing with performance issues; and ensuring themarketplace.
personnel and management practices conform toHigh turnover often leaves customers and employees
various regulations. Activities also include managing thein the lurch;Departing employees take a great deal of
approach to employee benefits and compensation,knowledge with them. This lack of continuity makes it
employee records and personnel policies.hard to meet your organization's goals and serve
Usually, small businesses (for-profit or nonprofit) havecustomers well.- replacing employees costs money.
to carry out these activities themselves because theyThe cost of replacing an employee is estimated as up
cannot yet afford part or full-time help. However, theyto twice the individual's annual salary (or higher for
should always ensure that employees have - and aresome positions, such as middle management), and this
aware of - personnel policies which conform to currentdoesn't even include the cost of lost knowledge.-
regulations. These policies are often in the form ofrecruiting employees consumes a great deal of time
employee manuals which all employees must have.and effort, much of it is futile. - Bringing employees' up
HRM is seen by practitioners in the field as a moreto speed takes even more time. And when you're
innovative view of workplace management than theshort-staffed; you often need to put in extra time to
traditional approach. Its techniques force the managersget the work done.
of an enterprise to express their goals with specificity -Employee Motivation leads to the change in the
so that they can be understood and undertaken bybehavior of the employees.The following are some
the workforce - and to provide the resources neededeffects of motivation:
for them to successfully accomplish their assignments.1. Increased productivity
As such, HRM techniques, when properly practiced,2. Reduced absenteeism
are expressive of the goals and operating practices of3. Increase efficiency.
the enterprise overall. HRM is also seen by many to4. Creativity of new ideas can be generated.
have a key role in risk reduction within organizations.5. Loyalty increases.
Recently, organizations have begun to consider theEmployees leave for many reasons, some of which
"HR Department" as playing a major role in staffing,you have little or no control over, such as retirement, a
training, and helping manage people so that the peoplefamily member being transferred or the desire to stay
and the organization are performing at maximumhome to start a family. However, executive teams
capability in a highly fulfilling manner.Employee Retentionshould take the time to understand the reasons most
Effective employee retention is a systematic effort byemployees leave and develop a plan to address these
employers to create and foster an environment thatissues. Some of the most common reasons
encourages current employees to remain employed,employees leave include:
by having policies and practices in place that address1. employee's perception of poor supervision;
their diverse needs. A strong retention strategy,2. unchallenging (and therefore, uninteresting) positions;
therefore, becomes a powerful recruitment tool.3. limited opportunity for advancement (in role or
Retention of key employees is critical to the long-termcompensation);
health and success of any organization. It is a known4. no recognition for good performance;
fact that retaining the best employees ensures5. limited control over the work and customers;
customer satisfaction, increased product sales,6. salary and benefits are not commensurate with the
satisfied colleagues and reporting staff, effectivejob requirements;
succession planning, and deeply embeddedRetention is much more effective when you put the
organizational knowledge and learning. Employeeright person into the right job. Know the job! Know the
retention matters as organizational issues such asemployee and their motivations. Money is important but
training time and investment, lost knowledge, insecureit is not the only reason people stay with an
employees, and a costly candidate search areorganization. If your compensation plan is in the top
involved. Hence, failing to retain a key employee is a20-30% of your industry, then money will often not be
costly proposition for an organization. Variousthe reason why people leave. There should be
estimates suggest that losing a middle manager inEmployee committees to help develop retention
most organizations costs up to five times his salary.strategies are a very effective strategy.
Intelligent employers always realize the importance ofTo conclude,Recognizing an employee's performance
retaining the best talent. Retaining talent has neverreinforces positive behavior and encourages additional
been so important in the Indian scenario; however,positive behavior. If a team member feels that he or
things have changed in recent years. In prominentshe is appreciated they will be much more likely to
Indian metros at least, there is no dearth ofrepeat their behaviors in the future and even put out
opportunities for the best in the business, or even formore effort than before. When a business leader
the second or third best. Retention of key employeesunderstands the power of recognizing his or her
and treating attrition troubles has never been soemployees the culture of an organization reacts to this
important to companies.recognition and moves in a positive direction helping to
In an intensely competitive environment where HRretain more employees.
managers are poaching from each other, organizations