How to keep staff?

Posted May 25th, 2010 by Dr James Pratt

With skill shortages already evident in the trades and professional services, it's little wonder companies are scrubbing up their employee retention plans.

And as employers are finding out, what drives someone to stay with you now may have changed from what was important a year ago.

"Right now, I think people want to be valued, but it's still about pay and work appropriate for their abilities," said Meahan Callaghan, Human Resources Director of online recruiter SEEK. "It may be nice giving fruit or a free breakfast, but you have to value staff in personal ways.

"Employee retention is simple if you (as a manager) focus on that all the time."

Ms Callaghan says it's important to give any employee reward meaning through verbal praise for the work done or a positive review of that person's performance.

And as job recruitment gathers pace, people really want to know where they stand.

"Last year, many people weren't happy (in their jobs), but didn't necessarily act on that because of their limited options, says John Asquith, retention adviser and founder of Talent Drain.
"Mostly, organisations may not be growing, but for one new position, you may have ten different people hopping organisations and that creates a lot of movement," Mr Asquith said.

Typically, a weak point for companies is holding onto new starters, who tend to have a 30-40 per cent attrition rate, and the level of happiness of these workers tends to drop after 12 months unless they're actively engaged.

"Ensuring these new workers are part of a team, and being trained, is important. Good supervision is good management.”

Management practices can't always be separated from the culture so that's why good leadership counts.

"I think little notes of appreciation and chats with the boss are essential...when those are missing then the other factors become more important. These don't cost you," Mr Asquith said.

Often strategies for retaining talent can often come down to either altering the workplace environment or changing something regarding your people.

"Lawyers, for instance, spend a lot of time in their office so the work environment is a big part of their lives,” said Mr Asquith. “It's not just a place to work.

"On the other hand, accountants have a long way to go with HR strategies. They don't tend to have such a focus on these HR related engagement factors.

"We hear about their problems in retaining staff, but these firms don't seem to be on top of that problem.”

One firm which has ramped up their retention efforts is SNP Security - the third largest security player in Australia, with almost 2,000 employees and contracts for airports, the National Portrait Gallery and a number of CBD buildings.

According to Darlene Winston, SNP's manager of people and culture, 90 per cent of the company staff are security guards, hailing from 57 different countries - so English is a second language for most.

The industry faces a high turnover in manpower although not as high as in the US, where it's almost 50 per cent. In Australia last year, security firms generally lost more people than they employed, while the average turnover for SNP fell from 22 per cent to 14 per cent.

Keeping security guards longer than a year is a challenge because they see it as a stepping stone, says Ms Winston, and the company has moved to change things through more training, and clear promotion and non-cash rewards such as English language courses.

The business is also seeking more women through a new mentoring campaign, active recruitment through their staff and schools, and career succession planning.

"When you engage people, and you have the right people in the right roles in a thriving environment, you can retain them,” Ms Winston said.


Tips to stop the drain

1. Understand the commitment of staff and match candidates to the job – for instance, if it's about boredom then job rotate or increase responsibilities

2. Monitor staff on their needs through surveys and discussion

3. Make 'quick win' changes , such as the induction process, or a change in work environment

4. Highlight your strengths

5. Have a retention budget

Source:

http:// www.talentdrain.com.au

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