The 6 Pillars Of Retention In A Rising Market

Mention retention and its all hands to the search for added extras to keep staff sweet. A bit more cash, a few days extra holiday, the corporate gym membership or the day at Alton Towers.  None of these things do any harm and certainly you would not catch me looking the gift horse in the mouth.

The fact that they are added extras that create limited spikes in satisfaction is a consideration. These gifts to encourage loyalty are transient and as fleet of foot as the gift horse itself.  They are external niceties versus inherent motivators.

Staff don’t  get themselves out of bed in the morning, day in day out, to give it all to the business because they are getting 10% discount at Fitness First.

Retention is a function of business inherent protocols, process, ethos and management style. You don’t need to work on the retention thing itself – as its a result of other things working industriously in the background:

The Six Pillars of Strategic Retention:

1. Contribution Towards a Goal. Human beings are often the happiest when they’re in the process of achieving a goal. Clear, achievable objectives that benchmark personal, team and company performance provide the feedback and feel good employees need.  (Scoring a goal makes grown men hug and kiss each other with delirium in front of vast crowds- see what I mean about goals and happiness)
2. Acknowledgment. A comms process that’s structured to inform, emphasize and reaffirm to employees that their workplace contributions are having an impact and that you feel good about them. (Once a week schedule time in to give unsolicited praise)
3. A Premier League Business. People want to work for a winner. What sets your company apart from your competition? How are you–and as a result, your people–making a difference in your industry, in your community, and for your customers?  Therefore, a key tenant of retention is the business strategy itself  – if that was not already becoming obvious from this piece!
4. The Reward for Good Work is…. More Good Work. ‘Good work’ can be defined as work that floats an employees boat and that is value generating for the business. Win / win.  Yip, keep feeding people work they love and they will walk on hot coals to get more of the action.
5. Get involved.  Generation Y, it is oft said, want to run before they can walk. Of course, that is a function of their upbringing and environment where self reliance, access to knowledge and worldwide visibility of possibility is it at their fingertips.  If they are keen to have your job before they are shaving – that is something to be encouraged and nurtured. If you don’t, they’ll just leave anyway – the portable portfolio generation can.
6. Make money by 1-5 above, celebrate wildly and share it around equitably. The virtuous cycle and possibility generation of the 6 pillars of retention makes it possible.

A word on recruitment. Aside from the tactics of finding good people which, is a subject for another blog, Attraction principles rein. Attracting quality staff is a more powerful and efficient medium than looking for them.  The inherent attractiveness of a business that is masterful in 1-5 is self evident.