		The Hiring Report Issue 31 - November 2008
The Pittman Group Memphis, TN - Sign Up for The Hiring Report For comments, questions or future topic suggestions, contact askmelinda@thepittmangroup.com - Search Candidates - Post Jobs - Contact Us Know someone who could benefit from the information in the article? Please forward this report to them.	Retaining Employees - The Easy Way Time, effort, and planning are required for a comprehensive retention program. However, there are simple, cost-effective, and logical strategies that can prevent top employees from jumping ship without using a comprehensive retention program. Here’s an example. Recently, a colleague of mine was interviewing a candidate for a supervisor-level position, and the way the candidate described his opinion of work really struck a chord. He said, “The main things I want out of a job are to enjoy going to work, to be treated fairly, and to be paid for what I do.” Sounds fair enough, right? The problem is that this degreed professional had waited two years for his last raise . . . and when he received one, it was a whopping $15 a week. On top of that, he has a boss who attempts to motivate his employees by screaming progressively louder in order to get his point across. Considering how this candidate views his current employment and what his ideal job should be like, it’s no wonder my colleague was able to get him interested in their opportunity. A (seemingly) simple solution The chances are extremely good that they’re going to help this candidate find a job at a company where he feels appreciated. However, it’s a shame that his current employer is going to lose him for reasons that are completely preventable: The company lacks an annual review program that rewards those employees who deserve more. One of its managers does not recognize the efforts of the people who are on his team. The company simply fails to show this person that he’s appreciated. Many people leave their place of employment for reasons exactly like the ones listed above. The cold, hard truth is that a company should never lose a top-performing employee for any of these reasons. But I see it happen all the time. The important question is this one: has it happened at your company, or is there a chance it could happen? If you don’t know the answer to that question, be pro-active about remedying the situation and decreasing the chances that one of your employees is going to leave. Tell everyone on your team (who you wish to retain) that you appreciate their efforts. A face-to-face conversation is best, but if you’re swamped with work, send a personalized email. Make certain that you have an annual review program in place. Research the salary ranges and norms for people in positions like those who report to you, and try to keep your people paid at least to the level of industry norms. Who will be ready when a recruiter calls? Outside of rewarding performance with a commensurate increase in compensation, these retention tips cost nothing. All they require is a little extra effort in the way of verbal gratitude and an expression of how important the company feels the employee to be. As the old saying goes, “We can do this the hard way...or we can do it the easy way.” There’s an easy way to retain employees, and while some companies fail to recognize this, yours doesn’t have to be one of them. The bottom line is that people who feel appreciated and paid well don’t jump ship when a recruiter calls them. However, those who don’t feel appreciated and aren’t paid well are hoping that a recruiter calls them today. And when they do, they’ll be ready to leave. Which group do you want your team to fall into? The choice is largely yours. (As always, we value your input regarding the content for our newsletter. If you have any ideas or suggestions for future topics, be sure to contact us at melinda@thepittmangroup.com. We look forward to hearing from you.)
Copyright 2008 The Pittman Group
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