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Employee Retention

Transforming Your Workforce from High-Turnover to High-Retention

 

GREGORY P. SMITH

Despite economic changes, the issue of employee retention is here to stay. The labor shortage that plagues employers at the height of an economic boom will not vanish. It may be temporarily off our radar now and then, but it will always be back, stronger than ever.

Not many organizations are ready to meet this challenge.

Employers say they want loyal, motivated employees who will stay committed to their organization. But then they threaten these workers with layoffs and insult them with a work environment where people have to work longer hours taking up the slack of two or more people.

Our emphasis on short-term profits and shareholder return has shattered the concept of the "lifetime job." With that concept put out to pasture, today’s workers know that their employers see them as expendable—so why should they give their best to an organization that may lay them off when profits go south?

Meanwhile, those very employers who see workers as expendable and not loyal tie up enormous amounts of time, money, and energy in recruiting and replacing an endless stream of workers.

That’s backwards. As our labor pool shrinks, employers must focus on creating a work environment that lets people work productively and effectively and makes them feel good enough to stay.

That’s the subject of this book.

Here Today, Here Tomorrow shows managers what it takes to create a positive work environment that attracts, keeps, and motivates its workforce to higher levels of performance. It is a complete guide to the key elements that can transform high-turnover industries to high-retention businesses.

Two key themes permeate this book.

First, employee retention matters. A continual effort to replace departing workers—to keep the revolving door full, instead of stopping it altogether—is bleeding U.S. businesses dry. It’s expensive to constantly replace people. The cost of attracting, recruiting, hiring, training, and getting new people up to speed is tremendously more costly as well as tremendously more wasteful than most realize.

Second, productivity is directly tied to retention. Companies with high turnover are at risk for low productivity. Studies from the Gallup organization show that employees who have an above-average attitude toward their work will generate 38 percent higher customer satisfaction scores, 22 percent higher productivity, and 27 percent higher profits for their companies.

This book shows you how to become an employer of choice organization. The right work environment can achieve both of these goals. Whether a worker stays for two years or twenty, he or she should be as productive as possible. If companies can’t guarantee lifelong employment, at least they can create an environment that removes obstacles to productivity for the life of a job.

In this book, you’ll read about companies with work environments that attract and retain people—and where people are willing to give their best. These environments aren’t expensive. In fact, they save money. In many cases, they tremendously improve retention and productivity without lavish salaries or bonuses. And they certainly lower the expense of continually hiring and training new people.

This book shows why retention and productivity must become a strategic issue of highest priority. It introduces the elements of a high-retention workplace, and shows how to implement them. It also offers vignettes and ideas from a wide range of organizations that have learned that a positive work environment creates happier, more productive workers and a healthier bottom line.

Why I Wrote This Book

I wrote this book for several reasons. The most compelling is the pain I feel when I see human potential going to waste. It’s heartbreaking to see people who are so hamstrung by poor management or procedures that they are unable to enjoy what they do. Whether they quit outright or only mentally resign from achieving above minimum performance, there are two losers—the individual and the business.

In this book, you’ll meet dozens of CEOs who know that where they lead, their companies follow. When they decide to value their employees….to discard old mindsets and replace them with innovative new approaches…to replace ineffective management styles with flexible, effective management practices….then it gets done. With the support of top management, companies can create environments that nurture employee retention and productivity.

In my travels and in working with my clients, I have found that every industry—from food to hardware to high-tech to tanning salons—want answers on how to improve workforce retention and make employees more productive.

And in my travels, I found them. In researching this book, I talked with dozens of companies that have created humane, exciting, creative approaches to work—approaches that are energizing their people and increasing their profits.

The variations are exciting, but the recipe is simple:

  • Select better managers and develop them into effective leaders
  • Hold managers responsible for retention in their departments
  • Focus on building relationships with people during their first week
  • Provide a productive work environment that limits work to 35 to 40 hours
  • Pay competitively and offer benefits that let employees take good care of themselves and their family members
  • Make people feel good about themselves and their work
  • Provide opportunities for learning and advancement

Companies who practice these principles don’t have to worry about losing employees. Their people feel provided for, and they are not going to jump ship for a $2 an hour pay raise. It’s a win-win situation. Workers enjoy their workplace and earn a decent salary, and employers save money they would otherwise invest in endless recruitment and training.

If you have smart, gifted, well trained and loyal workers who wouldn’t leave your company for a million dollars, I congratulate you. If, on the other hand, you’re ready to do what you can to bring the revolving door of personnel to a halt, read on. I hope this book will inspire you to take the actions necessary to make your business a place where your employees can say, here today…and here tomorrow.

Call 800-821-2487 for questions or information

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Includes a Podcast on Transformational Leadership: How to Design a Change Management Strategy to Accelerate Performance and Increase Productivity and six special reports -- Creating the High Performance Organization -- Are You a Manager or a Leader? -- How to Manage Negative Employees -- Top Ten Reasons People Quit Their Jobs -- How to Keep Your People Motivated

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