Virginia Human Resources Today - Summer 2008 - (Page 24)

THE TOP TEN By Carol Barber Best Practices forRetention Since these companies put so much into recruiting the right talent, they don’t want people falling through the cracks when they start work. They have well-planned onboarding processes to help employees quickly assimilate and begin to contribute. And, just to make sure they’re doing the right thing, they ask for post-hire feedback on the hiring and on-boarding process. When I’ve conducted these types of interviews with employees in best-practice companies, they always share amazement over how great the entire experience was. And wouldn’t you know, they almost always have ideas for how it could have been improved, which clients are happy to hear and consider. To retain top talent, many companies would do well to take a page from the books of companies who already have high levels of employee satisfaction and retention. Here is a list of best practices from those companies who enjoy great morale and high retention. 2 They sweat the details of on-boarding T h rou g h e mploye e fo c u s groups, external perception studies and continuous self-examination, these companies have an understanding of their cultures and the personality traits that lead to success within them. They are very often not disturbed over a longer than average time-to-fill, as they, with their employees’ endorsement, would rather have a job go unﬁ lled than ﬁ ll it with the wrong person. The employer prefers to carry more of a load for a period of time than work with less than “A” players. One HR client has said, “This is a very demanding and competitive environment. We look for people who will thrive under those circumstances.” While some workers would perceive demanding and competitive as downright undesirable, others would be highly stimulated by it. Recruiting for that company is always skewed to the latter group, so it is not surprising that its retention rate is very impressive. 1 They know who they are and hire for “fit” These companies see employees as partners in the business, and provide them with every detail of what’s expected and how their performance will be measured. All of them conduct regular employee performance reviews, but more than that, they’ve trained their supervisors and managers to provide continuous feedback. This eliminates any surprise element from performance reviews and gives employees speciﬁc, job-related areas for focus and/or improvement. 3 They set clear expectations and objectives Employee development is a key reason for staying. Today’s workers know how quickly things are changing, and they want to work with companies that will help them keep their skills and knowledge at the cutting edge. And, of course, training and development activities, coupled with career growth based on mastering new skills, have wondrous effects on employee morale and satisfaction. 4 5 They provide training and development at all levels They don’t wait for trouble to find them Rather than taking a “no news is good news” posture, these 24 Virginia Human Resources Today Summer 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Virginia Human Resources Today - Summer 2008

Virginia Human Resources Today - Summer 2008 Contents 2008 State Council Officers and Directors President’s Message: Treasure Hunt Hire the Best, Keep the Best Legalislative Update: Legislative Roundup 2008 Conference and Expo Preview Virginia Universities Score Big at the Southerst Regional HR Games! Retention: A Strategic Approach The Top Ten Best Practices for Retention Employee Recognition and Retention Tactics for Winning the Talent War Your SHRM Southeast Regional Team Index to Advertisers Advertisers.com

Virginia Human Resources Today - Summer 2008

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