KIM
BENEDICT
A
recent North American engagement survey conducted by Gallup found that 70 per
cent of the work force is actively or passively disengaged. Only 41 per cent of
employees clearly understand what makes their employers’ brands more unique than
the competition. Combine the high costs of training and hiring, then factor in
lost revenue and productivity, and it’s no wonder retention keeps business
owners awake at night.
There
is a high correlation between how your employees feel and what your customers
think about you. What if your organization discovered that seven out of 10
customers were a potential flight risk?
A lot
of companies make the mistake of focusing too much on employees walking out the
door and not enough on what keeps them engaged. Understanding how to motivate
people to perform at their best is the key to developing retention strategies
that drive results. The most effective organizations – and ultimately the most
profitable – are those that closely align the aspirations of their employees
with the goals of the business.
Retention
is not just about points, pizza lunches and holiday parties. High-impact
programs are tied directly to a company’s overall employment value proposition,
or EVP, which is the sum of all the reasons employees join, perform and
stay.
An
effective EVP clearly articulates the unique characteristics that make your
employment offering attractive beyond the pay cheque. Elements such as culture,
values, work environment, leadership and organizational behaviour are critical
“selling” features that are prized by your target audience: employees and people
who should be but don’t know it yet.
The
best companies to work for, according to Great Place to Work, typically
outperform the general market by two times and experience half the voluntary
turnover of competitors. These organizations are offering employees perks such
as unlimited vacation pay, concierge services, catered lunches and environmental
subsidies to purchase hybrid vehicles. Sabbaticals, project work and travel
opportunities are also part of the total rewards offered by some of the most
admired companies.
An EVP
can be an especially powerful tool for small to medium-sized organizations.
Leveraged effectively, your EVP is your best strategy for competing against
higher-paying competitors or “sexier” brands that may provide more financial
stability. It can be even more important – and therefore attractive – to new
generations, who often refuse to leave their values at the
door.
So how
can organizations get started on developing retention strategies that
stick?
Go
direct to the source: your employees. The process of eliciting your EVP is
different from traditional engagement programs because it draws on employee
experience, it’s not just a “pulse” against global standards. Your EVP already
exists within your organization – it cannot be created, it must be discovered.
Ask your employees what’s really important in their daily work experience, what
keeps them happy, and what needs to be improved to make sure they stay. The
information gathered will help you prioritize and plan your HR agenda in the
short and long term.
Recognition
plays a valuable part in retention. Once you have discovered your company’s EVP,
map the core themes to your vision and values. Start by asking “how do we
identify with these values?”
“What
are the action statements that can be witnessed and therefore recognized and
rewarded to reinforce the employee experience?”
Your
ability as an organization to tell stories that provide proof of your promise is
more powerful than words on walls or handbooks. Don’t claim to be something
you’re not. Failing to live up to your employment promise is a sure-fire way to
damage trust and ultimately results in high turnover. And in today’s market,
sites such as Glassdoor.ca – a website that gives access to employee reviews of
companies – make it easier than ever for employees to report their version of
the truth.
What
works for your organization must be exclusive to what makes you special. If
keeping top talent is leading to sleepless nights, ask yourself: “Why should
they stay? What are we offering that is unique that they can’t readily get
somewhere else?”
To
build sustainable programs that can be measured and tied to better business
results, companies must think beyond traditional and often transactional
retention schemes. The best organizations take time to uncover their unique EVP
to develop programs that are intuitively aligned to what matters most to their
employees.
Kim Benedict is
a consultant who specializes in working with companies to develop talent
strategies and communications to attract and retain the right people for their
businesses. She can be reached at kimbenedict@rogers.com.
