One of the most pressing issues in today’s workplace is to retain the employees who have already made up their mind to leave the organization or who have already resigned in the quest of greener pastures.
Unfortunately, in many organizations, this is when the quest to retain the employee starts. Suddenly the world of opportunities opens up for the employee inside the organization in the form of the pay hike, promotion, onsite opportunities or transfer.
Usually, the efforts to retain a person after he has decided to leave are futile. But more often than not, the salary or the role offered by the competitor is too lucrative, or the employee has spoken to mentors, peers, and friends and has already convinced himself and his family, or may even feel that the organization’s efforts are too little, too late.
Even in cases where the retention efforts do seem to succeed, it is not without causing a collateral damage; it may tend to leave many of the other employees unhappy and disgruntled due to the perceived unfairness of a new offer or without delivering the message that in order to get something, an employee must threaten to quit the organization. This may happen despite the significant amount of time and effort expended by the management in making the counter-offer. Hence this is, largely, an ineffective way to retain people.
However, the importance of retention efforts cannot be underestimated, especially in emerging markets like India, where there is a stark imbalance between the demand and supply of talent. Now the question arises, how can organizations make more concerted efforts to retain talent?
Instead of making retention efforts after the employee has decided to quit may not have that effect when compared to doing these before the person starts looking elsewhere. Which means asking the questions- What are the actions that will be taken to retain the employee after he has resigned? Can these actions be taken before he starts to think of quitting?
History bears witness to the fact that serious efforts to know what will make the employee stay or leave; and the relevant actions taken based on this understanding can significantly reduce the undesired exits of talent. Although it is easier said than done, engaging proactively with the employees could work wonders and have a very significant impact on the bottom line of the business.
The issue lies in the fact that this approach requires the organization to engage with the employees in a radically different way and by creating an empowering culture where the employees are consistently valued. Moreover, the organization is required to think ahead and be ahead of the curve.
Here are some of the critical steps for proactively engaging with the employees:
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