Keeping the People Who Keep You in Business

What's behind the restlessness of these hard-to-keep employees? The fiercest war for talent in the history of American enterprise. Fueled by the lowest unemployment rate in decades and corporate America's insatiable appetite for skilled workers, this war is giving employees more opportunities, and more incentives to leave, than ever before.

But there are ways to fight back. As employee retention expert Leigh Branham explains in Keeping the People Who Keep You in Business, employees want more than money. In addition, they seek autonomy, challenge, and a sense that their work is meaningful. These human factors-though often overlooked open the door for ingenuity and "uncommon" common sense when it comes to creating an environment and a reward system that make key employees want to stay.

In Keeping the People Who Keep You in Business, Branham offers battle-fatigued managers a plan for victory in the talent war. Critical to his plan are 24 compelling strategies for keeping good employees. These strategies are grouped under four keys: (1) Be a company that people want to work for, (2) select the right people in the first place, (3) get them off to a great start, and (4) coach and reward to sustain commitment. In addition, Branham identifies dozens of companies with outstanding employe eretention programs and provides hundreds of examples of what these companies are doing ranging from low- or no-cost activities to major initiatives-to hang on to their most productive people.

For instance, one retention practice-"Hire and Promote Managers Who Have the Talent to Manage People"-describes an Entex Corporation program that bases 20 percent of each manager's bonus opportunity on how well the manager maintained low turnover or reduced high turnover. Another practice-"Give Autonomy and Reward Initiative" -notes Whirlpool's decision to give low-wage workers a voice by placing them on strategic teams with senior executives. And companies that practice "Challenge Early and Often" pay special attention to new and promising recruits-a particularly important retention strategy for today's GenXers, who are impatient with paying their dues and waiting for challenging assignments. Many companies are using "action learning projects" to keep these bright, but anxious employees challenged and motivated while simultaneously empowering them to solve company problems.

Through inspiring examples and practical suggestions like these, Keeping the People Who Keep You in Business deftly illustrates that it takes more than a fat paycheck to keep valuable employees: Successful retention also involves doing many small things that serve to enhance performance, motivation, and job satisfaction. Filled with guidelines, models, and planning aids, this book is a must for managers searching for ways to retain the people who are priceless to their organizations' success.

Contents

Introduction
Truths About Turnover
Why Good Performers Leave
Who Are the Right People?
Keys to Keeping the Right People
Retention Practices Pre-Checklist

The First Key--Be a Company People Want to Work For
1. Adopt a "Give-and-Get-Back" Philosophy
2. Measure What Counts and Pay for It
3. Inspire Commitment to a Clear Vision and Definite Objectives

The Second Key--Select the Right People in the First Place
4. Understand Why Some Leave and Why Others Stay
5. Redesign the Job Itself to Make It More Rewarding
6. Define the Results You Expect and the Talent You Need
7. Ask Questions That Require Proof of Talent
8. Give a Realistic Job Preview
9. Use Multiple Interviewers and Reference Checking
10. Reward Employee Referrals of Successful New Hires
11. Hire and Promote Managers Who Have the Talent to Manage People
12. Hire From Within When Possible
13. Creatively Expand Your Candidate Pool

The Third Key--Get Them Off to a Great Start
14. Give New Hires the Red Carpet Treatment
15. Communicate How Their Work Is Vital to the Organization's Success
16. Get Commitment to a Performance Agreement
17. Challenge Early and Often
18. Give Autonomy and Reward Initiative

The Fourth Key--Coach and Reward to Sustain Commitment
19. Proactively Manage the Performance Agreement
20. Recognize Results
21. Train Managers in Career Coaching and Expect Them to Do It
22. Give Employees the Tools for Taking Charge of Their Careers
23. Know When to Keep and When to Let Go
24. Have More Fun!

Planning to Keep the Right People Special Groups and Situations
Retaining All the Generations
Retaining a Diverse Workforce
Retaining Technical and Creative Talent
Retaining Entry-level Workers
Retaining During Downsizings, Mergers & Acquisitions