Five Strategies for Retaining Employees....

    Retaining employees and developing a stable work force involves a two-step process -- understanding why employees leave in the first place, and developing and implementing strategies to get them to stay.

Employees leave jobs for five main reasons:

1. Poor working conditions
2. Lack of appreciation
3. Lack of support
4. Lack of opportunity for advancement
5. Inadequate compensation

 Top Tips for Retaining Employees
To retain their employees, companies should implement the following best practices:

• Hire right to begin with.  HIRE for skills, FIRE for attitude & behaviour.
• Engage in longer orientations with new employees.
• Live the values.
• Use creative rewards and recognition.
• Create annual personal growth plans for each employee.
• Consider non-compete agreements.
• Make it easy for people to get their jobs done.
• Do corporate succession planning.
• 
  Conduct exit interviews with employees who resign. 
• Retaining Key Employees

By focusing on key players who truly make or break your business, you can get the most leverage from your employee retention efforts. Retaining key employees requires a five-step process:

1. Identify key employees and positions.
2. Know what motivates your key employees on an individual level.
3. Provide a deferred compensation plan. (the golden handcuffs!)
4. Monitor and manage key employee performance.
5. Review key employees annually.

Using Benefits as an Employee Retention Tool
Employee benefits provide a powerful tool for attracting and retaining top-notch employees. To design a retention-oriented benefits program, use the following steps:

1. Create a benefits mission statement.
2. Identify your audience and their specific benefits wants and needs.
3. Define a benefits budget that fits within the financial constraints of the company.
4. Give employees as much control as possible over their benefits.
5. Communicate the plan.

Creative Rewards and Recognition

• Reward people for specific behaviors/results.
• Make your rewards program simple and easy to understand.
• Get employees involved in designing and running the program.
• Make it fun!. 
•        Chris Wilkinson.                              
  Certified Business Behaviour & Attitudes Analyst.               
  Business Coach.
  Tel: (905) 275-2907 (Mississauga).
  E-mail: buspilot@bell.net