QUESTION:  HOW DO WE MEASURE THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT OF KEEPING OUR TOP PERFORMERS?

DISCUSSION:  Most companies today recognize the value of attracting and retaining a strong, competent workforce.  But most also don’t fully appreciate how they can improve retention rates.

When surveyed, employees indicate their top reasons for leaving a position are:

·        Not getting along with their direct supervisor.

·        Desire for more money.

·        Need for better work/life balance.

·        Lack of career growth, challenging assignments.

It’s noteworthy that three of the four top reasons are non-financial. Employers can do much to address these issues, but frequently only pay lip service to significantly enhancing the employee experience. If employers paid this little attention to their customers’ experience, they would likely be out of business.
So, what’s an enlightened employer to do?

• Actively demonstrate that you value the unique needs of each employee
• Tailor your HR and benefit programs to your workforce (flexible work schedules, choices in health plan options, PTO banks, etc.)
• Publicly recognize outstanding performance and employee achievements.
• Teach supervisors how to be good coaches and managers.
• Provide ongoing training on issues such as handling conflict, delivering difficult messages and conducting effective performance discussions.
• Ensure alignment between business goals and employee rewards.

• Appropriately mix base and variable pay.
• Unambiguously link performance to rewards.
• Clearly delineate between rewards for top and bottom performers.
• Nurture the employee ecosystem.
• Make sure employees understand what the organization values are.
• Practice what you preach—hold managers accountable for their actions and for tolerating or ignoring unacceptable behavior.
• Focus attention on high performers; deal effectively with marginal performers (Is an “up or out” philosophy right for you? Or, is a culture of mediocrity acceptable?).
• Ask top performers what makes them successful at your organization and why they stay.
• Ask employees what is and what is not working and act on their input.

Commonly used solutions today include pre-hire assessments, (WE OFFER AND UTILIZE THE DiSC® ASSESSMENT PROFILE) variable compensation programs, and links between the performance management and compensation systems (both strategic linkages and automated, processing-type linkages). Planned enhancements over the next year typically include the implementation of learning management systems and online skills/competency tracking systems.

Forward-thinking companies do a reasonable job of tracking the key performance indicators of retention, which have historically covered employee satisfaction levels, turnover rates and benchmarks for similar organizations, and worker productivity metrics. However, these measures do little to illuminate why retention issues occur. 

These basic measures should be expanded to track items such as employee satisfaction with specific areas of their job (their work, their supervisor, their pay, their commute, their co-workers); turnover rates should be evaluated by employee level, tenure, speed of advancement, performance rating, sex, age and other factors.

The key is to progress from simply tracking data to understanding information to determining cause and effect. Then you can affect your bottom line.  Client Growth Consultants is here to help.  Call or write and we will respond immediately!

George Mancuso, CPC
President
Client Growth Consultants, Inc.

Do You Pay Yourself?

Do You Pay Yourself?

PAY YOURSELF!!!

The holidays can be fun, but they can also add stress to our already crazy existence as business professionals.  If you close your eyes and review 2011 – would you make any changes?  Would your W-2 be higher?  Would you take better care of yourself?

Here is a chance to wave the magic wand…….Picture 2012 as a White Board which is very exciting and full of opportunities!  You can create anything you want for yourself next year.  Now ask yourself this question…..Do you know EXACTLY what you want?  Most people don’t get what they want out of life because they’re too busy worrying about everyone else to take time to determine what THEY want out of life.

During this extremely busy upcoming Holiday Season(s), find a quiet place for yourself for at least one hour.  Close your eyes and envision yourself one year from now, and you are celebrating your BEST YEAR EVER!

Now open your eyes and write down who was at this celebration, what you achieved and what you have to do (starting now) to make it happen.  Make certain some of these goals are “personal goals.”

Think about this…..

What you do for a living is admirable!

What you do for a living is challenging!

What you do for a living changes the lives of other people on a daily basis!  How incredible is that?

Put yourself on your Holiday Shopping List.  Reward yourself each month of 2012 when you achieve your monthly goals.  Your clients, your peers, your friends, your employees need YOU, to take care of YOURSELF in 2012, so that you can take care of them.

Don’t be afraid to pay yourself!  It will be well worth the investment.

Regards,

George F. Mancuso, CPC
President
Client Growth Consultants, Inc.

Employees Want Managers Who Provide Goals and Direction

Employees Want Managers Who Provide Goals and Direction

Employees don’t leave companies; they leave their managers (I’ve said this time and time again) and this IS a key factor to a successful employee retention program.

    Employees want managers who will provide goals and direction, feedback and coaching—and who recognize and reward them for good performance. Yet research indicates that managers are not delivering on these expectations. One possible reason is that managers’ roles are not designed to focus on managing people. Most managers spend 90 percent of their time on technical and administrative tasks and only 10 percent of their time on activities related to managing and developing the people who report to them.

    There is a wealth of research indicating that management behavior is a key factor in retention. This is nothing new. Recent research has consistently shown that dissatisfaction with one’s manager is a top reason for leaving the organization.

    More recently, three different research studies examined the factors that predicted whether employees would stay with or leave their current organizations. Some of the most commonly found items predicting intention to leave were:

•    Insufficient feedback and coaching
•    Insufficient reward and recognition for their work
•    Insufficient learning and development opportunities
•    Insufficient sense that their organization values them
    

Management is responsible for delivering on each of these job factors. No one else can affect how an employee feels as dramatically and tangibly as an employee’s immediate manager. The most effective managers are those who know their employees’ strengths and development needs so well that they know which assignments to give based on balancing both organizational needs and those of the employees.
 

    Coaching and feedback make up one area that is receiving the most attention in organizations today. Employee survey results in company after company are showing that employees want and expect feedback. Research conducted with Gen Xers tells us that this age group not only expects feedback from their managers, but demands it. The Millennial Generation is even more voracious in its need for coaching and input.
 

    Finally, people want to know that they are appreciated when they do a good job or put in extra effort. Good managers praise employees in ways that raise self-esteem and commitment to the organization. Poor managers just expect it all, and, as a consequence, praise nothing. What they really get is turnover, and lots of it. And then they get less productivity out of the people who do stay.
 

EMPLOYEE RETENTION CONTINUES TO BE A MANAGEMENT ISSUE!
 

We Can Help!  Call or write and we WILL respond immediately!
 

Regards,
George F. Mancuso, CPC
President/CEO
Client Growth Consultants, Inc.
www.ClientGrowthConsultants.com