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3R OF EMPLOYEE RETENTION Strategy PDF
3R OF EMPLOYEE RETENTION Strategy PDF
Your Employees
Using Respect, Recognition, and Rewards
for Positive Results
iv
To the Reader
Congratulations on investing in the future of your business and your employees!
Did you know that more than 60% of people define themselves by their jobs?
When people are introduced, the first question often asked is, So what do you
do? It is no surprise that when employees dont feel valued in the workplace, it
affects the core of their being.
When you delve deeper into the issue of keeping your employees, you will
understand the vital importance of three key concepts addressed in this book:
respect, recognition, and rewards.
Think of this book as a buffet of ideas and suggestions that you can implement
with your employees. Some of these practices make sense for all employees and
workplaces, while others may not feel right for you, for whatever reason. Take
what you can use and leave behind the rest. You can implement some ideas
tomorrow, while others may take several months. Work through the exercises
throughout the book and you will be on your way to becoming a hard-to-leave
workplace. Use the suggestions and ideas that reflect your personality and fit
your work culture, and make gradual, long-term changes. Enjoy the journey!
Barb Wingfield
Janice Berry
Dedications
Retaining Your Employees
We would like to thank our family members for supporting us in writing this
book: Bob, Brian, Erin, Brad, and Rebecca Wingfield; and Bruno, Zack, and
Gina Paganini. We so appreciate the contributions of our clients and the friends
and colleagues who inspire us with their accounts of what kept them happy in
organizations and what sent them packing. Particular thanks go to the alwayssupportive Barbara Braham, the incredible BKBs, and to all the wonderful
people at Crisp who made our dream come true.
vi
Contents
PART 1: Keeping Employeesand Keeping Them Satisfied
The Importance of Retaining Employees ....................................................................... 3
Finding and Keeping Employees: The Challenges ....................................................... 4
The Three Rs of Employee Retention.............................................................................. 7
PART 2: Respect
The Essential Ingredient of a Hard-To-Leave Workplace .......................................... 13
Rule 1: Be considerate ..................................................................................................... 14
Rule 2: Care about employees as individuals,
appreciating their unique strengths ................................................................. 16
Rule 3: Always be fair ..................................................................................................... 21
Rule 4: Trust your employees ......................................................................................... 23
Rule 5: Be worthy of trust ............................................................................................... 26
Rule 6: Involve employees .............................................................................................. 27
Rule 7: Make the workplace pleasant and safe ........................................................... 30
Summary: Reviewing the Rules of Respect ................................................................. 33
PART 3: Recognition
Redefining Recognition .................................................................................................. 37
Acknowledging Employees ........................................................................................... 38
Formal Acknowledgement ............................................................................................. 41
Feedback Matters! ............................................................................................................ 42
Fostering Communication .............................................................................................. 46
Acknowledging Workplace Transitions ....................................................................... 51
Enabling Professional Growth ....................................................................................... 55
Evaluating Performance ................................................................................................. 57
Summary: RecognitionMastering the Basics ........................................................... 59
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PART 4: Rewards
Types of Rewards ............................................................................................................. 63
Fostering Retention Through Quality-of-Life Rewards ............................................. 68
Enriching the Workplace ................................................................................................ 73
Creating a Fun Workplace .............................................................................................. 75
Celebrating in the Workplace ......................................................................................... 81
About Compensation ...................................................................................................... 84
Summary: Recognizing the Right Type of Reward .................................................... 85
PART 5: You Can Make a Great Place to Work!
You Are the Key ............................................................................................................... 89
Getting Started Means Getting Feedback .................................................................... 90
Making Your Game Plan ................................................................................................. 93
Additional Reading List ................................................................................................. 98
viii
Keeping
Employeesand
Keeping Them
Satisfied
How do you keep employees? You keep them satisfied enough to believe that
their needs will be better met at your organization than anywhere else. It sounds
straightforward enoughyet many employers arent sure where to begin.
Retaining Your Employees
Management Attitudes
Some of the largest obstacles to creating a workplace at which employees want to
stay come from managers themselves. Following are a few of the attitudes and
beliefs of management that can create or worsen retention problems.
Have you ever thought or vocalized any of these?
Theres nothing I can dothis is simply a part of being in business.
Certain that employees will not stay, these managers feel that they have
no choice but to take a reactive approach to keeping employees. In
fact, ones immediate supervisor is in the drivers seat. Nobody
influences employee satisfaction and motivation more.
I pay them, dont I? What more do they want?
This ignores the reality that human beings need more than just a place
to show up and collect a paycheck. They need a place where they feel
that the work they do is valuable and they are making a difference.
I can barely keep my head above water. When do I have time to work at
keeping employees?
Granted, you are struggling to meet deadlines, meet customer
demands, and proactively manage change. However, if you dont have
time to keep employees, how will you find time to replace them and
bring their replacements up to speed?
Your answers to these questions reflect why you must keep the employees you
now have, as well as where your recruiting efforts could be improved.
Rewards
Recognition
Respect
You determine the precise methods you choose to implement the three Rs, but in
general, respect should be the largest component of your efforts. Without it,
recognition and rewards seem hollow and have little effector they have negative
effects. The magic truly is in the mix of the three.
Increased productivity
Reduced absenteeism
Improved profits
Furthermore, an employer who implements the three Rs will create a hard-toleave workplace, one known as having more to offer employees than other
employers. You become a hard-to-leave workplaceone with a waiting list of
applicants for any position that becomes availablepurposefully, one day at a
time.
1 = most important
10 = least important
10
Employees
Rank
Managers
Rank
Feeling in on things
10
Good wages
Interesting work
Job security
10
Tactful discipline
Are you surprised at the results? Many owners and managers are, as
they assume good wages would be higher than fifth. People often say
they leave a job for more money, and it can be a factor in the decision.
However, other factors may first lead them to look in the newspaper
and surf the Net for job opportunities.
Respect
12
13
14
Rule 1: Be considerate
To be consideratethe most basic expression of respectis to be thoughtful of the
rights and feelings of others. Following are some tips to help you be more
considerate:
Take time to say kind things to and about others. We are often
unintentionally stingy about expressing the positive thoughts that run
through our minds, yet far too generous with critical and negative
thoughts.
Never bad-mouth team members. If others are doing so, change the
subject or say something positive or neutral.
If you break Rule 1, whether intentionally or not, be sure to apologize for your
actions. This will not make you look weak. Employees will see you as a caring
human being who makes mistakes and is willing to take responsibility for them.
15
CASE STUDY
Debbie, the principal of a new elementary school, gathered the staff
prior to opening day and shared with the teachers her vision for the school.
Her goals were to respect the children and set high standards for the students and parents. She told her staff, Every time you speak to a student,
imagine that students mother or father standing right behind the child.
Many years later, one of the teachers told Debbie that that one statement
changed forever how she interacted with the students.
If you varied this practice slightly and imagined your mother or father
standing beside youhow would you measure up? How would your parent
feel about your interactions?
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17
When you see the employee, how does your body feel? Are your
shoulders and neck tight? What is your gut feeling? Do you feel your
energy level rising or falling? Are you relaxed, or does your body seem
to want to move away?
2.
What about your face: Are you smiling? Is your brow furrowed or
your jaw clenched?
3.
What thoughts go through your mind when you first see this
employee?
4.
5.
6.
7. Examine biases that are related to the job, and challenge each. How do
you feel this employee stacks up with regard to traits, values, and
talents you consider necessary for this job? Are they really necessary
or only if the job were done the way you would do it?
Which thoughts relate to ways in which the person differs from you?
For example, if you are an extrovert, you may be put off by employees
who keep to themselves. If your peak time of day is late afternoon, you
may be annoyed at the co-worker who comes in each day whistling
merrily. Beware of thoughts that start with phrases such as Why cant
she ever ? or Why does he ?
8.
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How does the employee feel about change, suggestions, and new
opportunities? Does he or she enjoy taking risks?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Is the employee an introvert or an extrovert? A leader or a follower? How
affected is he or she by others critiques and compliments?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Why does the employee work in this city, industry, company, and job?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
What is the employees professional background? Where did she or he
work before, and doing what?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
What are the employees values and work ethic?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
CONTINUED
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CONTINUED
20
Let an employees family members know how much you appreciate his
or her dedication and work. This could be accomplished either verbally
or in writing.
21
If you know youre about to snap, head it off. Take a brisk walk or
find an empty room to sit in for a few minutes. Even a brief snack or
drink break can provide a needed diversion.
22
Yes No
Understand how this job fits into the work of the organization
as a whole?
Get feedback from you on a regular basis about how well she
or he is doing?
23
24
Tolerate failure.
Know that employees approaches will occasionally fail, and dont
become controlling or negative when this happens. Focus on what to
do differently next time. We learn from our failures.
Be positive.
Focus on what they did well, what will be learned from the situation,
and how hard they tried.
25
What was
the situation?
How was your
performance affected
by the other persons
level of trust?
How did
you feel?
How creative
were you?
How capable
did you feel?
Now that you have seen how trust affects an employees morale and performance,
what specific actions can you take today to show your trust in your employees?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
26
Be clearwith yourself and othersas to what you are and are not
committing to do. When you make any verbal commitment, keep a log
for future reference. In a quickly changing workplace, you simply cannot
count on remembering every detail, no matter how good your intentions.
After a conversation, you can also send an email or memo confirming
your understanding, in case you have not communicated as clearly as
you intended. You can also keep these as a reminder to yourself.
Walk the talk. Live by the things you say to employees. In one
company, David, the vice president of marketing, held a meeting after
reading about the importance of a marketing organization being
nimble. He indicated that he wanted everyone to be nimble this
quarterto respond quickly and effortlessly to the marketplace. However,
in this department, employees were granted little autonomy to take
advantage of market opportunities. David wanted to approve everything
and spent weeks deliberating decisions. Over the quarter, workplace
frustrations were compounded by employees anger that the extremely
controlling VP had thrown out a slogan he would never let them live by.
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What the organizations goals are and how you will know when you
reach them.
What other departments are doing. You may wish to bring different
employees to each interdepartmental meeting you attend. You may also
want to pair them up with employees in other departments or locations
who are doing similar jobs and can share tips.
How their jobs fit into the mission, goals, and accomplishments of
the organizationand beyond it. People need to feel that their
work matters!
29
Getting Feedback
Getting and using employee feedback is essential to involving employees. After
reviewing the following suggestions, check () at least two that you plan to
implement at your workplace:
Ask for general input about how the business or department is run. You
can do this in many ways, including one-on-one conversations, focus
groups, surveys, and suggestion boxes. Employees welcome the chance
to share their opinions. Dont ask, however, unless you genuinely care
and intend to follow through. If you ask for employee input without
making changes or providing feedback, morale will go downhill. In one
organization, an employee wondered whether the suggestion box was
emptied directly into the garbage each week, without anyone reading
the suggestions.
When challenges arise, consult employees who have faced similar
challenges during their careers. Ask these employees how they handled
the challenges, and listen to the responses. This will convey your
respect, while teaching you valuable lessons.
Involve employees in decisions about budgeting and work distribution.
Employees will be much happier with your decisions when they have
been asked for input. Involving them makes your job easier, as
employees are less likely to complain about decisions when they have
had a role in shaping them.
Let employees recommend potential new employees andif theyre
interestedassist with interviewing and hiring. This says, I value your
judgment, and makes them more apt to help the new employee
succeed.
Retaining Your Employees
30
31
Yes
1. Is physical safety ensured?
3. Is the building well ventilated, with clean air to breathe? (Plants can
help achieve this, and they make the workplace look more pleasant.)
8. Has color been used to make the workplace pleasant? Blue has a
calming effect; green reduces stress; red increases alertness, but can
make people edgy; and yellow creates a harmonious feel, but toobright shades can make people uncomfortable.
10. Is it easy to work the copier, mail a package out, locate supplies, and
use the telephone system?
How does your workplace measure up? Each of these factors affects the
overall workplace atmosphere.
MORE
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2.
3.
4.
5.
2.
Finally, have you considered your employees overall health and safety? Some
organizations, for example, outlaw smoking breaks and smoking inside the
building, but do not have programs to help interested parties stop smoking.
Others have comprehensive wellness programs.
33
_____ 8. Using employees to help interview and select new employees lets
them know I value them.
_____ 9. Workplace surroundings do not factor into the respect level shown
to the workforce.
_____ 10. If an employees performance suffers, I need to do what I can to
help the person do the job well.
Retaining Your Employees
34
Answer Key
1.
False. Building respect takes time and patience. You can, however, get
started today!
2.
3.
4.
True. Its not the whole picture, but it will give you a head start in moving
past those biases and treating everyone fairly.
5.
False. You must grant respect if you hope to keep employees, regardless of
what else youre doing.
6.
False. Its when a trusted employee makes a mistake that your respectful
attitude matters most. You must give people room to make mistakes.
7.
8.
9.
While youve mastered some of the rules of respect, this is an area that
needs work. Spend a few days working on each of the seven rules before
moving on.
04:
You have a long way to go in building a satisfying workplace, but its great
that you care enough to be reading this.