CHAPTER 5:

EMPLOYEE RETENTION
SECTION 1. COVERAGE
This policy covers the policies and procedures on manpower and
employment retention.

SECTION 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY

A successful employee retention strategy requires you to think about things
from the team's point of view. No two employees are exactly alike, of
course; each has unique desires and goals. But all of them want to feel
appreciated by their employer and treated fairly. They want to be
challenged and excited by their work. And they want to be paid at or above
market rates with good benefits. 

SECTION 3. OBJECTIVE
People quit their jobs for a wide variety of reasons. While every situation is
unique, most of reasons why people quit their job is something that could
have been controlled by the company. When a good employee chooses to
quit, it’s often preventable.

Employee retention is an important factor in any company’s success. No

employer wants to lose an employee, but when they do, it’s disruptive,
costly, and frustrating.

Here are 16 reasons why people quit their jobs:

1. No Opportunity for Advancement – LinkedIn claims that this is the

number one reason why people quit their jobs. If there is no way
for them to climb the career ladder, they have to go someplace
else to get a promotion.

2. Terrible Bosses – Management plays a direct role in how happy

employees are at work. Bad leadership is a quick way to drive
your employees away.
3. Job Wasn’t as Expected – Every new hire has certain expectations
of a job, if those expectations aren’t met, they may decide to
search for a job where they will get what they want.

4. Seeking More Challenging Work – People want to challenge

themselves. If they feel underutilized and that their work is
meaningless, they will want to move on.

5. Want Higher Pay/Benefits – Pay, perks, and benefits play a role in

every job. If you don’t pay a competitive wage and offer
attractive benefits, there is no reason for any employee to stick
around.

6. Lack of Recognition – Tell people they did a good job. It makes

them feel valued.

7. Feel Micro-Managed – When everything an employee does is

scrutinized under a microscope, they don’t feel that they can
grow and be creative. Give your employees a bit of freedom and
independence to be the professionals that they were meant to
be.

8. Poor Communications – If you feel like you don’t know what’s

going on, it can be frustrating. Poor communications can lead to
a disconnect between the employees, the leadership, and the
company. It often results in people leaving for different jobs.

9. Ready To Escape The 9 To 5 – In today’s tech-savvy world,

people hate sitting in an office. They want to be able to
telecommute. If you don’t let them telecommute, they’ll find a
company that will.
10. Company’s Financial Stability – When sales are down, stock
prices plummet, and layoffs are inevitable, employees get
scared. They may leave sooner than later.

11. Wrong Cultural Fit – Company culture plays an important role in

employee satisfaction. If someone doesn’t fit into the culture, it’s
best that they move on to someplace where they fit in.

12. Feel Overworked – Overloading an employee with works leads to

stress – and no one wants to be stressed out, especially if they
aren’t compensated for their hard work.

13. Lack of Feedback – A little bit of feedback goes a long ways. It

shows that you care about your employee’s work and that you
notice what they are doing.

14. Hire and Promote the Wrong People – Putting the right people in
the right places is the key to success. It’s kind of like a giant
Jenga puzzle, if one piece gets out of whack, the entire building
can crumble.

15. No Professional Development – Employees want to develop as a

professional. Help them seek the right education and training to
become better. When your employees improve, so does your
company.

16. No Work/Life Balance – If it’s all work and no play, something has
gone terribly wrong. Employees need to find an appropriate
work life balance if you want them to stick around for the long
term.
 17. Now that you know why employees leave, use this information to
your advantage. Most of these reasons are within your
company’s control. In order to boost your employee retention
rates, open up communications. Reach out to your employees
and see what they are thinking. Lead, engage, and develop your
people. Show them that you appreciate them. It’s an on-going
process, but it’s not a hard as you think.

TIPS ON EMPLOYEE RETENTION:

1. Point to specific examples when addressing negative
behavior.

As a leader, it’s important that you know how to address an

employee’s negative behavior or disruptive actions in a way
that’s constructive yet also reinforces the seriousness of the
matter at hand. When addressing an employee’s actions, it’s
important to be specific. This may even mean providing physical
evidence of the employees’ deeds (or lack thereof) in case
they’re being defensive. Depending on the seriousness of the
issue at hand, it may also be advisable to have the meeting in a
private space with another senior official at the company. This
may help to stress the seriousness of the matter without having
to say anything and will allow you to explain why the employee’s
actions (or lack thereof) were detrimental to both him/herself and
their fellow employees in a way that’s calm and easy for them to
understand.

2. Address small problems before they become big problems.

When there is a small problem, course correct in a kind,

mentoring way as soon as you possibly can. Behavior that a
business owner ignores is essentially condoned and approved
behaviour.
 When correcting small issues, there is a “formula” that small
business owners can follow: ensure that it is a good time to talk,
ensure that you are in a good space – somewhere quiet and
private, state the incorrect behavior and preferred behavior
factually, ask the employee if they have any questions about
your expectations and clarify, and ask the employee if anything
is getting in their way to do the expected behaviour and offer
your assistance. Finally, monitor and praise the proper
behaviour.

3. Have regular 1 on 1s with your reports.

In our company, every employee has two meetings per year with
his or her boss to be able to deal with discipline issues and day-
to-day issues at work. We also recognize the importance of how
we transmit, communicate, and share ideas with our team
constantly. Because of this, we have successfully dealt with
unwanted employee behavior by being able to find a solution in
a timely manner. Additionally, this strategy allowed us to
improve the retention of personnel in our company. Bottom line
is, if you want to have excellent work discipline, then you must
invest your own time as the owner, boss or leader with your
employees.

4. Lead by example.

When I was working at a tech startup, I was amazed at the

discipline exhibited by the CEO. The office was modern, with
glass walls and big open spaces, so employees, project
managers, and the CEO could all interact on the same level.
The CEO was also disciplined about being in the office before
most other employees and leaving exactly little over at 6 p.m.
every day. I asked him about this once, and he said he didn’t
want employees to feel pressured into working late simply
because he was there. By leaving precisely at 6 every day, he
wanted to set the precedent. A combination of transparency and
 leading by example is how companies can establish employee
discipline without even having to verbally say anything.

5. Add a physical activity to the daily schedule.

When it comes to engaging employees and keeping their

discipline up, we’ve found that it helps to start the day with
something that mixes productivity and fitness (done in the
office). For example, we get the team to do a squat by the wall
and run through their daily, weekly, and monthly goals. Physical
effort increases focus / willpower and releases endorphins! The
team loves it. Here’s more info about the science behind it, as
I’ve actually developed this into a Fitness + Purpose method.

6. Let employees see what their peers are working on.

Having employees do the right thing in the first place is far better
than imposing disciplinary action after problems arise. A simple
system whereby team members can see what their colleagues
are working on each day can work like magic. Firstly, it gets
everyone to be deliberate about planning their day, which helps
productivity and people focus on doing the most important work.
Secondly, this method adds some positive peer pressure to the
workplace. No one wants to be the one who lets the team down,
so when people are transparent about their work, it puts a little
extra pressure on everyone which is usually extremely
motivating. This method can be done on a whiteboard if
everyone is in the same office, or using online tools for remote
teams.

7. Observe legally sound guidelines.

When disciplining an employee, it is advisable to have at least

two members of management present, and normally, there
should be at least one manager reviewing a supervisor’s
decision before an employee is terminated. Ensure that you
have considered options other than termination, such as
 resignation, transfer, or demotion. Documentation supporting the
termination should be reviewed prior to the termination to
determine that it is sufficient. You also need to prepare and
follow a script while discharging an employee. Maintain the
employee’s dignity and confidentiality during the discharge
process without engaging in a prolonged dialogue or getting into
too many details about your reasons for the discharge.

8. Be consistent in applying the rules.

Before you take any action, talk to the troubled employee in a

private place to see if their behavior was triggered by an
unresolved problem. Keep your conduct professional, tell them
what you are seeing and ask them directly why they are
behaving in that manner. It’s also important to communicate
honestly by giving clear feedback, explaining your expectations
in detail, and providing a deadline with specific consequences if
they do not meet expectations. Above all – be consistent! If you
decide certain actions are against the rules, stick to that
directive. Inconsistent management could be perceived as unfair
and create additional problems in your workforce.

9. Tailor your approach to the nature & severity of the problem.

The employer should cater their approach to the issue in

question and the level of severity (and nature) of the disciplinary
problem. For example, a performance management issue may
require a much more remedial, encouraging, and coaching
approach as opposed to willful misconduct, which may require a
final warning or discipline. Also, it is important for small
businesses to know that employee complaints may arise
following disciplinary action. Employees sometimes use a
complaint as a means of shielding themselves from further job
action, because retaliation following a protected complaint is
unlawful. Small businesses are well advised, then, to ensure
that they have strong, documented evidence of the issues
 leading up to any disciplinary action so they can effectively
protect themselves from unexpected legal claims.

10. Establish & regularly monitor operations workflow.

To keep employees disciplined and focused, it is incredibly

important to form a workflow that contains clear intermittent and
final deadlines. It’s also critical to check in on your team
members during an ongoing project. Your workflow should be
split up into two parts: process and dates. Every few days,
check in on the process (the task) and whether your team
member is good to meet the deadline. Integrate your workflow
into an app like Trello or into your other project management
platforms, such as Slack. This provides real-time updates to you
and other team members who are relying on another colleague
to meet the project deadline.

11. Define the problem in a simple way.

The more clearly, I can explain the issue, the better results I get.
I strive to be as concise and transparent as possible, defining
both the objectionable behavior and its resulting impact on the
business. Simple, language helps employees understand why
the behavior is unacceptable and allows them to take ownership
of solving it. Whenever possible, I try to approach discipline
issues with the idea of improving an otherwise positive
performance (as opposed to focusing on punishment for a
negative behavior). I have found that this method consistently
produces better results than the so-called “progressive
discipline” system I have used in the past.

12. Offer free lunch to minimize too-long breaks.

We run an IT services company with a modest support team.

We never know when we will encounter a bulge in our call
 volume. Employees leaving the building for lunch decreases our
ability to respond to all calls within five minutes. Plus, people are
often gone for more than their allotted time. So, we buy our
employees lunch—every day! One person takes orders for one
or more team members from nearby restaurants and delivers
lunches to employees’ desks. Employees like the benefit and
tend to be more available for mid-day calls.

13. Develop a coaching/counseling memo.

Employee disciplinary proceedings can get confusing fast. To

formalize the process and ensure proper documentation,
develop a coaching/counseling memo or tool that documents the
first step taken in the process. Within the memo, the areas of
concerns should be clear as well as expectations on improving
the issues. This allows business owners to quantify where they
are in the employee discipline process and ensures they have
records should they need them in the future.

14. Lean on company culture

When an employee has violated one of our rules, has

underperformed, or has acted against the best interest of the
company, we lean on our company culture doc in our
communication with them. We mention how they have acted
against the company culture and if they were to face a similar
situation again, how someone who vouches for the company
culture would have acted. If the infringement was significant
enough, we give a warning. A third warning is followed by
termination.

15. Encourage Discipline Through Engagement

A key method to employee engagement is holding employees to

a weekly or even daily status report about what they
accomplished during that particular day or week. As a former
remote worker, I had to submit daily progress reports about the
 major tasks I accomplished that day. By being held accountable
for my work ethic and habits, it was easier to accomplish major
tasks and stay on deadlines. A weekly status report is preferred
over a daily list, as a daily update may come across as micro
management.

16. Treat friends in the workplace like everyone else.

Having a friend at work has its advantages but it can also cause
drawbacks, especially at a point where you have to impose
disciplinary action. The key is to maintain a healthy manager-
report relationship so you can minimize awkwardness when
giving negative feedback. Don’t be tempted to put off conducting
the disciplinary meeting with your friend/employee. It’s also best
that you come prepared with the details, such as HR policies
involved, and compose an objective for your conversation to
make sure that the meeting stays on track. Offer them a chance
to speak up and share their ideas on ways to overcome their
performance issues, and encourage them also to speak to HR if
they feel they need someone else to talk to.

17. Get in the right mindset.

As an employer, having the right mindset towards employee

discipline sets an overall positive tone during disciplinary
meetings. It should be clear that employee discipline is different
from punishing an employee. Expecting negative punishment to
bring about a positive result is similar to treating your employees
like children. Make an effort to approach the disciplinary process
with an open mind. Be prepared to hear objections or complaints
and address them professionally. You will get a better response
from your erring employee if you show that you are ready to
listen and help them overcome their misconduct.

18. Clarify your policies in your employee handbook.

 In order for employees to be aware of what goes against
company policies, it should be clearly stated and explained in
your employee handbook. For the most part, this is the first step
in preventing unwelcome behavior in the workplace. Enumerate
your policies on the use of technology and information security.
State your expectations regarding absences, tardiness and
timeliness as well as the responsibilities and accountabilities
that your company sets for each employee. Do not assume that
an employee will know. Include even the most obvious policies
in your handbook. Make sure that each employee, even those
on contract, has signed off to reading and understanding all your
policies and guidelines.

19. Handle employee theft claims fairly.

Employee theft issues can happen even to the best of

companies. Which is why businesses should have clear policies
when it comes to preventing and handling employee theft
claims. Establish clearly written guidelines outlining procedures
and practices for handling company assets (cash, inventory,
equipment and supplies). Make sure that you emphasize equal
importance to company property no matter how small. Often
times employees who are found stealing start with small things
assuming that no one will notice that it’s gone. Take time to
explain and train your staff with guidelines and consequences.
Give them enough opportunity to ask questions, and clarify any
part of the policy that seem confusing to them. Lastly, assure
that a fair and equal procedure is in place when conducting
investigations on theft claims.

20. Get to the root of employee absenteeism.

Managers should be aware of the different factors resulting in

employee absenteeism. It is important to come up with a
permanent, as opposed to a temporary solution. Sometimes,
people are just in a rough patch that takes them away from work
and would appreciate support. Consider organizing a small
 daycare, carpooling, or opportunities for small, quick loans for
struggling employees. These don’t have to cost the company
much if everyone is encouraged to get involved.

21. Resolve workplace conflicts according to the cause.

Workplace conflicts should be handled differently depending on
the cause. When conflict arise over limited resources, create a
perception of abundance. For example, if two departments are
fighting over a small training budget, HR might offer to conduct
in-house training so both can benefit. Arguments that come from
a difference in perception can be resolved by developing a
mentorship relationship between employees. Those that arise
from conflicting assumptions and tolerance can be addressed by
team building activities. You should also establish accountability
and responsibility to make sure that roles are well-established
and communicated. This helps to avoid disagreements as to
who has the final authority to make a decision.