Is employee turnover getting you down? Take it for granted - keeping employees motivated and fully engaged with their work, so that they continue to add-value to your business, is easier said than done!

Essentially, it's all about the basics. Every person has a reason, or milieu of reasons to work. But these motives are highly individual - what works for one employee may be disregarded by the next. The trick is therefore, to know what works for each of your best people, so that you are able to align all your human resources with your business strategy. In short, if your employees feel they're getting the most out of or contributing to a synergistic relation, they'll stay. If not, they'll move on to greener pastures.

Alongside us, you may benefit from reviewing a few common practices that help retain the talent every business needs.

Meaningful employee orientation

They say well begun is half done, and even more so in the case of hiring and retaining talented employees. Every new recruit undergoes an orientation process, whereby s/he is introduced to the company, key staff members and so on. The key is not to treat it as something to get over and done with ASAP (!) and then get down to real work! Instead, the orientation process should answer the question - "To what extent do you want your company's policies to be reflected by your employees?"

On the contrary, a superficial orientation which amounts to mere eyewash, may lead to negative conclusions and leave the staff feeling deprived and most importantly, does not sufficiently engage them with their new organization and job.

Establish the right work environment

 Ensuring that every employee has a set of office tools, stationary, a good computer with access to printer, scanner and whatever else may be required, in a clean, well-lit, ventilated, comfortable office environment goes a long way in indicating that you mean business and that you care for an employee's comfort at work.

After all, they'll be spending at least eight hours of every working day in the office. If your employees like their work surroundings, they're more likely to connect with the organization, and feel a sense of belonging - much like being at home!

Establish discipline with regard to office timings

Continuing the same thread, there's a flip side of employees feeling too much at home in the office. First, this may breed a casualness of approach, which could jeopardize professionalism at work. Secondly, especially in the case of young, unmarried staff, it could encourage them to work long hours and sometimes, stretch the time taken to complete a job.

It's important for employees to know that your intention behind creating a great work environment is not to encourage long, but productive working hours. Likewise, you need to send out a strong message about a balance between work-private life, so that you're employees don't feel they're being exploited, nor do they change their attitude (or employment) after getting married!

Help them know where they're going

Most employees, especially those at junior and middle levels, welcome opportunities to further their skills and education. Employees like being shown where and how they fit into an organization's long-term plans. This makes them more amenable to training proposals chalked out for their growth. It heightens their self-confidence and sense of self-worth, two factors that contribute to employee retention.

Highlighting future business trends and organizational workforce needs, and linking these with each individual's skills helps employees clearly see where their career path is heading, and work towards the new position. This creates a sense of loyalty as individuals feel they have been taken into the larger picture.

Of course, some would say that organizations often lose out when they train people who subsequently leave. Raghav Rao an HR specialist with 20 years experience in the field and the founder of HRinIndia, the largest online network of the HR fraternity in India having more than 12000 HR practitioners explains the focus of training - "When an organization invests time and money on training its employees it does not do so with a socialistic approach. They are very clear that by imparting training the productivity of the individual results in higher bottom line. Training must benefit both the individual and the organization. Only then may training be considered meaningful. If an employee leaves, it does not stop a company from investing in others, life goes on and the training continues."

Apparently, keeping employees happy is a package deal, so we continue!

Improve the quality of performance reviews

Performance reviews are linked with regular duties as well as training. Insofar as the former is concerned, ensure appraisals are fair and clear. Training must be followed up with reviews, whereby an employee is clearly shown how his/her improved productivity and profitability correlates with training. This works as an incentive for people to desire further improvement, and ensures a transparent review process. 

A supervisor should be clear about expectations and incentives, honest about the quality of work done, concerned but not mechanical about judging past performance, and encouraging of better future performance through one-on-one and group meetings.

What are your supervisors thinking?

Every employee depends a lot on his/her supervisor. The Pygmalion effect, an interesting principle concerned with improving the attitude of those in supervisory positions, was first coined in an article titled Pygmalion in Management by J Sterling Livingston, published in the September/October, 1988 Harvard Business Review.

According to Livingstone, "the way managers treat their subordinates is subtly influenced by what they expect of them." Simply speaking, every supervisor harbors certain expectations from his/her subordinates. These expectations are consciously or unconsciously communi-cated to, or picked up by employees, who then proceed to work in consonance with the expectations they feel they have to live up (or down) to.

In other words, the Pygmalion effect, or the power of expectations, indicates that by merely thinking of a positive outcome, managers can give employees cues that inspire them to better action. 

The reason for the Pygmalion effect is cited as the Galatea effect. When a supervisor thinks positively about a subordinate, the latter more easily believes in his/her success, and is subconsciously inspired to perform better. Quite asides influencing performance, supervisors can go a long way in making employee feel valued and hence, stay on with an organization.

Listen to what employees say

Ideal organizational communication channels encourage a two-way dialogue, not a one-sided monologue. The best way to bring employees out of their shell and encourage a sense of belonging is to share plans and decisions with them - both those that affect them and those that may potentially impact their work - and ask for their opinion.

Communication should be clear, open, timely, and expressed with passion, not as a routine chore. Emphasizing quality communication should become an organization's culture. 

Last but not the least, it's important to talk to employees who are on their way out, during exit interviews to determine not only their immediate cause for leaving but also identify other reasons for their dissatisfaction. As these employees have nothing to lose, and are free of inhibitions, their feedback is a valuable source of data about the health of your organization.

Challenge your employees

Have you ever felt bored at work? Like you're going nowhere, or doing repetitive tasks, or that your creativity is slipping away? Employees welcome opportunities to harness their "other" skills, on a one-time or regular basis at work. For instance, you may have some freelance artists hidden among your employees, who would love to suggest logos for your new brand. Then why hire an external consultant?

Make a database of your employees' add-on skills, and use these whenever possible. The simplest way to retain talent is to honor it, by using it whenever possible.

Establish fair remunerations standards

Some would list remuneration as the single most important reason for employee turnover. While this is true to a certain extent, it is far more essential to clearly establish payment scales and incentives during the recruitment process. The trick is to pay employees well and fairly. Many employees leave because they feel cheated or side-tracked where money is concerned. They may see non-performers being tolerated, and hence wonder at the value being placed on their own output. Don't tolerate sustained poor performance from anyone. If a person fails to improve post training, adopt a policy of asking employees to leave. Let all your people know that you mean business, and the best will not just survive, but thrive!

Raghav Rao believes, "It is the quality of work, challenges that come with it and the recognition for the efforts that keeps people happy." However, he continues, "most employees know their worth and are quick to learn whether they are underpaid. When this happens they tend to look around for opportunities."

Celebrate every success

Sunder Ramachandran, managing partner of W.C.H Training Solutions, New Delhi emphasizes the need to celebrate every achievement. In his words, "We make a big deal out of every success at our company; it could as simple as gaining an appointment with a client who was showing resistance. A few weeks back our entire team went out for dinner because we lost a contract to a competitor who is much bigger and has been in the business longer. So why did we celebrate? Because we finished No. 2 position amongst the more experienced and bigger companies that we were competing with."

Essentially, Ramachandran says "don't wait for the big ticket event to happen, celebrate the small achievements and also celebrate the efforts of your team members. This will make them work harder and compete fiercely without the fear of failure. Every interaction with your colleagues in the office is either a deposit or a withdrawal. As important as the Big Picture is, it will mean little if the team shows little value to one another on a regular basis."

In a nutshell, retaining talent is in many ways, a process of celebrating it - for its output, for its capability and for its capacity to evolve. The fact is - great employees are hard to find, yet matter so much. By making the most of their talent and skills, and allowing them to get what they want out of your organization, your chances of keeping them around for years to come grow brighter. Simply - allow that to happen.

Charu Bahri is a freelance writer and author of two books. She also writes funding grants and software for a charity working in the health sector.

Issue BG75 June07

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