Manager's Delimma

what should a manager do if he is a very good people developer but all his good employees are poached by his rivals?

Dear Jess,

Then manager should join the rival!
Humour apart, the retention of the employee depends on the organisation's culture as well. Mere having good manager is not sufficient. You need to do the market survey of the salaries paid in your industry. If the salaries are at par the market standards then take the employee satisfaction survey. Something unknown will surely come out.
Ok.
DVD

Dear Jess, It is always better that we (that pose questions) clearly indicate what our role is and why we are asking the question. Are the rivals internal or external? Have a nice day. Simhan

Dear Jess,

If in your opinion the Manager is so good then why should his employees leave??

Why do employees leave is a question which does not have any single reason. In our career we will find employees leaving the organisation that has just recognised his performance and given a promotion.

The fact is different employees react differently to different situations. We have observed that employees who have been exploited by employers in the past is some form are likely to stay longer when compared to others. So the selection process should aim at fill up the position not just a vacancy. By filling up the vacancy HR has just ticked off one pending job but when you try to fill up the position you actually spend more time while recruiting (probing his reasons for leaving past employments). In these days we find that employees leave organisation within just 2 years to get more CTC. These job hoppers needs to be discouraged as they put in lot of pressure on HR department as the recruitment cycle is always incomplete.

On the other hand please ensure that compensation of your employees are on par with industry standards and you actually are not exploiting them just because they are not moving away from you.

As Managers we only focus on employee development inside the office. Focus should be on discreetly monitoring the social groups formed outside the organisation. Visiting weddings of colleagues will give you a very good insight of informal groups. You can also observe reactions/ comments about the organisation when they are outside the organisation.

It is a long drawn process. Last but not the least show real interest in their personal life, help them on troubled conditions (personal help only no official colour).

Regards

M.V.Kannan

R u sure that your employees are overall satisfied with the culture within your company? Have you tried a one-to-one interview when they decide to leave? What is the morale like amongst the employees? Do they talk to you about problems at work? Do they confide in you? If yes, have you ever tried solving their professional problems or helping the employees solve their professional problems? Sometimes the problems could be personal as well. Have you tried doing a 360° survey to know what employees generally think of top management? You'll have to make sure it remains confidential.
Lastly, just talking nicely and humanely to people does not help. Do you actually connect with your people?

Hi
just look at external equity, compensation levels of rivals . Also , apart from money employees also look for other benefits , factors of satisfaction.
Finally , as mentioned before , employees leave because of organisation culture , ethos etc. , which even a good manager cannot control.
Regards
Suman Banerjee

For retention of particular employees an organisation need to strive more and more building a good corporate culture together with diferent programs for employees with time to time gifts and celebrations making them feel a part of company. Opennes and sense of belongingness may sometimes serve the purpose.............

Dear Mr. Kannan,
You are right that people usually leave the Organizations in 2 years for the better CTC but please do let me know that why the companies' HR does not give the good hike at the time of hiring these guys? What is my opinion is - if you hire a person at a good hike, certainly, he will be staying with your Organization for long because in today's scenario where each and every person is moving from this company to that company for money, in such a case, why not we hire the right talent at a good hike so that if he / she wants to move from the company, he'll not be able to do the same in light of the package and perks being given to him / her in the present company.
I may be wrong in my perception but this is what is going on today.
Regards,
Amit Pathak.

Apart from what has been said already by others, poaching is a situation you have to live with in today's world. Check attrition rate for your group / Dept. Provide for that many replacements. If your relationship has been good there are that many more people batting for you outside your organisation and if these are technical people you will have a network that will have exceedingly high value as time passes. Besides, the manager must not remain the sole trainer, he / she should train people so that they in turn can train new recruits as they come in. Everyone knows that there is a dearth of employable people today.
Devendra Jain

Did you ever hear of a stay interview? Keeping communications open with employees let's you know what they want. Even exit interviews will help you determine why they are leaving but stay interviews help you determine why they are staying and what they would like that they are not getting. It could be money, benefits, engagement...get to know your employees and what they want. Maybe even find out what they are getting at other employers that they are not getting from you. then you can address the missing component. Some like the people development while other are looking for different motivation to stay.