Why Do Employees Stay? Seeking Your Thoughts on Retention Factors

Hi All,

Need your views on the topic "What makes an employee retain in a company?"

All employees expect a satisfactory paycheck, which is usual. But, in my opinion, just the salary or other monetary benefits themselves do not make an employee happy at work and do not help retain them. Proper compensation, non-monetary benefits, a happy work environment, positive relationships with superiors/subordinates and co-workers, a healthy organizational culture, great job satisfaction, etc., also make a great impact on employee satisfaction, which, in return, helps retain them in the company for a longer period, and they become loyal to the company where they make a genuine effort at work.

I would like to add that an employee who gets attached to the company and has the feeling of belongingness is the one who stays for long. So basically, apart from the salary and perks, creating an environment where people feel to be an integral part of the company and get the feeling of association and belongingness helps in retaining employees.

Hello Amrita,

People join the employer but quit their supervisor. Managers are seldom equipped psychologically to talk to their people on a personal level. One reason is that many people are managers because of their technical ability, not because of their managerial or people skills. We should reward technical experts with higher salaries but not with promotions to management. We would be far better off if we promoted to management the people who have good managerial and people skills and poor technical skills -- which will solve two problems:

1 - Improve overall technical competence

2 - Improve managerial effectiveness

As long as executives do not know how to identify future effective managers, management will be stuck with The Peter Principle: "In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence."

When managers are asked to list the Top Ten Motivators for their employees, the list looks like:

1 - Salary

2 - Bonuses

3 - Vacation

4 - Retirement

5 - Other Benefits & Perks

--------------- the money line ---------------

6 - Interesting work

7 - Involved in decisions

8 - Feedback

9 - Training

10 - Respect

Note:

Managers rank money items as their employees' Top Five Motivators. When employees are asked to rank their own Top Ten Motivators, the list looks like:

1 - Interesting work

2 - Involved in decisions

3 - Feedback

4 - Training

5 - Respect

--------------- the money line ---------------

6 - Salary

7 - Bonuses

8 - Vacation

9 - Retirement

10 - Other Benefits & Perks

Employees rank items that are equivalent to money as their bottom five motivators. The managers' top five motivators are the employees' bottom five motivators. The managers' top five motivators are more related to the need of the managers to avoid personal contact with employees than the desires or motivational needs of their employees.

Managers pick the top five motivators because these are the things that managers can "give" their employees without ever having to ask what the employees want or need, i.e., no involvement on a personal level is needed and all decisions can be made behind closed doors -- all the while avoiding personal contact even to the detriment of the organization.

Note:

Managers give the same sequence as employees when asked to rank their own motivators, which is very interesting and revealing.

Hi,

Thank you, Bob. That was really wonderful. I have attached some material that may be of some use to you.

MPMS

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Hello MPMS:

Thank you, Bob. That was really wonderful.

You're welcome, and thank you for sharing that with me.

I have attached some material that may be of use to you.

That is a great list, and all employers ought to be doing all 20 items. Where is hiring for talent? Employees without adequate talent for their jobs do not become long-term successful employees. Yes, they may stay a long time because they are well-managed and paid well, but successful they are not.

Bob Gately
gately@csi.com

Hi,

I believe that in an organization, people stay because of individual reasons.

I think we can attribute the reasons according to Maslow's theory of hierarchy of needs. I have just reproduced (from a website) Maslow's pyramid with relevance to the current trends.

The needs are different for people at various levels. We should identify these needs and try to address them.

But please remember that attrition is a reality, and employees will always find better value for their skills elsewhere. Attrition cannot be prevented; it has to be managed.

I also agree with Bob's views that in an organization, we tend to promote people with supreme technical abilities as managers. They sometimes fail if they are not good people managers. Hence, increasingly, two ladders are being created for growth (Technical and management) in organizations.

My personal suggestion is that there should be a process for managing attrition. In large organizations, employees down the hierarchy don't even know or get to meet their managers. I suggest that making one-on-one meetings with the staff the manager is responsible for mandatory once a month. Any indications of dissatisfaction/concern can be immediately acted upon. A consolidation of the meeting notes can serve as a good indicator of the morale of the employees in that division/group.

Regards,

Srivathsa

Selection of the right employees with the right competency is crucial. Challenging Key Result Areas should be identified. Let him/her know how their work creates value for the organization. Rewards and punishment should always go hand in hand. Coaching and Development of the employees are essential for growth. Leadership and motivation skills displayed by the functional heads are impactful.

Regards,
Rajat