Strategies For Employee Retention: Importance, Benefits - Essay.

Employee retention and its importance

Question:

Discuss about the Employee Retention Literature Review.

The process of employee retention can play a major role in the success of a company or can be elemental in bringing about the downfall of the company. This is a process that must be strategically planned and implemented. This is a policy that also provides an insight into the work culture of the company. In the current discussion an analysis of the literature present on the topic will be attempted (Hutchings et al., 2011).

According to Killian Bell, (2016), this has been explained time and again that the employees of a company or the manned workforce of the organization is the most important resource of the management. It is the collective performance of the employees of the company that finally emerges as the overall performance of the company. The collective performance of the company is finally responsible for providing the company with its position in the final market. Hence it is very important for the management of the company to retain their employees. This is a policy that will help the company to save a great deal of money and also time. This is yet again a process that shall ensure better productivity of the company (Bell, 2016).

According to Khalid Ahmad and Kenneth Kwame Azumah (2012), in this perspective the scholars have explained further that the process of recruitment happens to be tough one that takes a lot of time and is also an expensive process. The company management and the HR again take a lot of time to train the new joiners and the employees of the company so that their skill level can be brought up to a certain level. This is a process that costs the management both time and money. Hence when the employee is ready to perform if he or she leaves the company then the company happens to find itself in great loos. Not only the management and the HR of the company will have to get down to the process of recruitment again but work is yet again hampered. Retention is also important from the point of view that an employee who spends a longer duration with a company becomes greater assets for the company and its management. They are the people who are the most loyal to the management and happen to be akin with the culture and the corporate goals and objectives of the firm. This is a phenomenon that helps the company to attain results and objectives that can bring the company better success (Ahmad & Azumah, 2012).

As per the MSG report (2015), it has been seen that the employees who are trained and are ready to perform if they happen to move out of the company and join some competitive brand then this could turn out to be a great disadvantage for any company. Hence it has been heartily agreed to that the requirement of retention of employees happens to be very important that can help the management to create a core team over a span of time and also drive better performance from the business (MSG, 2015).

Benefits of Employee Retention

According to Tracey Shea, Helen De Cieri and Kate Hutchings (2011), the managements of companies across the world have tried to find out the basic reason that often leads to an employee to leave their job in good companies otherwise. It has been found that employees often are dissatisfied with the behaviour of their bosses, or their growth prospects in the company or in many other cases the peers with whom they are made to work. It has been found that often the psychological reasons plays a more vital role that leads to a decline in the motivation of the employees, as a result of which they decide to leave their companies. This is a process that could turn out to be a disaster for any company. In this context it has been established that the managements and the Hrs of the company must be highly cooperative with the employees of the company, so that they can get a fair idea of the psyche of their employees. This is one of the most pertinent ways that employee retention can be improved in any company, irrespective of the industry to which the company belongs. The various policies and the programs that are undertaken by the company management and the HR of the firm comprise to be retention strategies. These strategies are very important so that worthy talent do not leave the company, otherwise it could be a really serious problem for the company as a whole (Shea et al., 2011).

As per the hrmonline report (2016), with time as corporate managements are becoming more wise regarding their need of employee retention more and more innovative and effective ways are coming up through which the employees can be retained within the company. This is a genre where the managements of the companies and the HR have to work hand in hand. It has been seen that competitive pay ranges is one of the massive fillips that can help boost employee retention. However a competitive package will not mean the bulk of the money that the employee is taking home every month. In this context other advantages such as health insurances, retirement savings plans, flex times etc are to be introduced and are to be involved within the company pay packages. There are often other smaller perks such as home pickup and drop or other small services that helps the employee and its family to lead a happy and content life. This can be a great motivation for the employee who might get used to the benefits hard enough that he or she is no longer willing to leave the company (hrmonline, 2015).

According to Bodjrenou Kossivi, Ming Xu and Bomboma Kalgora (2016), the HR of the company must arrange and continue interviews with the employees so that they can get to know about the various problem and the challenges that they happen to be facing in their work genre. In this context it has been seen that the management can get a better understanding of the various requirements of the employees and they can help the employees better to perform. This can get the employee highly motivated. In addition to the same the HR of the company must get into partnership with the management of the firm and must come up with innovative programs of getting the employees more involved in the various processes of the company. This again can help to motivate the employees. The HR should also start a new system as per which the outstanding performers could be pointed out and to be given special wards. This recognition can help to motivate not just the recipients of these awards but also at the same time the other employees who might get motivated to perform better the next time (Kossivi et al., 2016)

Reasons for Employee Turnover

According to Neeraja Behera, Chandan Kumar Sahoo and Bijaya Kumar Sundaray (2011), the management must start the process of promoting from within. This is a process that ensures to the employees of the company that they are important for the management of the company and they too can get fair chances of professional development within the company. The HR and the management of the company must undertake processes and methods through which the training and development of the employees can be encouraged. This is a process that assures the employees that their development and growth are concerns that are there on the minds of the senior management of the company. This not just helps to improve their skills in the process of time but the employees also feel s a greater affinity with the management of the company (Behera et al., 2011).

As per Hradvance review (2015), the HR must once again act as the intermediary between the employees and the management. This is the best possible way that a two way flow of information can take place. This is yet again a feature that enables the maintenance of transparency within the company, a feature that can be much beneficial for the development of the company as a whole. The employees feel better since they feel that they can share their problems with the management. This can be a huge motivating factor for them (Hradvance, 2015).

As per WSJ report (2015), rewards and recognition is yet again another major way through which the employees can be motivated in their jobs. This is a very common way that respect is showed for the employees which can help immensely in the process of retaining the employees to the company. The management must take adequate steps to train and involve the managers of the teams in the best possible manner. This is very important since it has often been seen that the employees quits their companies if they feel dejected and depressed working with a manager. The managers are the people who are leading the teams and the ones who are handling the general employees on a regular basis. Hence they must be trained so that they can handle their manpower in an effective manner. In this context it is imperative to mention that the managers for motivating their teams and helping the company to retain their employees must be fair in their dealings with the team members. The general employees or the team members must be given proper briefings of the work that they need to do. Again they can plan their careers graphs in such a manner that they can keep their team members in a closed group (WSJ, 2015).

As per the Mondaq review (2011), this has been widely agreed to that one of the biggest fears that is harboured by a management is the fact that one of their best employees do resign from their jobs one fine day out of the blues. This can create a string of challenges for the management. One of the biggest challenges is to cope with the work that shall be left undone in the absence of the person leaving. The next challenge will be to hire and train again another person to the same level of efficiency in the minimum time span. Hence employee retention is a strategy that ensures that the work of the company can be continued in the most hassle free and lurid manner. Again this is a strategy that can help to a positive ambience in the workplace that shall improve the quality and the quantity of productivity of the company as a whole. It has been agreed to that in order to create effective retention strategies for the employees of the company, the management must understand the requirements of their employees which can motivate them in the most effective manner. Hence the management must look deep into the requirements of their employees and must understand the things that they do require which can help to motivate them further in their work (Mondaq, 2011).

Effective Retention Strategies

As per the Roberthalf report (2016), some of the essential aspects that can help in the programs of employee retention shall be a balance in work and personal life. The management must see that the work that is being assigned to the employees should not be too great in volume that can hamper their personal life and health. Maintaining creativity in the workplace can also make the employees more enthusiastic about their work. The ideas and the opinions of the employees must be held with respect. This will help them to get all the more involved in the workplace and the company can also get better performance from them. Unnecessary puny and futile office politics should not be encouraged. Teams must be kept and activated as teams. With team co operations and collaboration the spirit of cohesive better work can be fostered. Managing diversity is yet again another factor that must be handled. Communications in workplace must be clear and transparent. The management must bring about effective change management. This can also help the employees to feel more secure about their work and they shall not be inclined to leave their organizations (Roberthalf, 2016).

This has been seen in every review analysis that all the sources who have contributed to the genre has spoken of the dire requirements of employee retention. All the sources have agreed to the fact that the companies and their managements must give a good amount of attention to the aspect of employee retention. This can help to save the time and resources of the company, impact its overall performance in a positive manner and also help to build the international market reputation of the company. The various authors have pointed out at the sole end goal or reading that suggests that all the managements are working in unison with their HRs as per which they are trying their level best to win the confidence of their true talents and are trying to develop them within the company, This can serve to be the sole mantra of the success of the company,. In this context we see that all though the various authors have dealt with this problem from various angles, nevertheless they have all agreed to the fact that employee retention is a must for companies across the world.

Conclusion:

This has been agreed to that just as effective recruitment is important from the point of view of the benefit of the company, the aspect of retention happens to be just as important. The employees of the company must be trained and developed so that they can deliver just what the management requires. This is a process that demands time, energy and money. Hence the ready and the prepared employees are important resources o the company. Their dismissal can act as a great loss for the management. Hence the management must be effective in their retention measures.

References:

Ahmad, K. & Azumah, K.K., 2012. Employee Retention Strategies: the case of a patent firm in Australia. [Online] Available at: https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:833433/FULLTEXT01.pdf [Accessed 01 April 2017].

Behera, N., Sahoo, C.K. & Sundaray, B.K., 2011. Retaining High Performing Employees through Job Satisfaction: A Theoretical Construct. [Online] Available at: https://dspace.nitrkl.ac.in/dspace/bitstream/2080/1444/1/Job%20Satisfaction%20and%20Employee%20Retention.pdf [Accessed 05 April 2017].

Hradvance, 2015. Infographic: Retaining staff. [Online] Available at: https://hradvance.com.au/news-articles/infographic-retaining-staff [Accessed 01 April 2017].

hrmonline, 2015. AHRI:ASSIST – Employee retention. [Online] Available at: https://www.hrmonline.com.au/section/strategic-hr/ahriassist-employee-retention/ [Accessed 01 April 2017].

Hutchings, K., Cieri, H.D. & Shea, T., 2011. Employee attraction and retention in the Australian resources sector. [Online] Available at: https://www98.griffith.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/handle/10072/41303/71077_1.pdf;sequence=1 [Accessed 01 April 2017].

Kossivi, B., Xu, M. & Kalgora, B., 2016. Study on Determining Factors of Employee Retention. [Online] Available at: https://file.scirp.org/pdf/JSS_2016053009190527.pdf [Accessed 05 April 2017].

Mondaq, 2011. Five Top Employee Retention Strategies. [Online] Available at: https://www.mondaq.com/x/155322/Five+Top+Employee+Retention+Strategies [Accessed 01 April 2017].

MSG, 2015. Need & Importance of Employee Retention. [Online] Available at: https://www.managementstudyguide.com/importance-of-employee-retention.htm [Accessed 01 April 2017].

Roberthalf, 2016. Effective Employee Retention Strategies. [Online] Available at: https://www.roberthalf.com/employers/hiring-advice/employee-retention [Accessed 01 April 2017].

Shea, T., Cieri, H.D. & Hutchings, K., 2011. Employee Attraction and Retention in the Australian Resources Sector. [Online] Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022185610390299 [Accessed 05 April 2017].

WSJ, 2015. Employee Retention – How to Retain Employees. [Online] Available at: https://guides.wsj.com/small-business/hiring-and-managing-employees/how-to-retain-employees/ [Accessed 01 April 2017].