Retaining Good Staff Members Now More Sense Than Dollars

Illawarra Mercury

Tuesday February 5, 2008

By GREG ELLIS

IN the midst of the skills shortage and an economic squeeze, employers face a conundrum - how to keep good employees even if they are not able to reward them with more and more cash.

But according to many Illawarra managers, cash is no longer the only currency that will buy the loyalty of staff.

Rather than pursuing the many human resources "strategies" touted to get what they want from staff, many companies are concentrating on building genuine relationships with workers.

Angel Personnel managing director Beti Krsteski said that relationship begins with making the right recruitment decisions.

"Recruit right the first time," she said. "Once you have good people get attached. "

PCL Finance general manager Mike Whiteman said once you have chosen people who fit the culture of your business, it is important to trust them to do the job.

"In the 21st century, flexibility, training, promotion, appreciation, feedback and stimulating learning experiences are all vital; but if you wanted just one word from me on how to retain staff that word is trust," he said.

Hays Accountancy & Finance senior recruitment consultant Ruth Thirtle said that most of time money is not the major factor that will affect staff turnover.

"Allowing time for participation at (children's) school events, showing appreciation and offering training courses lead to employees having respect. People are willing to work hard if they are appreciated and are less likely to look elsewhere," she said.

Jamberoo Action Park general manager Dax Eddy said a flexible rostering system, above-award pay, a staff social calendar and development program have all contributed to the park having a retention rate above the average in its industry.

Graham Pryor said feedback is vital.

"Employees need to know that their work is appreciated," he said.

Novotel Northbeach general manager Walter Immoos agreed."

(It is important to) have 360 degree feedback reviews to measure the job satisfaction pulse," he said.

What is the best way to retain good people and keep staff turnover down?

EDMEN managing director Eddy De Gabriele

I am proud that we have the lowest staff turnover in our industry and that so many prospective applicants are attracted to the Edmen Group whenever we advertise.

EDMEN managing director Eddy De Gabriele

Consider employees family

Owners/managers must stop thinking of their people as just staff, they are assets and should be treated like a member of their family.

? Treat them with dignity, respect, personally (acknowledge and greet them by name and make sure you regularly know something about their current life situation, if something is wrong at least you can help and know that it will affect them at work).

? Recruit people who have like-minded values - trying to change the culture of a person to fit the organisation doesn't work.

? Recruit the best people, as opposed to the most experienced and best industry and job role-fit person. Training and grooming a person from another (but similar) industry often works much better .

Other methods that have worked well with us at Edmen are:

? Demonstrate with actions, adopting your people's ideas regardless of their age, to improve your business. They (as we all do) will not get it right every time, so don't lay blame, rather encourage and work together to fix those times of mistakes.

? Regularly involve them with the achievements and milestones of the business.

? Have occasional functions that involve your people's families/partners, to remove the mystery of the organisation .

? Don't be time-keepers, be outcome collectors, so don't watch the clock and your people similarly will not watch the clock, they will work according to what is needed to get that successful outcome.

? Owners/managers should not be discouraged if it doesn't work every time on everyone. Keep going until it becomes part of your work culture.

IRT chief executive Nieves Murray

Value the whole person

I surveyed my management team about retaining staff and I have tried to capture the essence of what they've said.

The first step is to ensure good recruitment.

At IRT we look for people who not only have the right skill mix for the job, but more importantly the right attitude.

We figure that if we can get people with the right attitude, we can teach them the necessary skills.

To that end, we invest very significantly in our training and development programs.

Our people tell us that they stay with us because we value them as a whole person; that is the essence of our organisational culture.

During 2007 we introduced a number of initiatives to help us attract and retain the best and brightest to IRT, including creating deliberate opportunities to seek feedback from staff and have dialogue with them about the things that matter to them (ask, listen, act), and improved recognition systems - formal as well as simply increasing the number of times we say "Thanks".

At IRT we believe in uncompromisingly delivering on our promises to our staff. This creates a workplace that is underpinned by trust.

We try to engender a feeling that each and every one of our 1400 people, regardless of the position they hold in the business, plays a critical role in achieving the IRT experience for our clients - because they really do.

Do we always get it right? I wish! No, we are still seeking to improve, and will always seek to improve our efforts in attracting and retaining the best staff. For me, the "acid test" is the number of people who leave IRT and come back - that tells you the experience was good the first time round.

I'm an example of one of those many people.

D&D Services director Robert Cazzolli

Tailor rewards to suit individuals

D&D Services director Robert Cazzolli I find different generations are looking for different things.

Baby Boomers are loyal, one-company people and have an immediate attachment to their employer.

It is important to ensure that the little things are done to keep them such as agreement on leave etc.

Generation X are much more career-oriented and looking for financial gain and promotions.

They don't mind being worked hard and long hours, but must be rewarded and promoted.

We make their role and future prospects clear and highly incentive-based so they can go and buy their new car, clothes etc. They also seek high involvement in company direction and decision on strategy/future.

Generation Y is different again. They are young, quick and want everything now.

They do not want to sacrifice their social life and friends, and need to feel a part of a team.

They want to feel as though they are doing something good for the community and environment.

We promote a team environment, maintain a balance with work and family/social life, and seek to reward through time off more so than financially.

© 2008 Illawarra Mercury

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