Local Trainer's Tips On Keeping Good Workers
By Carol Smith • S.F. Sunday Examiner & Chronicle

Companies have been so focused on getting rid of workers in an era of downsizing that some have forgotten how to hang on to them when they need to.

The result is that many companies are now facing a crisis quite opposite one they wrestled with a few years ago. Rather than trimming the payroll to beef up profitability in the short term, they need to keep more people on board to prevent their bottom lines from taking a dive.

But that's trickier to do in a work environment in which workers have begun to discover they have power and choices.

Unemployment and loyalty are both at all-time lows, said Lynn Ware, president of Integral Talent Systems, a consulting firm based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Companies, particularly technology-based ones, are coming to firms like hers to relearn the principles of employee retention.

"There's a wave beginning to happen," said Ware, who has noticed heightened awareness of this issue in the past year. "Companies realize they have to be concerned about people leaving." In the information technology business, for example, one in 10 positions is open, she said. And people report that they are being called at least once or twice a week by headhunters. One database company called after realizing it cost $70,000 every time it had to replace a $48,000 employee.

A year ago, Ware was still running across the persistent attitude that "there are always people standing at the door to replace those who leave," she said. In addition, employers had the mindset that attrition was inevitable and they couldn't do anything about it, she said. "They figured, why bother?"

But cutting attrition by even a few percent "can be a phenomenal drop to the bottom line," Ware said. It saves companies money directly by reducing the costs of training, recruiting and relocating employees. It also results in indirect savings. People who are leaving tend to be less productive, she said. And vacant positions represent lost opportunities.

There are steps companies can take to bolster retention. "Up to 75 percent of why people are leaving has to do with factors that are in the control of managers," Ware said.

There are several factors that correlate with commitment:

The first is achievement. "People don't want to stay where they feel like they're losing," she said. People need a sense that they are winning at their job. Managers should take care to make sure they are tailoring assignments to ensure a good fit between a person's skills and the project or task, she said.

Another factor important in keeping people is to make sure they feel they are continually gaining in "employability." That means giving them opportunities to learn skills through training or projects. Mentoring programs are also a good way to give people a sense that they are moving forward in their job.

Managers need to take care to understand the career aspirations of their workers and help them develop, she said. For the past decade, workers have been so terrified of losing their jobs, they have taken to heart the message that their career survival depends on continuous improvement.

Indeed, in a recent Towers Perrin study of 2,500 employees, 94 percent agreed it was their responsibility to remain employable by continually learning new job skills. That's a 180-degree turnaround from traditional expectations of the lifetime security contract, said Steve Bookbinder, principal and leader of the Towers Perrin Workplace Index research.

Now, however, workers also are demanding that their performance be recognized and that they get something out of keeping their end of the bargain. One of the first steps companies can take to improve retention is to recognize the warning signs that people are about to leave.

Any subtle change in behavior patterns can be a tipoff. For example, the normally prompt person who starts coming in later and missing deadlines, or the non-complainer who starts expressing discontent, may be at risk of leaving. There are also windows in people's work lives when they are more likely to jump. The end of a project is a natural time for reevaluation and transition. Similarly, someone in a sales slump can be particularly vulnerable to an outside offer.

"The biggest misconception many employers have about retention is that it's a compensation issue," said Ware. In study after study, money (as long as it's competitive) comes in about third in reasons for job satisfaction. The top two influences on job satisfaction are always management supervisory practices and career advancement opportunities.

In the end, it's pretty simple, said Ware. "People don't leave if they have the perception they'll do better if they stay."

Carol Smith is a reporter and columnist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. You can reach her by e-mail at carolsmith@seattle-pi.com