Low Level Employee Retention Strategies

Retention Home Low Level Strategies

y Appreciating and recognizing a well done job y Personalized well done and thank-you cards from supervisors y Congratulations spouses/families

e-cards

or

cards

sent

to

y Voicemails or messages from top management y Periodic days off for good performance y Rewards ( gift, certificates, monetary and non monetary rewards) y Recognizing professional as well as personal significant events

y y y y y y

Wedding gifts Anniversary gifts New born baby gifts Scholarships for employees children Get well cards/flowers Birthday cards, celebrations and gifts

y Providing benefits

o o o o

Home insurance plans Legal insurance Travel insurance Disability programs

y Providing perks: It includes coupons, discounts, rebates, etc

Discounts in cinema halls, museums, restaurants, etc.

o o

Retail store discounts Computer peripherals purchase discounts

y Providing workplace conveniences

o o

On-site ATM On-site facilities for which cost is paid by employees

 

laundry facility for bachelors Shipping services

o o o o

Assistance with tax calculations and submission of forms Financial planning assistance Casual dress policies Facilities for expectant mothers

   

Parking Parenting guide Lactation rooms Flexi timings

y Fun at work

o o o o o o o

Celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, retirements, promotions, etc Holiday parties and holiday gift certificates Occasional parties like diwali, holi, dushera, etc Organize get together for watching football, hockey, cricket matches Organize picnics and trips for movies etc Sports outings like cricket match etc Indoor games

y Occasional stress relievers

o o o o o o o

Casual dress day Green is the color day Handwriting analysis Tatoo, mehandi, hair braiding stalls on weekends Mini cricket in office Ice cream Fridays Holi-Day breakfast

y Employee support in tough time or personal crisis

o o o o

Personal loans for emergencies Childcare and eldercare services Employee Assistance Programs ( Counseling sessions etc) Emergency childcare services

Medium Level Strategies for Employee Retention

Retention Home Medium Level Strategies

Appreciating and recognizing a well done job Special bonus for successfully completing firm-sponsored certifications Benefit programs for family support Child adoption benefits Flexible benefits Dependents care assistance Medical care reimbursement

y y y y y

Providing conveniences at workplace Gymnasiums Athletic membership program Providing training and development and personal growth opportunities

Sabbatical programs

o o

Professional skills development Individualized career guidance

High Level Strategies

Retention Home High Level Strategies

y Promoting Work/Life Effectiveness y Develop flexible schedules y Part-time schedules y Extended leaves of absence y Develop Support Services y On-site day care facility etc. y Understand employee needs: This can be done through proper management style and culture y Listen to the employee and show interest in ideas

y y y

Appreciate new ideas and reward risk-taking Show support for individual initiative Encourage creativity

Encouraging professional training and development and/or personal growth opportunities: It can be done through:

o o o

Mentoring programs Performance feedback programs Provide necessary tools to the employees to achieve their professional and personal goals Getting the most out of employee interests and talents Higher study opportunities for employees Vocational counseling Offer personalized career guidance to employees

o o o o

Provide an environment of trust: Communication is the most important and effective way to develop trust.

o o o

Suggestion committees can be created Open door communication policy can be followed Regular feedbacks on organizations goals and activities should be taken from the employees by:

 

Management communications Intranet and internet can be used as they provide 24X7 access to the information Newsletters, notice boards, etc.

Hire the right people from the beginning: employee retention is not a process that begins at the end. The process of retention begins right from the start of the recruitment process.

The new joinees should fit with the organizations culture. The personality, leadership characteristics of the candidate should be in sync with the culture of the hiring organization. Referral bonus should be given to the employees for successful hires. They are the best source of networking. Proper training should be given to the managers on interview and management techniques. An internship program can be followed to recruit the fresh graduates.

The world's best perk

The corporate sabbatical
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) Forty-plus hours a week for 49-plus weeks a year for 40-plus years is - you've got to admit - a lot of time to spend at your desk, even if you love your career. So it's no surprise when, looking up from your Blackberry, you find yourself imagining all the things you could be doing with your time besides committing the majority of your prime years to the job. You might, for instance, fantasize about spending a month or three:
y y

Traipsing through Australia Working with your favorite charity

Spending long stretches of unhurried time with your kids y Teaching a class y Learning to surf y Training for a triathlon y Helping to rescue wild horses y Building a deck Doing whatever strikes you when you wake up (aka nothing)

Now imagine your company lets you, and tells you your job will be waiting for you when you come back. Even though paid sabbaticals are typically the province of large companies, 16 percent of small companies and 21 percent of mid-size companies today do offer unpaid sabbaticals. Five years ago, only 15 percent of all companies offered unpaid sabbaticals. Call it enlightened or call it shrewd. But employers that offer sabbaticals know that making it easy for employees to explore their interests beyond their career is a good way to build loyalty, increase retention and foster greater creativity at work. "The theory behind sabbaticals is that everyone wishes to do something perhaps radically different for some period of time," said J. Robert Carr, SHRM's chief professional development officer. A sabbatical can curb the impulse to quit. "You don't want talented people to walk out the door. The goal is to hold on to your employees," Carr said. Sabbaticals typically are offered to employees who have received solid performance reviews and have been at a company for seven to 10 years. And beyond insisting that employees not work for another company in particular, a competitor some companies may require employees to work for a charity or social service organization during their leave. But some place no restrictions whatsoever on what you do. Teach, nap, garden, pet ponies ... your call. If you're wondering just what kind of sabbaticals are on offer, here's a look at what six companies provide:

American Century After 7 years working at investment firm American Century, you're allowed to take a four-week paid sabbatical on top of any vacation you may have. Then five years later you can do it again. What you do with that paid month is up to you. You have to apply for the sabbatical, giving at least 90 days' notice. And you need to work with your manager to develop a plan for how your work will be handled in your absence. American Express Since 1991, employees who have been at American Express for 10 years can apply for a paid sabbatical lasting between one and six months. The company asks that employees on leave work for a nonprofit or school of their choice. The only restriction: they may not work for groups with political or religious affiliations. Alston & Bird Since 1986, partners at this law firm are entitled to a paid sabbatical, the length of which depends on their age and tenure. A partner between the ages of 30 and 40 may take one month off if he has been a partner for five years or has been with the firm at least 10 years, of which three have been as partner. Partners between ages 40 and 50 get two months; those from 50 to 60 get three months and those from 60 to 70 get four months paid leave. The point of the leave is revitalization, so no restrictions are placed on a partner's activities. Goldman Sachs In 2004, the investment bank launched The Public Service Program. PSP allows its top managing directors and vice presidents/executive directors a year of paid leave to pursue work with a charitable, public service or cultural organization of their choosing. Only those who have been in their jobs at least 12 months and with the investment bank at least four years are entitled to apply and from that pool a select group is awarded the leave. Perkins Coie At this Seattle-based law firm, lawyers with 7 years of tenure, salaried staff with 10 years and non-exempt, hourly staff with 13 years may apply for two months of paid leave to spend any way they wish.

The only two requirements: they can't work for another company and they have to let the firm know what they're planning to do and why those activities are meaningful and rejuvenating to them. PricewaterhouseCoopers Some of PwC's business units have had a sabbatical program for years, but this year the company is rolling out a pilot program for its Advisory practice that it will launch firm-wide if it proves successful. Two types of sabbaticals will be offered: one for personal growth and development and one for social services. Both range from a three-month minimum to a six-month maximum. In exchange, employees have to agree to stay with PwC for at least a year after their return. During the sabbatical you'd be paid between 20 percent and 40 percent of your salary with most benefits maintained. You can apply for a sabbatical as early as your second year at the firm.

SEVENTH HEAVEN
Sabbaticals originated in academia. Most colleges and universities awarded them to professors every seven years as a time for rest and reflection, as if that milestone year were a kind of sabbath. Intel maintains this traditional schedule. Under a program that began in 1981, the Santa Clara (Calif.) chipmaker grants all full-timers a paid eight-week holiday on every anniversary divisible by seven, along with their usual three to four weeks of vacation. Stitch the time together with a few paid holidays, and it's possible to be away without interruption for a quarter of the year. Some 4,350 workers, or nearly one of every 20 at Intel, take sabbaticals in a given year. Other programs kick in even sooner. Morningstar Inc. (MORN ), for instance, begins handing out an extra six paid weeks to full-timers at the four-year mark. Patrick Dorsey, director of stock analysis at the investment-research outfit, used his first sabbatical in 2002 to go on an around-the-world honeymoon with his new bride, Katherine. Jetting from Morningstar's headquarters in Chicago to South Africa, with a layover in London, they went on a 10-day safari, then flew to Australia for 10 days and New Zealand for two weeks. Being gone so long -- Dorsey didn't communicate with the office once while overseas -allowed him to really relax. "This may sound like a platitude, but you come back and you're ready to rock and roll," he says. Won't regular old vacations do? Studies have found they don't allow enough time for rest and reflection. A third of employees don't even take all of their time off, with the same number reporting that they feel chronically overstressed at work, according to a recent study by the Families & Work Institute. Despite the obvious appeal to employees, most businesses are less extravagant when it comes to observing anniversaries. In a Hewitt Associates (HEW ) survey, 75% of employers say they give workers a gift worth up to $50 when they hit their 10-year date; 67% also throw them a party. The big reason more companies don't offer sabbaticals, of course, is money: A company has to overstaff to be able to allow employees more time off, and that's often heresy at a time when management is scrounging for ways to slash personnel expenses. Scheduling can be a headache, too, since managers have to find others to cover for every worker away on leave. But many HR managers argue that since sabbaticals encourage people to stick around, companies don't have to spend as much on recruitment and training. Assigning temporary fill-ins can be a plus, too. While Intel's Stagnitti was in Mexico, her supervisor tested someone else in her job. When she came back, that employee ended up staying on, and Stagnitti was promoted to a new job in HR. In addition, the generation just entering the workforce ranks time off as a top priority in survey after survey. Thus, offering sabbaticals should help attract young talent, says Hewitt consultant Raymond Baumruk. Probably no company has handed out more sabbaticals than McDonald's. The fast-food colossus gives every salaried employee an eight-week paid leave for every 10 years of employment, from execs at its Oak Brook (Ill.) headquarters to managers of its company-owned restaurants in the U.S. That's thousands a year. CEO James Skinner went on sabbatical earlier in his 34-year career at McDonald's, and the company now has 40-year veterans enjoying their fourth getaway. This year, to attract and retain new employees, McDonald's is adding an in-between breather: an extra week off for every anniversary that ends in a five.

Like employees elsewhere, McDonald's loyalists often use their sabbaticals for blowout vacations. Not Janice L. Fields. The president of McDonald's central U.S. division, Fields travels three or four days every week to oversee 4,400 outlets. She spent her eight-week leave last winter with her retired husband, Doug Wilkens, at their second home in Florida. She slept in. She worked out. She played golf. She cooked. She watched Oprah. She reconnected with her spouse. And she left town only once, to go to Cincinnati for her grandson's eighth birthday. After 27 years at Big Mac, she deserved a break. And thanks to the company's sabbatical program, she got one.

SABBATICALS: A GREAT WAY TO RECHARGE WITH FAMILY

Sabbaticals have become a norm in the West, but India is still lagging behind. Adobe is one of the very few companies in India that offers a sabbatical program. All employees are eligible for the threeweek paid vacation when they complete five years in the company. Says Aparna Ballakur, Director HR India and China, Adobe Systems, The technology industry is a fast-paced one. Employees working in this fast-paced industry need to recharge frequently, and the sabbatical program is a great way for employees to get the time off they need to do just that. We have seen that this mid career break helps employees rejuvenate themselves, spend time with family and comeback refreshed. Companies, particularly in technology and research, use sabbaticals as a means of recruiting and retaining key employees. A sabbatical gives employees the creative space and respite they need to balance their work/life needs. These often recharge the employee, yielding greater productivity,improved camaraderie, and higher morale on the job. At Adobe employees can combine their sabbaticals with their PTO (personal time off). As HR head, Ballukar sees tangible differences in people. Perhaps not the obvious glowing skin or toned muscle, but they, as she puts it, come back refreshed and refocused. It helps them to be creative, look at their role and responsibilities differently. Creating sabbatical room Ashok Leyland, the automotive giant, welcomes industry professionals from within and outside India to join their sabbatical program On its website, the company clearly elaborates that the short-term sabbaticals could be paid or unpaid depending on the proposals. There are others in the fray. Satyam Computers recently concluded Faculty Sabbatical Program (FSP) that brought within its fold 25 academics from various Malaysian universities. For the IT services provider, FSP is not just another fast-catching fad that it is living up to, for them it is part of a larger competency development initiative that would build bridges between the industry and the academia. But despite the red cards,