Posts Tagged ‘Workforce retention’
99 Ways to Retain Good Staff
At a recent Enterprise Connect workforce re-engineering network meeting, participants took on the challenge of coming up with 99 ways to retain good staff. Here’s the results – we got to 63 so what else would you add?
- Rubber chicken award – recognition of a job well done
- Clear career pathways
- Exchange programs – across the organisation, outside and back again
- Defined expectations from the team member and manager
- Understanding of the psychological contract and unwritten agreements
- Two-way, meaningful communication
- Performance – defining good and poor performance
- Input into decision making
- Empathy and understanding for issues outside of work
- Team discussions, meetings and planning
- Democratic workplace and included
- Birthday leave – leave day for your birthday
- Flexibility with work commitments – early/late start
- Professional development
- Events, dinners and industry functions – BBQ’s, Melbourne Cup, lunches, Christmas
- Conferences and travelling
- Boss willing to work alongside staff
- Nice work environment
- Positive atmosphere
- Health and well being programs, flu shots, checks
- Free drinks machine, tea, coffee and biscuits
- Years of service awards
- Bring your partners along to special events
- Gifts, thank you, pressies and awards
- Transport provide for special occasions
- Know your staff well – personal interests, partner and kids names
- Balance in the team – experience, knowledge, skills, generations
- Find out what people want to be known for
- What do people say and think about you?
- Accommodation and housing
- Project based opportunities
- Exciting work
- Clear about future directions
- Access to the boss
- Multi skilling
- Find out what work people want to do
- Share management duties such as chairing meetings
- Activities to support charities and volunteer
- Public acknowledgement
- Massages, mini breaks
- Listening
- Photos, video of career history
- Wellness programs
- Work sports teams and leagues
- Manage the poor performers
- Toolbox chats
- Social and environmental responsibility initiatives
- Competency based recruitment and selection
- Match ethos and values
- Attitude over aptitude
- Set goals and review regularly
- Build your own training centre – pride and joy to conduct own training
- Ask why do you stay?
- Immaculate facility
- Social club and activities
- Demonstrate good management in the tough times with clear communication
- Internal mentors
- Mid-career opportunities – networking of similar cohort across the organisation
- Higher education opportunities – complete a Masters degree as a group
- Phased retirement
- Surprises – nice ones
- Exercise program – Pilates as a group
- Gym program to support physical requirements of the job
Temporary Work as a Retention Strategy
It might seem counter intuitive? More temporary work is being offered as short-term contracts ranging in length from a few months to around 18 months as a retention strategy for some employees. The contractor and project-based temporary workforce is responding to employer needs for staff who have specific skills and knowledge. Employees can also develop expertise in a set of skills, be involved in particular projects or work for key employers to boost their resume and career. A temporary contract is particularly popular in defence and mining industries and for major infrastructure projects in civil construction and rail. The trend seems more towards a pool or group of people working together around a project and a specific contract rather than temping doing general kind of work. These opportunities are very much around project-based expertise. People tend of want that flexibility as well because it gives them experience in different areas. Project management gives them different skills sets. Temporary work allows employers to match their workforce to the projects that have on the go at any moment and ramp up projects quickly. Some staff are juggling multiple projects or jobs and gaining work through word of mouth in their personal or professional networks, rather than being employed by a temping agency. Temporary contracts also allow workers to have extended mini breaks between jobs which means they work hard and have limited work life balance during the life of the contract. But it allows them extra time off between projects. There are extra benefits rather than pay and employers are using temporary work as a retention strategy.
As interviewed by Cara Jenkin, CareerOne Editor and published in The Advertiser, CareerOne section on 30.10.10 p. 3