Retention is Key
Are you driving away your frontline associates and future company leaders? Frontline employees are those that handle customer care, marketing and sales while high potential employees are those being eyed by management as future supervisors and managers. Employers also reported that employees working in information, computer, finance and accounting are also notoriously difficult to retain. A survey of 94 companies by ClearRock, a Boston firm specializing in executive coaching and outplacement services, shows that employee retention is a problem facing many of today's employers.
In the survey, 37% of companies stated that the amount of customer service turnover they experienced has increased significantly in recent years while 31% reported that they lost high potential staff within the 6-month period before the poll. Companies now more than ever, are devising and revising retention programs to give associates more reasons to stay.
These efforts seem to be working. Over 80% of employers reported that revised and newly-instituted retention programs have successfully retained both frontline and high potential employees.
Top methods used with frontliners include coaching, improved training, a more flexible work schedule, better orientation, substantive exit interviews and mentoring. For high potential employees, improved training, coaching, better compensation and benefits, better orientation, mentoring and a flexible work schedule worked best. For both groups, utilizing a better and more careful recruitment and selection process also helped.
Written by: Alfa