Human Resources Retention Mission

How often do we hear that Human Resources is in charge of the organization's retention mission? More often than not, the job of thinking about retention and its impact is a key role of the company's human resources professional and unfortunately, unless there is a crisis, that role falls to the bottom of a very lengthy list. As we continue to brace ourselves against the labor shortage, HR is finding that it needs to move its thinking about retention to the top of the list. How should Human Resources go about beginning the conversation around retention? Most HR professionals will agree that HR can't do it alone. It requires the entire organization to (1) admit there is a problem and (2) want to do something about it. In the examination of an organizations retention problem, the first task must be an analysis of current retention statistics. The HR leader must examine why people are leaving in the first place. Good questions to ask include:

1. Do we have department specific attrition that might be caused by a poor manager?
2. Is the work load unreasonable?
3. Is our salary structure competitive?
4. Could our current interview process be improved?
5. Do we have room for professional growth within our organization?

Getting a handle on "the current state" is always the first step in creating the "desired state". In examining the five questions above, a recommend approach includes:

1. Get a baseline in terms of your current attrition rate
2. Interview key managers about attrition within their department and other departments within the company
3. Survey people who have left the organization in order to find out why they left (and where they landed!)
4. Do some research on key competitors or others in your industry. Are your retention numbers in line with theirs?
5. Finally, ask yourself this key question "why would I want to stay here?" The answer to that question should help you formulate your Human Resources Retention Mission!

Once you have your baseline information, it is time to start working within your organization to figure out what to do next. Having the support of the top leadership will be imperative and getting them involved in the conversation up-front is critical. Your new found insight is meaningless if you don't have the support and involvement from the top right from get-go. If you determine that a key manager is responsible for the majority of the turnover, there are going to be some difficult conversations and you'll need support in order to have them. In addition, you'll need the support of senior leadership if major changes in structure, job roles, compensation, or benefits are necessary.

One way to head off problems before they have a chance to fester is to implement a 360 feedback system. That should help indicate problems early on in a manager's tenure. In addition, ongoing dialog with current employees and managers is critical in determining your Human Resources Retention Mission.

They key to the retention mission is information. Without it, you are going to be stuck. Information is the key to making the case for any type of organizational change. Armed with information, Human Resources can now make their case for a retention mission. HR becomes the catalyst for change. That change goes a long way in making HR a strategic business partner.

Learn more at Talent Insight Group

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