It is no doubt that Human capital is the most important resource an organization can have as it has a direct and significant impact on the organization’s success. However retaining valuable employees can be a very difficult process unless you understand reasons as to why an employee would like to stay or leave an organization. Upheavals in the world of work, Demographic changes, new economic realities and cultural expectations are some of the trends that make retention a difficult task. But the question is: How can you ensure that you’ll retain your most valuable employees amid all the changes occurring within and outside of your organization? Here I hash out are some creative and effective strategies…..
Hiring the right candidate is of course the most important strategy: You don’t want to retain a bad candidate. For effective retention to take place the hiring has to be right. Hiring the right candidate will help in retaining the valued workers. Organizations need employees to have the skills and experience required to do the job, but they also need to fit in with the organizations’ culture and be willing to take direction and handle challenges as they come.
Professional and personal growth opportunities are also important. Most employees value lifelong learning. They also tend to get bored easily and seek out new things. So, for organizations to retain these people they must provide them with opportunities for personal and professional development. Employees want employers that offer tuition reimbursement, sabbaticals, and other growth opportunities.
Competitive salaries and Advancement opportunities also play a role. Some employees — especially younger ones fresh out of university have a lot of debt, and they demand a salary that not only recognizes their contributions, but also helps them pay down their debts. So employers with programs in place to help these workers pay off these debts stand a better chance of retaining them. Employees do also seek out employers that have a plan for their success. Organizations should examine and create new ladders to guide younger workers through a steady progression in the organization.
Nurturing corporate culture and Recognition programs cannot be over looked. Today’s generation view having strong friendships with co-workers and bosses as extremely important to them. There is much anecdotal support of workers staying longer in jobs simply because they loved the people they worked with — and did not want to leave them. Implementing authentic work recognition programs is very important. Also many creative employees have an extremely strong entrepreneurial focus — with many planning to start their own businesses (partly so that they can control their own fate). Employers can retain workers longer — while leveraging that entrepreneurial spirit — by developing incubator and entrepreneurship programs and opportunities.
To maintain organizations greatness, it must commit and invest resources in the vast pool of talent across the organization.
About Author
Simon F Mendy is a social media intern with Gamjobs.com. He is an IT enthusiast who love writing and keep his readers always on the loop of latest happening around jobs and employment in the Gambia. Simon held a Bsc in computer science and mathematics from the university of The Gambia. He has strong interest in object oriented Software development process, especially using .Net and Java based technologies. You can follow him: https://www.facebook.com/simon.mendy.12
