Page 133 - Retaining Top Employees

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Recruiting for Retention 121

sisting of a series of Lifelong learning The regu-
jobs, each lasting lar development and exten-
from two to 10 years. sion of the employee’s skills
set,often (though not always) at the
The New Employment
employee’s cost and in the employee’s
Contract own time.We will return to this
In response to the pressures phrase often,since providing lifelong
detailed above, the employ- learning opportunities is a major ele-
ment in effective employee retention.
ment contract has changed
radically over the last few
years. Now, instead of making the unrealistic assumption of
“employment for life,” organizations that are recruiting for reten-
tion hire to a new employment contract that recognizes these new
realities in the workplace. In the new employment contract, a per-
son says to an employer, “I will come work for you, so long as you
make me more employable and pay me a fair salary. I will remain
with you so long as I am being challenged and developed as an
individual.”
Notice the important,
changed elements in the
new employment contract: Who’s Making
the Decision?
1. It is not assumed that Notice the change in voice
employment is for life. between the two employment con-
There is an explicit tracts.The old employment contract is
acceptance that, in in the employer’s voice, reflecting the
balance of power in the old way of
time, the employee
hiring.The new employment contract
will move on.
is in the employee’s voice, reflecting a
2. The continuance of
shift in that balance of power.
the employment is Smart managers realize that nowa-
predicated on the days,more often than not,the
development of the employee chooses the employer,not
employee, not the the other way around.
employer’s needs.
3. To the employee, compensation is often secondary in
importance to personal and skills set development.