Page 134 - Retaining Top Employees

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122 Retaining Top Employees

The Implications for Recruiting for Retention
What are the implications of this shift in employment contracts?
Well, for organizations wishing to recruit for retention, here are
the main learning points:
• Understand that potential employees are making a choice
about you as an employer, not the other way around.
Question: If this concept is new to you, what changes are
needed in your hiring methods, your employment literature,
and your interview techniques to reflect this new reality?
• Accept the fact that the need for lifelong learning and per-
sonal development means that most employees will leave
your organization in due course to pursue other options.
Question: What have you been assuming is a normal,
reasonable period of time an employee should stay with
you? Many managers assume unrealistically—five years,
10 years, or more. This is based on old employment con-
tract thinking. A much more realistic assumption is that
most employees will stay around two to three years and
that four or five years is excellent retention.
• Realize that compensation is only one reason why
employees stay, and that it’s often secondary to their per-
sonal and career development.
Question: Review your employment literature, your Web
site, and other resources you make available to prospec-
tive employees. Note the balance between the information
you provide on compensation and the information you
provide on personal and career development. Is the bal-
ance reasonable in light of the new employment con-
tract? Or is there too much emphasis on compensation-
related aspects and not enough on personal and career
development?
Now that we’ve considered the importance of using the new
employment contract as a basis for hiring, let’s move on to the
second major difference between those organizations that
recruit for retention and those that merely recruit.