Page 220 - Retaining Top Employees

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208 Retaining Top Employees

“Toto, I Have a Feeling We’re Not in Kansas Anymore”

The first and most significant way to ease the implementation of
the retention strategies detailed in this book is to make sure your
own mindset is appropriate. Here’s a reminder of two of the
mindset adjustments we’ve already discussed and yet another.

Remember the New Contract
The relationship between employers and employees has
changed. There’s no underlying assumption that employees will
stay with an organization for all or even a significant part of
their working lives.
It’s very important to keep this in mind. Many managers
believe that their objective
Working in a is to prevent good
Time Warp? employees from leaving
If senior management of your the organization. That’s
organization still believes in the old “sta- unrealistic. There’s enough
tus quo” employment contract,you’ve stress involved in retaining
got more stress.You’re expected to
top performers without
manage and relate to your top employ-
adding unrealistic self-
ees in a way that will actually work
imposed objectives!
against effective retention,by assuming
a relationship that doesn’t exist. People Leave: Manage It
If you’re in this position,you can
as You Can
choose either to adopt guerilla tactics
(using what you’ve learned in this A corollary of the new
book,but keeping below senior man- employment contract is
agement radar so as not to rock the that good people will leave
boat) or to try educating your senior your organization.
managers on this point.A diplomati- Whatever you may do, top
cally placed copy of this book might
performers will still reach
be a great start!
a stage in their careers
when they believe it’s right
for them to move on. Some hiring decisions will turn out to be
wrong, causing some employees to leave after only a short
time. Sometimes, despite the best intentions, the employer-
employee relationship will just not work.