Page 52 - Retaining Top Employees
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                                 40     Retaining Top Employees



                                                          Envision This …
                                           Take  the  example  of  Jones  Painterson  &  Co,a  medium-sized
                                           accounting firm with 2000 employees.
                                    Jane,the  partner  in  charge  of  the Tax  Department,has  cleared  her
                                  desk to address the issue of retaining key employees.After working
                                  through  the  steps  in  this  chapter,she  arrives  at  a  few  conclusions:
                                   • The main retention issue is with the senior managers in the Tax
                                    Department.
                                   • The main reason she wants to retain them is that the clients are
                                    becoming increasingly upset at having to deal with new senior staff
                                    every year.
                                   • The main reason for this retention issue is the relatively young age
                                    of  the  partners  in  the Tax  Department,meaning  that  senior  man-
                                    agers are unlikely to earn promotion to partner in the foreseeable
                                    future,so  they’re  more  susceptible  to  being  enticed  elsewhere  with
                                    promises of partnership.
                                    Jane decides that an achievable goal is to reduce the turnover of
                                  senior tax managers from 34% to 10% within two years.
                                 in need of particular attention. Which employees do you want to
                                 keep?
                                    This question may seem stupid or at least politically incor-
                                 rect. Surely the answer is “All of them.”
                                    After all, aren’t we expected to be caring, inclusive employ-
                                 ers, treating everyone from the receptionist to the CEO exactly
                                 the same? Isn’t retention vital for every employee? At the very
                                 least, don’t we want to retain all our top performers?
                                    Well, that may seem like a great idea, but there are at least
                                 four reasons why it isn’t realistic:

                                    • It just isn’t so. Most organizations don’t want to retain
                                       all employees. There are almost always at least a few
                                       “standouts” who could leave without causing many
                                       tears. There may even be some top performers who are
                                       such mavericks that their stellar performance is too high
                                       a price to pay for the disruption they cause.
                                    • “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” If the employees in your
                                       marketing division or in your Carolina office or working
                                       on Project Blue are a perfectly happy, well-integrated
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