Page 55 - Retaining Top Employees

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Envisioning Your Retention Strategy 43

overlap. Sometimes the
Nurses
squeaky wheels squeak A good example of an obvi-
about the obvious gap, ous gap is the current
sometimes not. If the obvi- shortage of qualified nurses. In some
ous gap stays unfilled for hospitals this obvious gap has become
some time, the squeaky dangerously quiet,as hospital adminis-
wheels can go quiet, a sure trators have stopped complaining
about it. It’s still a problem (and even
sign of some degree of
growing in recent years),but because
acceptance of the situa-
it’s been a gap for so long there does-
tion. Don’t let a quiet obvi-
n’t seem much point in complaining
ous gap fool you. Quiet any more!
gaps are even more impor- In most hospitals,nurses are a key
tant than noisy ones, retention group,having moved from
because they indicate that the squeaky wheel category to the
managers have stopped obvious gap in the last few years.
trying to fix them.
Follow the money. If there’s no squeaky wheel or obvious gap
in your part of the organization, then the easiest way to identify
your key retention group is to “follow the money.” Look careful-
ly at employee groups with any of the following characteristics:
• High recruitment cost per head
• High training cost per head
• High one-time (unplanned) discretionary or other per-
formance bonuses
These generally indicate an employee group where positions
are filling (unlike the obvious gap), but the turnover rate is high.

Keep a dream diary. The final key retention group is the hardest
to spot. The three other groups are already causing retention
difficulties, so they’re on your “radar screen.” Equally important
to address, but harder to spot, are those employee categories
that could cause major problems in the future.
To identify this very important key retention group, think
through your worst nightmares. Which group of employees would
cause you to stay up at night if suddenly there was an exodus?