Page 80 - Retaining Top Employees

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68 Retaining Top Employees

personal (less institutional)
The Proof Is in
indulgence of personal and
the Pudding
Review the most promi- career growth.
nent personal and career develop- Nevertheless, a
ment opportunities your organization Boomer top performer will
provides—temporary assignments, fully expect that such
extracurricular studies,sabbaticals, opportunities be available
study assistance,and so on.What is
and clearly achievable—
the rate at which members of your and that the basis of
target retention group take advantage
attaining such opportuni-
of these opportunities? If the rate is
less than 25% of the employees,then ties be spelled out very
the opportunities you’re providing are clearly. An ambiguous or
unattractive,unattainable,or both. clearly unrealizable
process for accessing per-
sonal and career growth opportunities will lead to frustration
and an eventual parting of the ways.
Compensation and Rewards
The type of compensation structure with which Boomers have
grown up and (by and large) are more comfortable includes
packages that are:
• standardized
• structured (tiered)
• linked to the position in the organization (i.e. “ranked”)
• risk-averse—a relatively high base salary and a bonus or
discretionary element corresponding to at most 30% or so
of the total expected gross pay

Boomers tend to see compensation as a reward mechanism
rather than a motivational tool. It’s more consistent with the
Boomer worldview that compensation is an expected return for
the work they’ve committed to perform and that little should put
that return at risk. At the extremes, a hugely disproportionate
bonus element in a compensation package will cause Boomers
to experience the same feelings about the management team as
superficial and incompetent as an unstructured, “seat-of-the-
pants” work schedule.