Eleven kinds of weapons to keep people _x000D_

Global SourcesUpdated on 2023/12/01

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Companies have long been watching what their competitors are doing to prevent them from taking their customers away. Today, companies must always be vigilant against competitors poaching their own backbone talents, at least to recruit and retain better employees. We have entered a new phase in the battle for talent.

The war for talent that has raged around the world has also spread to China, making job-hopping a common occurrence here. A recent survey shows that in Beijing and Shenzhen, about 45% of employed people have experienced job-hopping. The proportion is also high in Shanghai, where 56.3 percent of young people said they hoped to find better jobs.

Caring about talents is related to the fundamental interests of the company. Hiring and retaining talent is equivalent to reducing the company's recruitment costs and up-front training costs. In addition, companies that retain talent tend to be better able to focus on customer service, while competitors struggle to recruit and train new employees.

Companies that retain talent for longer periods of time tend to be more productive. If a company cannot retain elite talents, it will lose the skills and experience necessary to launch new products or implement new systems.

Therefore, the competition for talents is of great significance to the future development of the company, and this battle is inevitable. But how can companies win this war for talent? As with all management conundrums, there is no one simple, one-size-fits-all magic weapon for companies to use and ensure invincibility when it comes to the war for talent.

However, the experience of many of the world's largest companies shows that there are some common beliefs and behaviors in this area that can make a big difference if managers can adopt them. Here are some of the rules, some of the weapons you can use to win the war for talent.

1. Competitive salary and benefits

The topic of how to win the battle for talent often starts with the word "money", which is salary.

A director at consulting firm Deloitte & Touche said: "Money is important. If the salary package is not competitive, then the high-rise you build on it will collapse."

To be competitive in terms of salary, you can't set the salary scale according to the company's internal regulations, or just increase it by a fixed percentage every year, but see what the market price of a certain type of talent is and at least match this standard .

However, maintaining a competitive salary package isn't enough. For some top talents who must stay, there will be additional private rewards. As Rosenbluth International, the CEO of Rosenbluth International, said, "You like all your children, and you don't want one of them to feel superior, but having said that, some children take it home. The academic performance is better than other children."

The long-term significance of employee benefits cannot be forgotten. Research often shows that generous employee benefits increase employee loyalty. What employees value is not a specific benefit per se, but the benefit that explains what kind of corporate culture the company implements and how the company's leaders care about the interests of employees.

For example, Sivica Hospitality, a hotel management company headquartered in the United States, stipulates that the general manager of each department can enjoy 90 days of paid vacation as long as he has served the company for 5 years. As a result, the company's employee turnover rate has been zero.

Of course, the investment in benefits can be substantial. But those who offer generous benefits say the rewards are also huge in terms of employee motivation, productivity, sense of engagement, and churn costs.

The SAS Institute's approach in this regard is worth learning from. The specific treatment includes that the institute provides employees with a full set of free health insurance, fitness center and laundry facilities, and stipulates that all employees will go home from get off work from one to 6 pm. At SAS, any proposal for a benefit package must meet three conditions before it can be accepted: Does it fit with the institution's corporate culture? Is it in the interests of the vast majority of employees? Is the expected value at least up to the level of investment?

In the battle for talent, money shouldn't be overpriced, but it's easy to overbid. Any strategy to retain talent based solely on benefits will not be successful in the long run. To be successful, such a program must combine market-rate benefits with a unique work environment that attracts talent.

Providing a high salary only makes you competitive, it does not guarantee that you will win the war. Other practices described below address this issue.

Second, plan to keep people ahead of time

Just like the competition in the shopping mall, if you make an orderly plan, you will achieve good results in the competition for talent.

It is planning that enables Boardroom Vice President Sarah Hiner to develop what she calls "self-defense tactics." Her advice is to plan for the departure of some individual employees. She said, "Whenever an employee quits, I always have some plan on hand. That way, when it really hits my eyebrows, I know what to do."

To do talent planning, you must understand why the employee wants to Change jobs. So why do people change jobs? A lot of people think it's for economic reasons, but that's not always the case. Ninety percent of the time it's because employees want more challenging work. They want a lively, very professional and challenging work environment where they can develop and take greater control of their future and destiny.

Regardless of age, employees are generally most likely to contact executive search firms between their third and eighth years with a company. According to a person from a headhunting company, "These people can be said to be successful in their careers in a company, and they often run around. They will feel that their work performance is not recognized, so they think, maybe they should pick up another one. Pick up the headhunter and at least hear what they have to say."

The first step in developing a talent retention strategy is to develop a business plan to help managers understand the cost and cost of attrition. What are the consequences, whether there is a brain drain problem, and determine if the cost of fixing the problem is greater than the cost of the brain drain.

3. The CEO's Personal Communication

Leading the Way authors Robert Gandossy and Mark Effron both suggest that leaders need to "communicate with others in person. "The job of a leader is to lead, and to lead personally."

For example, Rod Adkins, general manager of IBM's pervasive computing division, coaches more than 30 indirect reports, and he offers to talk to every employee for at least 30 minutes every three months. He also implements a reverse coaching process, which involves having a new employee coach him. This way, he can get feedback from another angle.

Cypress Semiconductor Corp. President TJ Rodgers treats talent retention as a personal matter for his CEO. In his book No Excuses Management, he explains his "response strategy" when a key employee says he wants to quit:

● Respond immediately, within five minutes. There is nothing more important than dealing with employee resignations.

● Report to superior immediately. If someone at Cypress resigns, I want this kind of thing to report directly to me.

● Listen carefully to what employees have to say.

● Have your rebuttals framed. Once you know the situation, develop a plan to see how you can persuade the employee to stay.

● Win his heart back by solving employee problems.

● Prevent this type of problem from happening again. This is also the first step: think about your employees and try to anticipate where they might go wrong in the future.

4. Managers who think about their employees

Managers around the world not only take talent retention seriously as a personal matter, but are also looking for ways to do it well in new and creative ways. Some companies have programs that require managers to work on their employees for a period of time. For example, the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach in Palm Beach, Florida has implemented a "job exchange day" system for hotel managers, enabling them to understand and experience the daily work conditions of different job positions and the daily encounters with employees. various problems. "It makes them think differently," said Harry Gostayn, the resort's manager. "Last year, I was doing laundry work myself."

The attrition itself, Gostayn said decreased, but the best return on this investment was improved employee morale. "A few months later, people are still talking about it, because we've experienced their work, and we won't let them do things they can't do," he said.

5. Good On-the-job training

On the first day of your employees' work, your efforts to retain key talents have already begun, and the most concrete manifestation is the on-the-job training provided to them.

Let's examine the experience of FedEx. In 2000, FedEx hired 35,000 employees, most of whom filled job openings for departing employees. That's enough to make the company's vice president of personnel want to know why. An investigation by the task force found that employee turnover can actually be traced back to their first day on the job. The onboarding process currently in place is not only ineffective, but in many cases not at all.

To change this, FedEx has introduced a "new employee training kit" that includes a letter from the CEO, a checklist, a welcome letter that managers can sign and personalize, and a of each branch. The suite is also a management tool for managers. The kit also includes a 30-minute video tape that gives new employees a comprehensive introduction to the company. The central message of the video is this: This company is worth the long run.

FedEx is not alone in recognizing the importance of getting employees on-boarding right. One of the most common best practices in many large companies is to have a great employee onboarding program, and new research proves just how smart it is.

A Corning Glass study found that new employees who received positive induction training were 69 percent more likely to remain with the company three years later than those who had not received similar training.

Research states, "If an onboarding program is done well, new employees feel like they are a valued and valued member of the team. They also gain a general understanding of the company's vision. Convince new employees that they will be treated with patience. Careful training. It also provides opportunities for new employees to develop friendly relationships with colleagues, superiors and management."

First impressions are permanent. If you can get the most out of your onboarding, while your employees remain motivated and loyal despite the inevitable setbacks, and when you're equally inevitably attacked by competitors, you need to When you poach these people from your company, you'll get a sense of how important onboarding can be.

6. Provide benefits for part-time employees Live in better talent, and ultimately be rewarded. In fact, as the number of part-time employees is increasing around the world, providing them with certain benefits is becoming a common means of attracting and retaining good employees.

Companies like UPS and Starbucks are already well-known for this, offering a variety of generous perks to their part-time employees.

As the proportion of part-time workers increases, especially if, as expected, people born in the 1950s continue to work part-time mainly before reaching retirement age, then the provision of Welfare treatment may become a more commonly used means to attract and retain high-quality talents.

University of Massachusetts professor Chris Tilly believes that companies that offer benefits to part-time workers have become a destination for high-quality talent, who in turn help these companies with high-quality services become a stronger competitor. He said: "Companies like this are very popular now. They provide good service but charge high prices. In order to provide good service, they have to hire excellent people who have long-term cooperation." If employees become good friends with colleagues at work, they are generally more satisfied with their work and more efficient. According to Gallup's survey on job satisfaction, one of the 12 most important satisfaction criteria is when an employee says "I have my best friend among my colleagues."

In China, this factor is even more meaningful because Chinese are working longer and longer hours. According to NOP World's survey, Chinese employees work 40.9 hours per week, higher than the world average of 40.6 hours. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand that if employees have established a deep friendship with their colleagues, they will be more comfortable and happy at work.

In order to create this friendly and collaborative atmosphere, managers need to carry out various activities to promote friendship among employees. Some companies are also good at encouraging employees to refer their friends to fill vacancies at the company.

VIII. Development Opportunities

Whether it is Maslow or Mintzberg, personnel experts have already pointed out the importance of providing development opportunities. As one employee in a high-paying company said, "If my job isn't challenging, then the other things the company does for me doesn't matter to me."

According to China Youth Daily According to a survey conducted by , 63% of young people change jobs because they think doing so will provide more opportunities for development. One young professional surveyed said: "If I find my current job has no future, I would not hesitate to leave." Young people are more concerned about whether the work they are doing enables them to show their talents, rather than how much they are paid. .

Bill Phillips, president of Success Labs, said: "When we study employee surveys every year, we find that the number one concern of employees is actually the opportunity to grow, not the salary, but the ability to learn. To eat the world's true talents and real learning."

Nine, employees' sense of belonging

Many companies are good at expanding the scope of work, for example, giving employees more responsibilities, etc., but few companies are rich in the content of work. Doing it equally well means making employees feel more connected to the company's goals. Companies that can provide this sense of belonging are more likely to retain key talent.

Many companies have employees who are often out of touch with the company's goals or prospects, and ExxonMobil has given employees a clearer picture of their role in the company as a whole. The company has developed a training program for assembly-line workers who operate factory equipment so they can see where the company is headed.

In a Chinese handbag factory, one of the factory managers' biggest ideas was to hang the finished handbag samples in the work area. This seemingly small move gave the workers a heightened sense of pride.

A practice like this allows employees to actively think about things other than their jobs, such as how to solve problems and see them critically, which can give employees a sense of pride in ownership.

10. A good boss who cares about employees

Research shows that 50-60% of the reasons employees like a job is that they have a good boss. In fact, people don't work for the company, they are people who work for the company. And if the boss is very good, others will follow him stubbornly.

A good boss cares about his people who are able to do it, always noticing what actions will help his employees take their careers to the next level and guiding them away from bad decisions. A good boss allows employees to participate in decision-making, thinks what employees think, and is anxious about what employees are anxious about.

This is actually approachable and open-minded. In many cases, the employee really just wants to have a chat with you. Leaders can actively listen to employees by asking subordinates questions like, "What's going on?" "How can I help you?" etc.

If employees have such conversations with their superiors, they know that, as individuals, their boss is considerate of them, willing to listen to them, and understand and appreciate them for doing so. And these are important for companies to keep their employees happy and retain talent.

Eleven, leadership skills training

If a company wants to have excellent bosses, they must be trained like this. You can build a great company, but if you end up with bad bosses, they'll leave quickly. "For most employees, the boss is the company," said Lee Lee James, president of Synovus Service Corp.

At Monsanto, well over half of senior managers' bonuses are based on how they manage their employees. determined by the skills.

To increase their chances of retaining key talent, Synovus requires all of its managers to attend the company's "Foundations for Leadership" seminar. They must also meet the company's Leadership Expectations Model, which requires managers to excel in four areas: embodying company values; sharing company vision with employees; helping employees succeed; and Manage the company's business.

An important part of the workshop is learning how to deal with conflicts, because if you don't resolve conflicts in time, a backlog can be enough to drive employees away. Other topics include communication skills, active listening skills, and interpersonal skills, to name a few.

What to do if a competitor offers a high price

Don't think that if he raises his money, you have to raise it too. Researchers at Robert Half International Inc. asked 150 of the best managers the question: why good people leave. 41% of respondents believe that the reason is that employees feel that there are few opportunities for development. Twenty-five percent of managers blamed a lack of recognition for employee performance. Only 15% said compensation was the main factor.

We can't ignore the 15% of employees who jump jobs for money, but in general, money isn't the main reason people go to market. In fact, seasoned headhunters believe that if the only reason for someone to change jobs is money, that person is at risk because other companies with deeper pockets will come out and poach him again.

Of course, there are exceptions. If an employee is critical to your company's operations, you may want to consider paying as much as your competitors. However, as Alan Weiss, president of Summit Consulting Group Inc., put it, "You have to be convinced that this is a rare talent. Otherwise, don't do it."

Weiss said that in Before making a response bid, "Be sure it's about the money and no other reason. If you give them a 15% to 20% increase and they're still going, it's not about the money, it's for another reason." For example, they may feel that there is no future in their job, or they don't like their boss, etc."

And once a response bid is made, make sure that any issues that prompted the employee to leave have been resolved. Also consider offering other perks, offering promotions, giving more responsibilities, changing jobs, providing training at the company's expense, or anything else the employee proposes that appeals to him.

What to do if you really lose key employees

The first thing you should do is to keep the morale of your employees so that you don't lose more people. HME News suggests four things you must do now:

Make a statement. Don't just write a memo, but hold a meet-and-greet. This needs to be done as soon as possible, otherwise the gossip will overwhelm the sky and cause chaos in the city.

Re-emphasize the company's direction and strengths. To say that the company will miss the departing employees, but we must continue to work hard because our families and customers rely on us!

It is important to emphasize that the company is not in a rush to find new people, as it takes careful screening to find people who are of the same high caliber as the rest of the team.

Review the company's work environment, leadership, and talent retention plans to see what issues need to be addressed. This is best done quickly before hiring new people or leaving other employees.

Lastly, if one of your key talent does end up with a competitor, don't think the battle is over.

Don't do anything to this lost talent. Boardroom's Heiner advises, "Don't make people feel like they're dead. Even if you lose them, be gracious. They may be able to help when you're hiring in the future."

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