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Retaining Talented and High Performing Management Staff

Guest post by: Jennifer Loftus

Article Overview: With the economy starting to pick up, proactive HR professionals want to make sure their key talent doesn’t walk out the door. But what are the most effective ways to ensure employee retention? With all the motivational tools out there, it’s hard to know which is the "right" one to use. In this issue of Astronology we examine research results prepared by the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement. Not familiar with the Forum? The Forum’s goal is to generate a better understanding of how organizations can and should implement award / motivational programs for success. Additional, the Forum strives to examine the extent to which these programs can achieve a broad range of organizational objectives.

Retaining Talented and High Performing Management Staff

With the economy starting to pick up, proactive HR professionals want to make sure their key talent doesn’t walk out the door. But what are the most effective ways to ensure employee retention? With all the motivational tools out there, it’s hard to know which is the "right" one to use. In this issue of Astronology we examine research results prepared by the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement. Not familiar with the Forum? The Forum’s goal is to generate a better understanding of how organizations can and should implement award / motivational programs for success. Additional, the Forum strives to examine the extent to which these programs can achieve a broad range of organizational objectives.

Results from the Forum’s recent study, Awards Selection: Insights from Managers, shed light on the ability of 12 distinct motivational tactics to achieve 10 specific organizational objectives. Of particular interest is that HR professionals across many industries use these varied tactics.

As discovered in the comprehensive Awards Selection study, both non-cash and cash awards are widely used to motivate management staff. Overall, HR managers expressed a preference for non-cash reward and recognition programs, with "management recognition" reported as the leading non-cash tactic. Study respondents reported different levels of effectiveness for cash and non-cash awards depending on the specific business situations they were facing. Furthermore, a recipient’s job function, an organization’s size and culture, and whether objectives are short- or long-term are among the variables that affect the outcome of motivational tactics. As such, the techniques aren’t plug and play. We must pay close managerial attention to the techniques’ application to ensure optimal results.

The majority of responding organizations prefer non-cash motivation solutions to achieve most business objectives, as shown in Figure 1. These organizations perceive non-cash programs as considerably more effective for activities designed to positively impact internal operations and for those designed to improve customer relations. The organizations view non-cash programs as more effective for 9 of the 10 organizational objectives studied including the following:

• reinforcing organizational values/culture;

• creating positive internal communications/buzz;

• improving teamwork;

• increasing customer satisfaction;

• motivating specific behaviors/tasks;

• increasing retention/loyalty;

• improving product quality;

• increasing profitability/ROI; and

• improving customer acquisition/referrals.



When it comes down to it, there are some basics for successful retention of management employees. These keys include the following:

• Availability of superior to listen and provide guidance

• Effective communication

• Clear expectations and feedback

• Participation in planning and decision making

• Empowered to manage

• Resource management systems

• Meaningful orientation and professional development systems

• Manager compensation systems

• Successful personal practices such as work / life balance

Of these basics, the three that appear to have the most impact are the following:

Communication. Communication is the overarching theme in the survey response data. Can your managers go to their supervisors to talk through challenging issues? Do your managers clearly know what you expect of them? Do they receive feedback more frequently than during their annual performance appraisals?

Empowered to manage. Micromanaging isn’t cool, unless you want to have high management turnover. Managers need opportunities to use their judgment, try new things, and learn how to handle varying situations.

Effective administrative systems. The third most prevalent theme in the survey data is the effective administrative systems with the subtheme of resource management. While there are burdens, daily stresses, and worries that come with being a manager, organizations with successful management retention will provide tools and resources to help managers overcome these challenges

Layered on these retention keys is the importance of successful personal practices. Quality of life, specifically life/work balance, is important for manager retention. Leaving work at home and having time for self and family are significant to managers.

"2010 is going to be a challenging year – in a variety of ways," explains Astron’s National Director Jennifer Loftus. "As the economy continues to move in a positive direction, we have challenges associated with ramping up our operations capabilities. At the same time, in HR we have the challenge of retaining our key talent. There are always job opportunities for star employees. As organizations begin to hire again in greater numbers, the risk of undesired turnover grows." If your organization hasn’t put a management retention program in place already, it’s time to get started on your plan.

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Article Tags: business object, business situations, cash awards, cash reward, employee retention, hr managers, hr professionals, management staff, managerial attention, motivation solutions, motivational tools, optimal results, organizational objectives, performance management, preference, recipient, recognition programs, respondents, rsquo, tactic



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