Retain key talent!

Everyone knows what can happen when a key employee quits: disorganization, extra work, delayed projects, missed opportunities, lost customers, etc., to which must be added the effort required to recruit and train a successor. Several studies have estimated total turnover cost to be one year of salary of the individual who quits!

Many companies repeatedly assert that “people are our most valuable asset,” but few actually establish effective strategies to keep their key employees. Many simply try to retain them by offering raises when they announce their decision to leave – generally without much success. The lack of a retention strategy is all the more regrettable as the rare companies that develop one tend to obtain appreciable results.

The sources we have selected analyze the reasons that can push employees to leave their employer, and derive relevant recommendations for retaining the best among them. Three suggestions in particular are underlined:

– Proactively identify employees whom the company wants to retain and try to adapt the retention strategy to their particular needs.

– Tackle the two principal causes of undesired attrition: poor job fit and dissatisfaction with the workplace environment.

– Do not wait until employees announce they are quitting to take action. Instead, try to do something before employees start disengaging.