Today we will cover the next two keys to retaining employees in a rebounding economy: effective performance management and personalizing benefits/policies.
Effective Performance Management
If you have followed the first two keys, your organization should be poised to effectively manage performance. If you are creating the culture you want AND you are treating employees as your most important asset, the natural outcome will be to provide quality feedback in nurturing those assets.
Effective performance management starts with the organization’s strategies. From there, each individual should have specific goals aligned with those strategies. These goals should be measurable, relevant, attainable and time-bound. The value of cascading the goals throughout the organization is that each individual can see where they fit in and how what they do helps the organization achieve the strategically important things that will take it to the next level.
One thing that is common with performance management is the reliance of “the system.” Giving feedback becomes a once-a-year thing (that is typically demanded by another department as a paperwork exercise). So, to combat that, an effective system will require quality conversations occurring throughout the year. These dialogues should be constructive and support the goals the individual has established. Finally, recent surveys have shown that organizations are increasingly incorporating competencies into their review systems. I find this a very healthy move; away from traits (attendance, quality, teamwork, etc.) toward competencies (those things that make our organization different and unique).
Personalized Benefits/Policies
Let’s face it. One size has not fit all for quite some time. Organizations have to find ways to meet the individual needs of employees, especially those they can least afford to lose. People don’t go the extra mile for health, base pay or standard benefits. They go the extra mile when they feel like they’re being treated and recognized for their efforts as individuals. So, in order to retain employees in a rebounding economy, organizations need to provide meaningful individualized learning and development opportunities, work-life balance options and recognition/rewards that inspire them.
In many organizations, policies are established and set in stone. I’m all for consistency… when you are consistently doing something right and you are getting the results you should. In HR, you usually hear “consistency” uttered in the same sentence as “fairness.” To me, fairness is the real measuring stick when it comes to managing employees. If there are exceptions, are you being fair (not necessarily consistent)? Can you show why you are deviating from an established precedent due to a specific set of circumstances?
It is easy to just say “these are the rules and you have to live with them.” Even when doing so doesn’t make sense in retaining those key employees. So, I believe that there are no sacred cows. Organizations need to be open to creating flexible working relationships, sabbaticals and extra PTO on occasion. Further, benefits should be personalized and the bureaucracy associated with using them should be reduced or eliminated. Consider why an Employee Self Service portal may make sense and also examine your motivation for putting it in. If it’s only so HR doesn’t have to enter employee information, you’re doing it for the wrong reason. (Refer to the wonderfully warm feeling you get when you realize that your phone call is directed to an Interactive Voice Response system… “I’m sorry, I didn’t understand, please say that again.” Who are those systems benefiting?). Organizations should be reducing or eliminating barriers to performance and ridding itself of bureaucracy for a number of reasons including keeping employees engaged and assured that the organization cares for them as individuals.