Hanging on to staff

As the saying goes – it is five times harder to find new customers than retain old ones. Likewise, it’s a lot harder and more expensive to recruit new staff than to keep existing ones.
By Alan Titchall 

I’ve been around long enough to remember the old industrial relations system with its collective contracts negotiated by representative associations on an annual basis. It was replaced in the early 1990s by the current system of ‘individual contracts’.

Personally, I think the old collective arbitration system was, in many respects, far less litigious and costly for both parties, but it’s too late to turn back the clock now.

Anyway, after a long career involving numerous employers, and even a stint as an industrial relationships officer, here’s a few of my own ideas on keeping employee staff turnover to a minimum.

Off to an honest start

Recruiting staff is often a one-sided process where the applicant has to ‘prove’ they are suitable for the job. It’s taken for granted – you are providing a ‘suitable’ workplace, however, if you lose staff – it’s usually within the first year because the job and the workplace hasn’t lived up to their expectations.

You can avoid a lot of grief further down the track by being very upfront about the job in the first place. Provide the applicant with a true picture of the job and the resources you will provide them with. If you make promises – such as pay reviews and new equipment – then stick to them. There’s nothing more offensive for an employee than the feeling of being taken for granted. While those little original recruiting appetisers might easily slip your interest, they will be very much in your employee’s mind as they get to the end of their first three or six months.

Put a smile in the contract

A lot of standard employment contracts, bought off the shelf of the nearest legal service, and can appear threatening and heavily worded to ‘protect’ the employer. There’s nothing colder than a contract full of “thou shall not” disciplinary clauses and just the basic provisions and rewards as required under employment law. A few ‘friendly’ words and conditions that might reach out and say ‘we really do appreciate you working for us’ would help – such as modest bonuses, or an extra ‘stress relief’ or family day off during the year.

Recognise achievements

Kiwis are not good at giving out compliments (tall poppy ‘big head’ nonsense), particularly in working environments. Recognise good work verbally and in writing. Regular two-way ‘reviews’ will give employees ample space to casually air grievances, and give you the opportunity to knock any brooding displeasures on the head before they fester into disputes.

Workplace benefits

Extras such as health insurance went by the way during the 1990s when unemployment was high. If you don’t do it already, you could think about a staff health scheme with an insurance provider and making a token contribution. This is nice incentive for older employees.

Shout a lunch for the team every now and again, and how difficult (or expensive) is it to budget a packet of chocolate biscuits for the smoko room?

Inter staff relations

There’s a wise saying – employees don’t quit their jobs, they quit their managers. Monitor staff relations carefully and look for signs of tension. Have you got managers who need their claws clipped?

Keep them passionate

Have you delegated enough responsibility to your employees to keep them passionate and interested in their job? Do staff feel ‘under-employed’? Most staff have more skills and ability than given credit for and can be keen to take on more challenges.

Keeping equipment up to spec

New Zealand businesses are very good at ‘making do’ with tired old gear that still works, but has long fallen off the depreciation schedule and is overdue for the scrap heap. Computer screens are a classic example, and are those chairs in the staff room ready for the scrap heap?

Holiday time

Yeah – we all know staff now have four weeks’ holiday but how many employers plan for it, or simply wait for employees to call the shots? Talk to employees in advance about their holiday plans. Do they want a long break (meaning temps and re-assigning other staff to fill-in) or do they prefer more convenient series of shorter breaks and long weekends?

Get real about work culture

Keep a benign step ahead of practices that may fall between the gaps in the employment contract. Most office staff have access to the internet at the office for instance and, realistically, they are going to use it for some personal viewing –  TradeMe, Hotmail, MySpace, the bank account, etc. It might be easier to provide for conditional personal viewing during breaks, than try and ban it.