Jobwise - - Retention

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Retention

Retention strategies

Losing experienced staff to another employer or retirement may not be good business practice. In addition to the costs of recruiting and training new staff, there is also the lost knowledge of your business and clients. So how do you keep them?

This part of the guide offers suggestions on alternatives to retirement that can extend the contribution of experienced workers to your business.

The benefits of an effective retention strategy include:

reduced recruitment costs,
increased loyalty and commitment of staff,
flexibility and adaptability of the workplace.

Consider the following motivators for mature age workers to remain actively involved in work.

Employees like to feel valued, be recognised as a useful contributor, to use experience gained over the years, to stay busy and to participate in meaningful work.
Having the financial security to fund the desired lifestyle and ensure enough savings and superannuation for a retirement that may be longer than for previous generations.
Being able to interact with colleagues, and to feel a sense of being an important contributor and part of a community.
Having a work/life balance and using flexible work practices to reduce work hours while spending more time with family and to pursue other leisure activities and volunteering opportunities.

When implementing a retention strategy, consider the following points:

Work collaboratively with the employee and ensure ongoing communication with both internal (supervisors and other employees) and external (customers) stakeholders.
Consider trialling the new arrangement for a period of time and providing ongoing monitoring to ensure the arrangement suits both the employee and the business.
If a retention strategy works for one of your employees, consider rolling it out for other workers in your business.

A study by Hudson External Link (read study PDF File ) has found that where a worker’s current employer is not willing to offer reduced hours of work in preparation for retirement, experienced workers will often switch to another job. In this situation, the loss of an experienced worker by one company is the gain of another organisation with more flexible work options.

Remember, it is unlawful to terminate employment on the grounds of age.

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Phased retirement

Instead of letting your valuable knowledge walk out the door when a mature age worker retires, never to be seen again, consider a phased retirement strategy to extend their involvement with your business.

Mentoring

Employers can harness the experience of mature age workers by using their knowledge and expertise to mentor less experienced workers. This helps pass on 'tricks of the trade' and apply lessons that have already been learnt 'the hard way'.

Redeployment

Employers can ensure that they retain a workers valuable ‘corporate knowledge’ by offering alternative work options to their current role. Many mature age workers are not interested in climbing the career ladder, but they are keen to contribute their knowledge and experience to benefit the business.

Work/life balance

Offering workers enough flexibility to be able to balance their work with their outside interests and family responsibilities gives your business the following benefits:

a competitive edge in recruiting and an enhanced corporate image,
an improved ability to retain skilled staff and corporate knowledge and an increased return on training investments,
reduced absenteeism and staff turnover,
improved productivity, reduced stress levels and improved morale and commitment,
potential for improved occupational health and safety performance.

There are a wide range of family-friendly work practices that can be introduced into your organisation, at little or no cost. These are covered in the flexible working practices section of this website.

Rewards and recognition programme

Recognition for loyalty and rewards for effort and productivity are very effective in retaining and improving the performance of your workforce. Such programmes and policies are designed to encourage staff to improve their work performance, either individually or through teams, recognising achievements or accomplishments that contribute to the overall objectives of the organisation.

Remember do not assume just because someone has worked for you for a while, that they know you appreciate them.

Training and development

Ensuring all your workers have the opportunity to develop their skills by undertaking ongoing training will ensure you retain a skilled, productive and motivated workforce. Mature age workers are often more likely to remain with their current employer longer than some younger workers, so the return on any investment in their training is high, particularly if they stay on beyond traditional retirement age.