Today's organizations need to become retention savvy and elevate retention to a strategic initiative that is managed as carefully as profitability. This means collecting and paying attention to retention measures, setting realistic goals for retention, and getting smart about why people leave and why they stay in organizations (usually not the same reasons).

According to Gallup, the top three reasons why employees leave their jobs are:

1. Lack of faith in the leadership or vision of the company
2. Concern with the way management is treating people
3. Lack of management support in areas such as performance reviews and employee development

The single most important determinant of an individual's performance and commitment to stay with an organization is the relationship the individual has with his or her immediate manager. People leave their manager far more often than they leave the organization.

¹ http://gmj.gallup.com/gmj_surveys/

The first step is to make employee retention a part of your company's overall strategic objectives. If senior leaders are unsure about the importance of addressing retention as an objective, have them consider the following:

The cost of replacing an employee is estimated to be between 1.75 and 2.5 times his or her yearly salary.²

When people leave, they either take customers with them or put customer loyalty at risk. Changes in account personnel, if not properly managed, can send a message of organizational instability or give the impression that this is not an important client relationship. Internal customers are affected as well. Not only do they have to spend time orienting new employees, but the departure of a top-performing employee can cause those left behind to question their own loyalty.

²Retaining Top Employees, Les McKeown, 2002

An equally important strategy in combating unwanted attrition is to pay close attention to the role relationships play in a person's work. Studies and statistics about why people leave jobs point directly to how connected people feel at work.

In a research report published in September 2003, RainmakerThinking, Inc.^®, identified the critical importance of the supervisor in the workplace. According to Rainmaker Thinking, "The day-to-day communication between supervisor managers and direct reports has more impact than any other single factor on employee productivity, quality, morale, and retention."³

In the most comprehensive study ever conducted in the area of retention, researchers at the Family and Work Institute found that earnings and benefits have a 2% impact on job satisfaction, while job quality and workplace support have a combined 70% impact.⁴

³"Generational Shift: What We Saw At The Workplace Revolution," Bruce Tulgan
⁴ http://www.familiesandwork.org/

Supervisors and managers sit in the middle of this complexity. Given the facts and figures listed above, we believe managers and leaders are the first line of defense against unwanted attrition.

But does that match the belief systems of many managers and leaders? No. Many managers are hanging on for dear life, trying to handle their own individual workloads.

Some managers believe the primary responsibility for retention resides in the HR function. Retention is rarely included in a manager's list of goals. In Blanchard®'s retention-focused workshops with clients, we begin by challenging these belief systems.

One revealing exercise is to ask people to recall and share a time when they were the most engaged in and excited about their own work. The responses cluster into predictable categories--feeling the work was important, feeling appreciated, learning and growing, being part of a great team, and having autonomy--all aspects of work that managers can directly influence!

Managers must acknowledge their role in and take responsibility for keeping and motivating talented people. This means viewing their jobs more broadly and accepting that there are three critical parts of their job.

1. They have their own work to do and meetings to attend, places to go, and projects to complete.
2. The development of people in their current work.
3. Career coaching for future work.

Would you like to learn more about improving employee retention in your organization? In a new white paper entitled "Responding to the Mega-Billion-Dollar Retention Crisis--Ten Proven Strategies for Retaining Key Talent," The Ken Blanchard Companies^® Office of the Future reveals some startling findings as well as practical, preventative measures for employers.

Each month The Ken Blanchard Companies offers free Webinars on improving organizational performance. On July 13 we are featuring the presentation Wanted: Better Frontline Leadership! with Patricia Stewart and on July 27 we are featuring a presentation on What Coaching Can Do for Your Organization with Madeleine Homan. To register for either (or both) of these complimentary events, just click on the link that follows the event title.

Wanted: Better Frontline Leadership!
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
9:00 - 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time (12:00 - 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time)
(Event is Complete)

Today's work environment demands highly skilled frontline supervisors. Dealing effectively with the wide range of today's frontline leadership challenges requires mastery of the managerial and interpersonal skills necessary to handle all leadership interactions--including those that are emotionally charged--along with the ability to apply both of these skill sets in any leadership setting or interaction.

In this Webinar, Blanchard Consulting Partner Patricia Stewart will show you why great frontline leadership is needed now more than ever and what you can do to improve frontline leadership in your organization.

What Coaching Can Do for Your Organization

Wednesday, July 27, 2005
9:00 -10:00 a.m. Pacific Time (12:00 noon - 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time)
(Event is Complete)

Coaching, implemented at an organizational level, can deliver dramatic results and drive significant financial impact to the bottom line. Today's values-based organizations employ coaching to build alignment, develop their current and future leaders, and ensure the success of corporate training programs. Join Blanchard Vice President of Coaching Services Madeleine Homan as she shares how coaching can:

• Align individual performance with team and organizational objectives
• Increase and enhance communication between managers, direct reports, and teams
• Help individuals take ownership and responsibility for their behaviors and actions

Designed for individuals or organizations, our workshops provide the opportunity to learn skills to meet the challenges of today's working environments. Participating in a public workshop is an ideal way to preview Blanchard programs and processes for possible rollout in your organization. Smaller companies can also use these workshops to meet their employees' training needs.

Situational Frontline Leadership NEW!
July 26-28 in Orange County, CA
December 5-6 in London, UK

Whale Done! The Power of Positive Relationships NEW!
September 27-28 in San Diego, CA

Situational Leadership® II
July 11-12 in Toronto, Canada
September 12-13 in London, UK
October 17-18 in San Diego, CA
November 7-8 in Toronto, Canada
November 28-29 in London, UK
December 12-13 in San Diego, CA

The Magic of Situational Self Leadership
July 25-26 in San Diego, CA
October 24-25 in San Diego, CA

Gung Ho!®
September 19-20 in San Diego, CA
September 19-20 in London, UK

We also offer Training for Trainers (T4T) sessions for most of the programs listed above. We give prospective trainers all the knowledge and tools needed to roll out a program in their organization.
More Information about our Training for Trainers

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