Is your knowledge pool draining?

How do companies cope when they face an inevitable phenomenon called attrition? Is recruiting new staff the right solution? Well, most of the times, it may not quiet be. How do companies work their way around this challenge then? There’s no single measure that you could take, that would possibly solve this problem. In order to come up with answers, it’s crucial that the organization tracks back to the crux of where the issue lies.

Let’s take a macro-view of why retention has become a challenge for many organizations across the globe.

• Employee Satisfaction: How do you know whether your employees are happy with their jobs? Does your organization have a system or process in place, which can help track the satisfaction level amongst your staff? If  your answer is ‘NO’ then, you need to quickly implement something. There are various parameters that need to be considered while determing the satisfaction level amongst employees. Few of the key elements are cited below:

  

   

1. Are they satisfied with their pay packages? Is it at par with other similar scaled organizations?
2. Is the work load distributed evenly? Are the employees being over loaded?
3. Are they provided with a pleasant working ambience?
4. Are they provided with ample infrastructural support to boost productivity?
5. Are there enough co-curricular activities to help employees de-stress?
6. Do they receive enough incentives to keep them motivated?

• Outdated HR policies: Today, when recession is behind us & job opportunities are plenty, it’s crucial that every organization reforms its HR policies to adapt to the changing times.  Companies across the world are coming up with new strategies & plans to retain their employees. HR management is no longer just about

  

  payroll, talent acquisition & procedure setting. It has become as important a function as any other, within every company. HR managers need to constantly think of ways & come up with solutions to combat attrition. Knowledge drain is another major issue that organizations are grappling with & thus it becomes even more critical for them to hold on to their human resources.

• Organizational Transparency: Earlier, an employee would be eternally grateful to the employer for their

  

  jobs. Well, times are different now, all that is history. Today, if an employer is taking a ‘risk’ by inducing somebody new into the system & trusting them to carryout a job, so is the employee! The employee is taking the risk of joining an organization, which has promised them the world, they chose to work for you out of all the other offers that they must have received & now their livelihood is in your hands. That is exactly why they deserve to know about the company’s internal functioning; needless to say that accessibility of information is the key to transparency within the organization. Hierarchical barriers cause a blockage in the movement of information across the different management levels; ease of accessibility is the key here too.

• Belonging: Every employee harbours the dream of being, part of a successful organization & they would love

  

  to play, an active role in helping the company attain that target. Employees need to be made felt like a member of the family. This can be done through simple yet generous steps by the company’s management. Employees should be kept in the loop of how the company has been doing & it’s plan for the future; monthly or quarterly newsletters from the CEO, timely motivational mails from senior executives, gifting stocks as bonuses, etc; can go a long way in gratifying your staff.

If a company manages to implement or practice all the steps mentioned above, they can manage to cut down attrition atleast by 75%. The remaining 25% is circumstantial, it can happen due to various reasons. Some may not be satisfied with the line of work they are in & may want to switch careers, while some may be forced to move due to domestic situations & a few may look for change because of monotony.

Retaining employees is the most critical step towards growth & if that base is covered, the rest will fall into place automatically. Innovation & reformation are the two key words that HR managers must adopt. Human resource management cannot always be taught, you have to keep your mind open.