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Companies are always concerned about keeping their talent. As the economy continues to inch along, surveys show that many employees are restless – more than two-thirds want to move on.

In this atmosphere you may be wondering if there are any innovative ways of keeping your talent, especially on a tight budget.

It’s good to be cost conscious, says consultant Leigh Branham, but investing in your employees now, especially top performers, could save you even more money down the road. Consider that the cost to replace an employee is between half to one and a half times his or her salary, plus months of lower productivity, Branham says.

He also points to some innovative ways companies are keeping their key workers. A hospital, for instance, wanted to hang on to its nurses, who are in demand, so it changed its procedures, giving nurses more decision-making responsibility, which reduced turnover.

Chik-fil-A gives store managers a part of each month’s profits, which has greatly reduced turnover.

Google has instituted a practice that has by now become well known – giving employees one day a week to work on a project of their own.

Branham also advises hiring an outside firm to do employee engagement surveys to get input. Ask employees directly what problems they have and what would make their job better. But the company needs to be prepared to act on the suggestions as well.

Most people, Branham says, leave a job for reasons other than money, while most companies assume money is the issue.

Employees leave often because the job is not what the company advertised it to be, because they are not getting any feedback or coaching, because they feel they are not valued, because they are not getting the opportunity to make the best use of their skills, or because of stress or burnout.

The people who should deal most with these problems are not those who work in human resources, Branham says, but department managers. They need to be trained in how to handle these issues and evaluated on the job they do. Correcting these problems may not require a lot of money, but it does require the commitment, time and energy of company leadership.

When you need great people for temporary and direct-hire opportunities at your Manhattan-area company, contact a recruiter at Winston Resources. We look forward to hearing how we may be of service.


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