Best Way - Effective Management Skill or Techniques Tied to Employee Retention & Recruitment

Human resources are one of the most important components of success for any company. Developing ways to retain talented employees is critical to a company's long-term viability. While the normal strategy for keeping staff is to increase compensation and benefits, there are other ways to retain your people.

Compensation and Benefits

1. Competitive salary and benefits---this is the first line of defense for most companies when developing a strategy to keep top talent. Flexible schedule options, tuition assistance and sabbaticals are other ways companies are retaining staff. These are common practices used by human resources to reduce employee turnover and recruit top talent.

Proactive Strategies

2. There are other ways to reduce employee turnover that are not as commonly used. They are, however, easier and more cost-efficient than some of the more traditional strategies. Start by selecting the right people. Some organizations have a strong culture that is not always the best fit for certain people. Use behavior-based testing to gauge this prior to employment. That said, while pre-employment testing is useful as a gauge, it should not be completely relied upon. There is no substitute or test for innate talent or ability. The best strategy is to simply go after the smartest people.

Low-Cost Intangibles

3. Provide opportunities for employees to both share and teach their knowledge with in-house training; allow employees to volunteer to teach classes. Employees like to share what they know, and it will provide good management and leadership training.

Goal Setting

4. Good employees often leave because they have unclear goals and responsibilities or because a manager is disrespectful. Provide managers with training to help them understand how to provide performance reviews and engage staff. Open communication is the best way to prevent conflict and misunderstandings.

Work-Life Balance

5. Encourage work-life balance by offering flexible work arrangements. Flexible work arrangements are worth more than additional compensation to employees who may be juggling family responsibilities or returning to school. Set ground rules so the program is deemed fair and unbiased; however, consider offering different options for each individual, as needs may vary. One employee may need to telecommute periodically, while another may prefer an earlier start time.

Postpone Tacit Knowledge Loss

6. Consider postponing retirement for your most senior staff by offering them an opportunity to work as a consultant or in another area of the firm. Most retirees are more interested in trying something new than stopping work altogether.