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2007 - by George Ritacco

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Do Your Employees Enjoy Working For You?

  
Did you know that 95% of pharmaceutical employees respond favorably when asked about their product and services at their organization? (source: TrainingMag Aug/06).

What are the key reasons why employees leave?

The 10 most frequently mentioned issues that employees say companies do poorly are:

• Poor management--uncaring and unprofessional managers; overworking staff; no respect, not listening, putting people into the wrong seats on the bus; speed over quality; poor manager selection processes.
• Lack of career growth and advancement opportunities--no "perceivable" career paths; not posting job openings or filling from within; favoritism or unfair promotions.
• Poor communications--problems communicating top-down and between departments; after mergers; between facilities.
• Pay--paid under-market or less than contributions warrant; pay inequities; slow raises; favoritism for bonuses/raises; ineffective appraisals.
• Lack of recognition--that says it all.
• Poor senior leadership--not listening, asking, or investing in employees; unresponsiveness and isolation; mixed messages.
• Lack of training--nonexistent or superficial training; nothing for new hires, managers, or to move up.
• Excessive workload--doing more with less; sacrificing quality and customer service for numbers.
• Lack of tools and resources--insufficient, malfunctioning, outdated, equipment/supplies; overwork without relief.
• Lack of teamwork--poor coworker cooperation/commitment; lack of interdepartmental coordination.

I think we've heard most of these before. However a new book offers some new advice.

According to staffing consultant Leigh Branham, author of The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave (Amacom, January 2005)... While managers believe that more than 70% of employees leave for more money, 88% of employees say they leave for reasons other than money. No matter where the truth lies, money plays a key part in the transaction, but not where you might think.

The HIDDEN Intangibles...
According to the Saratoga Institute, whose figures Branham used in his book, the average cost of losing an employee equals that employee's' annual salary.

Do the math: A company with 300 employees, an average annual employee salary of $35,000, and a turnover rate of just 15% is losing $1,575,000 per year just in turnover costs.

You can't keep everyone from leaving, but if you could cut your turnover rate by two-thirds, you could save a million dollars per year.  And so it's mission critical that you identify and implement a strong employee retention program right now and stop the bleeding.

So let's talk about how to keep your people happy (and none of these by the way have anything to do with more money). Here are the top 5 ways:

1. Knowledge is power. While I firmly believe that applied knowledge is more important than knowledge alone... employees who are "kept in the loop" about the state of their business and company, feel they are treated with respect. If they understand the company's strategy, they feel more like they're a part of the team and not just an employee.
   
2. Have they bought into your product(s). This is critical. If they don't believe in your goals, objectives and more importantly... your product or service - what it is that they sell... then how can they succeed? Having them believe in what it is you do as a company is absolutely mission critical, so you need to have a plan to get them there.
   
3. An effective and empowering training program. Without one, you're sunk. When the training program is good, you're people are given the right amount of reinforcement, through repetition and frequency that empowers them to succeed on many levels. Repetition and frequency is the "mother of all learning", so you need to develop a program (12 month curriculum.. perhaps) that systematically "engages" them throughout the year... on autopilot. Good content and a solid frequency program allows you to cultivate the best workforce you can and more importantly, shows your team that you are dedicated to their growth and development.
   
4. "Specialization" is key. Having a mechanism in place that can allow people to feel "real" important due to specialization is a powerful way to keep certain, high-performing individuals on board. If the employee is tasked with a "higher-level" or special function - it goes a long way in creating a need for that person to want to succeed. Again all of the elements above play a role in this... proper training, good communication, rewarding when needed, teaching them the value of what it is they do... specialization just takes it to a higher level.
   
5. Clear expectations, adequate resources, meaningful work, and recognition for good work.

The Bottom line.
If they like where it is they work and they're made to feel like they are part of a team where advice can come from the bottom... up, and they know what it is they do and why and they express passion when doing it - And last - they feel that they are adequately compensated, as compared to others - they won't leave.

About the Author:
George Ritacco is the Director of Client Services for Global Vision Technologies, Inc (GVT)., http://www.globalvisiontech.com a premiere software developer specializing in powerful, easy-to-use Internet systems for online training and development, sales and marketing intelligence, pharmaceutical sales ops, case management, and court reimbursement. GVT’s primary goal is to provide our customers with tools for improving productivity, profitability, employee morale and turnover. You have full permission to reprint this article within your website or newsletter as long as you leave the article fully intact and include the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-)

Source: http://www.ezinearticles.com