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CCH® HR MANAGEMENT — 11/13/07

Retention rates improve when management and HR work togethe

"Retention should be an HR priority, especially when considering what it takes to hire and train someone new, said Jim Lanzalotto, vice president of Yoh, in an interview with CCH. "Retention should also be a key metric for managers outside of HR. It's critical that HR and the business work together in retaining talent."

Lanzalotto listed the following three big stumbling blocks of employee retention:

• Not focusing on the needs of high performing talent;

• Not involving managers in the retention process; and

• Not understanding that retention is actually more than just an HR thing.

To avoid the stumbling blocks, management and HR should work together and focus on what keeps the best people around. Lanzalotto suggests that retention policies focus on:

• Understanding why people leave and why they stay;

• Building programs—compensation and non-compensation—around your best people;

• Continually surveying the worker and overall climate environment;

• Measuring regretted and unregretted turnover; and

• Building a feedback loop that involves managers.

"Remember, however," said Lanzalotto, "retention is about more than a policy; it's a way of life. Policies don't keep people; culture and leadership does."

"Retention is part of an overall talent management program," he continued. "If you treat it as an island, you'll miss the forest through the trees. Instead, consider it as part of the overall cycle from attraction to compensation, and so on."

For additional information on this and other HR topics, consult CCH Human Resources Management or Personnel Practices/Communications.

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