hi friends,i am doing 3rd sem MBA,HR specialisation....i am planning to do my main proj in "career anchors and employee retention".i wud appreciate if anyone can guide me by ur valuable suggestions in this topic.waiting for replies.
From India, Kochi
1From India, Kochi
Hi..
Here are some interesting Retention Tools which I came across-
1. Offer fair and competitive salaries. Fair compensation alone does not guarantee employee loyalty, but offering below-market wages makes it much more likely that employees will look for work elsewhere. In fact, research shows that if incomes lag behind comparable jobs at a company across town by more than 10 percent, workers are likely to bolt. To retain workers, conduct regular reviews of the salaries you offer for all job titles — entry-level, experienced staff and supervisory-level. Compare your department's salaries with statistically reliable averages. If there are significant discrepancies, you probably should consider making adjustments to ensure that you are in line with the marketplace.
2. Remember that benefits are important too. Although benefits are not a key reason why employees stick with a company, the benefits you offer can't be markedly worse than those offered by your competitors
3. Train your front-line supervisors, managers and administrators. It can't be said often enough: People stay or leave because of their bosses, not their companies. A good employee/manager relationship is critical to employee satisfaction and retention. Make sure your managers aren't driving technologists away. Give them the training they need to develop good supervisory and people-management skills.
4. Clearly define roles and responsibilities. Develop a formal job description for each title or position in your department. Make sure your employees know what is expected of them every day, what types of decisions they are allowed to make on their own, and to whom they are supposed to report.
5. Provide adequate advancement opportunities. To foster employee loyalty, implement a career ladder and make sure employees know what they must do to earn a promotion. Conduct regular performance reviews to identify employees' strengths and weaknesses, and help them improve in areas that will lead to job advancement. A clear professional development plan gives employees an incentive to stick around.
6. Offer retention bonuses instead of sign-on bonuses. Worker longevity typically is rewarded with an annual raise and additional vacation time after three, five or 10 years. But why not offer other seniority-based rewards such as a paid membership in the employee's professional association after one year, a paid membership to a local gym after two years, and full reimbursement for the cost of the employee's uniforms after three years? Retention packages also could be designed to raise the salaries of technologists who become credentialed in additional specialty areas, obtain additional education or take on more responsibility. Sign-on bonuses encourage technologists to skip from job to job, while retention packages offer incentives for staying.
7. Make someone accountable for retention. Measure your turnover rate and hold someone (maybe you!) responsible for reducing it. In too many workplaces, no one is held accountable when employees leave, so nothing is done to encourage retention.
8. Conduct employee satisfaction surveys. You won't know what's wrong ... or what's right … unless you ask. To check the pulse of your workplace, conduct anonymous employee satisfaction surveys on a regular basis. One idea: Ask employees what they want more of and what they want less of.
9. Foster an environment of teamwork. It takes effort to build an effective team, but the result is greater productivity, better use of resources, improved customer service and increased morale. Here are a few ideas to foster a team environment in your department:
• Make sure everyone understands the department's purpose, mission or goal.
• Encourage discussion, participation and the sharing of ideas.
• Rotate leadership responsibilities depending on your employees' abilities and the needs of the team.
• Involve employees in decisions; ask them to help make decisions through consensus and collaboration.
• Encourage team members to show appreciation to their colleagues for superior performance or achievement.
10. Reduce the paperwork burden. If your technologists spend nearly as much time filling out paperwork, it's time for a change. Paperwork pressures can add to the stress and burnout that employees feel. Eliminate unnecessary paperwork; convert more paperwork to an electronic format; and hire non-tech administrative staff to take over as much of the paperwork burden as is allowed under legal or regulatory restrictions.
11. Make room for fun. Celebrate successes and recognize when milestones are reached. Potluck lunches, birthday parties, employee picnics and creative contests will help remind people why your company is a great place to work.
12. Write a mission statement for your department. Everyone wants to feel that they are working toward a meaningful, worthwhile goal. Work with your staff to develop a departmental mission statement, and then publicly post it for everyone to see. Make sure employees understand how their contribution is important.
13. Provide a variety of assignments. Identify your employees' talents and then encourage them to stretch their abilities into new areas. Do you have a great "teacher" on staff? Encourage him/ her to lead an in-service or present a poster session on an interesting case. Have someone who likes planning and coordinating events? Ask him to organize a departmental open house. Know a good critical-thinker? Ask him/ her to work with a vendor to customize applications training on a new piece of equipment. A variety of challenging assignments helps keep the workplace stimulating.
14. Communicate openly. Employees are more loyal to a company when they believe managers keep them informed about key issues. Is a corporate merger in the works? Is a major expansion on the horizon? Your employees would rather hear it from you than from the evening newscast. It is nearly impossible for a manager to "over-communicate."
15. Encourage learning. Create opportunities for your technologists to grow and learn. Reimburse them for CE courses, seminars and professional meetings; discuss recent journal articles with them; ask them to research a new scheduling method for the department. Encourage every employee to learn at least one new thing every week, and you'll create a work force that is excited, motivated and committed.
16. Be flexible. Today's employees have many commitments outside their job, often including responsibility for children, aging parents, chronic health conditions and other issues. They will be loyal to workplaces that make their lives more convenient by offering on-site childcare centers, on-site hair styling and dry cleaning, flexible work hours, part-time positions, job-sharing or similar practices. For example, employees of school-age children might appreciate the option to work nine months a year and have the summers off to be with their children.
17. Develop an effective orientation program. Implement a formal orientation program that's at least three weeks long and includes a thorough overview of every area of your department and an introduction to other departments. Assign a senior staff member to act as a mentor to the new employee throughout the orientation period. Develop a checklist of topics that need to be covered and check in with the new employee at the end of the orientation period to ensure that all topics were adequately addressed.
18. Give people the best equipment and supplies possible. No one wants to work with equipment that's old or constantly breaking down. Ensure that your equipment is properly maintained, and regularly upgrade machinery, computers and software. In addition, provide employees with the highest quality supplies you can afford. Cheap, leaky pens may seem like a small thing, but they can add to employees' overall stress level.
19. Show your employees that you value them. Recognize outstanding achievements promptly and publicly, but also take time to comment on the many small contributions your staff makes every day to the organization's mission. Don't forget — these are the people who make you look good!
Regards,
Amit Seth.
From India, Ahmadabad
Here are some interesting Retention Tools which I came across-
1. Offer fair and competitive salaries. Fair compensation alone does not guarantee employee loyalty, but offering below-market wages makes it much more likely that employees will look for work elsewhere. In fact, research shows that if incomes lag behind comparable jobs at a company across town by more than 10 percent, workers are likely to bolt. To retain workers, conduct regular reviews of the salaries you offer for all job titles — entry-level, experienced staff and supervisory-level. Compare your department's salaries with statistically reliable averages. If there are significant discrepancies, you probably should consider making adjustments to ensure that you are in line with the marketplace.
2. Remember that benefits are important too. Although benefits are not a key reason why employees stick with a company, the benefits you offer can't be markedly worse than those offered by your competitors
3. Train your front-line supervisors, managers and administrators. It can't be said often enough: People stay or leave because of their bosses, not their companies. A good employee/manager relationship is critical to employee satisfaction and retention. Make sure your managers aren't driving technologists away. Give them the training they need to develop good supervisory and people-management skills.
4. Clearly define roles and responsibilities. Develop a formal job description for each title or position in your department. Make sure your employees know what is expected of them every day, what types of decisions they are allowed to make on their own, and to whom they are supposed to report.
5. Provide adequate advancement opportunities. To foster employee loyalty, implement a career ladder and make sure employees know what they must do to earn a promotion. Conduct regular performance reviews to identify employees' strengths and weaknesses, and help them improve in areas that will lead to job advancement. A clear professional development plan gives employees an incentive to stick around.
6. Offer retention bonuses instead of sign-on bonuses. Worker longevity typically is rewarded with an annual raise and additional vacation time after three, five or 10 years. But why not offer other seniority-based rewards such as a paid membership in the employee's professional association after one year, a paid membership to a local gym after two years, and full reimbursement for the cost of the employee's uniforms after three years? Retention packages also could be designed to raise the salaries of technologists who become credentialed in additional specialty areas, obtain additional education or take on more responsibility. Sign-on bonuses encourage technologists to skip from job to job, while retention packages offer incentives for staying.
7. Make someone accountable for retention. Measure your turnover rate and hold someone (maybe you!) responsible for reducing it. In too many workplaces, no one is held accountable when employees leave, so nothing is done to encourage retention.
8. Conduct employee satisfaction surveys. You won't know what's wrong ... or what's right … unless you ask. To check the pulse of your workplace, conduct anonymous employee satisfaction surveys on a regular basis. One idea: Ask employees what they want more of and what they want less of.
9. Foster an environment of teamwork. It takes effort to build an effective team, but the result is greater productivity, better use of resources, improved customer service and increased morale. Here are a few ideas to foster a team environment in your department:
• Make sure everyone understands the department's purpose, mission or goal.
• Encourage discussion, participation and the sharing of ideas.
• Rotate leadership responsibilities depending on your employees' abilities and the needs of the team.
• Involve employees in decisions; ask them to help make decisions through consensus and collaboration.
• Encourage team members to show appreciation to their colleagues for superior performance or achievement.
10. Reduce the paperwork burden. If your technologists spend nearly as much time filling out paperwork, it's time for a change. Paperwork pressures can add to the stress and burnout that employees feel. Eliminate unnecessary paperwork; convert more paperwork to an electronic format; and hire non-tech administrative staff to take over as much of the paperwork burden as is allowed under legal or regulatory restrictions.
11. Make room for fun. Celebrate successes and recognize when milestones are reached. Potluck lunches, birthday parties, employee picnics and creative contests will help remind people why your company is a great place to work.
12. Write a mission statement for your department. Everyone wants to feel that they are working toward a meaningful, worthwhile goal. Work with your staff to develop a departmental mission statement, and then publicly post it for everyone to see. Make sure employees understand how their contribution is important.
13. Provide a variety of assignments. Identify your employees' talents and then encourage them to stretch their abilities into new areas. Do you have a great "teacher" on staff? Encourage him/ her to lead an in-service or present a poster session on an interesting case. Have someone who likes planning and coordinating events? Ask him to organize a departmental open house. Know a good critical-thinker? Ask him/ her to work with a vendor to customize applications training on a new piece of equipment. A variety of challenging assignments helps keep the workplace stimulating.
14. Communicate openly. Employees are more loyal to a company when they believe managers keep them informed about key issues. Is a corporate merger in the works? Is a major expansion on the horizon? Your employees would rather hear it from you than from the evening newscast. It is nearly impossible for a manager to "over-communicate."
15. Encourage learning. Create opportunities for your technologists to grow and learn. Reimburse them for CE courses, seminars and professional meetings; discuss recent journal articles with them; ask them to research a new scheduling method for the department. Encourage every employee to learn at least one new thing every week, and you'll create a work force that is excited, motivated and committed.
16. Be flexible. Today's employees have many commitments outside their job, often including responsibility for children, aging parents, chronic health conditions and other issues. They will be loyal to workplaces that make their lives more convenient by offering on-site childcare centers, on-site hair styling and dry cleaning, flexible work hours, part-time positions, job-sharing or similar practices. For example, employees of school-age children might appreciate the option to work nine months a year and have the summers off to be with their children.
17. Develop an effective orientation program. Implement a formal orientation program that's at least three weeks long and includes a thorough overview of every area of your department and an introduction to other departments. Assign a senior staff member to act as a mentor to the new employee throughout the orientation period. Develop a checklist of topics that need to be covered and check in with the new employee at the end of the orientation period to ensure that all topics were adequately addressed.
18. Give people the best equipment and supplies possible. No one wants to work with equipment that's old or constantly breaking down. Ensure that your equipment is properly maintained, and regularly upgrade machinery, computers and software. In addition, provide employees with the highest quality supplies you can afford. Cheap, leaky pens may seem like a small thing, but they can add to employees' overall stress level.
19. Show your employees that you value them. Recognize outstanding achievements promptly and publicly, but also take time to comment on the many small contributions your staff makes every day to the organization's mission. Don't forget — these are the people who make you look good!
Regards,
Amit Seth.
From India, Ahmadabad
Here are some suggestions to guide you;
Literature Review: Begin by conducting a comprehensive literature review on both career anchors and employee retention. Understand the existing theories, models, and research findings related to these concepts. This will provide you with a strong foundation and help you identify any gaps in the current knowledge.
Research Objectives: Clearly define the objectives of your study. What specific aspects of career anchors and employee retention are you planning to explore? Are you looking to understand how different career anchors influence employee retention, or are you interested in the role of career development in retaining employees?
Research Methodology: Decide on the research methodology you will use. Will you be conducting surveys, interviews, case studies, or a combination of these methods? Justify your choice of methodology based on the research objectives and available resources.
Data Collection: If you plan to conduct surveys or interviews, develop a questionnaire or interview guide that captures relevant information about career anchors and their impact on employee retention. Ensure that your questions are clear, concise, and align with your research objectives.
Sample Selection: Define your target sample. Will you be focusing on employees from a specific industry, organization, or demographic group? Justify your choice and explain how the selected sample represents the larger population.
Data Analysis: Once you collect the data, analyze it using appropriate statistical or qualitative analysis techniques. This will help you derive meaningful insights from your findings. Consider using tools like SPSS or qualitative analysis software, depending on your data type.
Interpretation of Results: Interpret your results in the context of your research objectives. Are there significant correlations between specific career anchors and employee retention? What implications do your findings have for HR practices and organizational strategies?
Recommendations: Based on your findings, provide practical recommendations for organizations to enhance employee retention through a better understanding of career anchors. These recommendations could include tailored career development programs, mentorship initiatives, or flexible work arrangements.
Discussion: Situate your findings within the broader HR and organizational context. How do your results align with existing theories and practices? Discuss any limitations of your study and areas for future research.
Report Writing: Compile your research findings, analysis, and recommendations into a well-structured and coherent report. Pay attention to formatting, citations, and referencing according to your institution's guidelines.
Presentation: Prepare a clear and engaging presentation that highlights the key aspects of your project. Practice your presentation to ensure you effectively convey the significance of your study and its implications.
For more relevant information about the same topic you can read this detailed blog: Employee Retention
Remember that a well-defined and structured project is crucial for its success. Also, don't hesitate to seek guidance from your professors or mentors along the way. Good luck with your MBA project!
From India, Mumbai
Literature Review: Begin by conducting a comprehensive literature review on both career anchors and employee retention. Understand the existing theories, models, and research findings related to these concepts. This will provide you with a strong foundation and help you identify any gaps in the current knowledge.
Research Objectives: Clearly define the objectives of your study. What specific aspects of career anchors and employee retention are you planning to explore? Are you looking to understand how different career anchors influence employee retention, or are you interested in the role of career development in retaining employees?
Research Methodology: Decide on the research methodology you will use. Will you be conducting surveys, interviews, case studies, or a combination of these methods? Justify your choice of methodology based on the research objectives and available resources.
Data Collection: If you plan to conduct surveys or interviews, develop a questionnaire or interview guide that captures relevant information about career anchors and their impact on employee retention. Ensure that your questions are clear, concise, and align with your research objectives.
Sample Selection: Define your target sample. Will you be focusing on employees from a specific industry, organization, or demographic group? Justify your choice and explain how the selected sample represents the larger population.
Data Analysis: Once you collect the data, analyze it using appropriate statistical or qualitative analysis techniques. This will help you derive meaningful insights from your findings. Consider using tools like SPSS or qualitative analysis software, depending on your data type.
Interpretation of Results: Interpret your results in the context of your research objectives. Are there significant correlations between specific career anchors and employee retention? What implications do your findings have for HR practices and organizational strategies?
Recommendations: Based on your findings, provide practical recommendations for organizations to enhance employee retention through a better understanding of career anchors. These recommendations could include tailored career development programs, mentorship initiatives, or flexible work arrangements.
Discussion: Situate your findings within the broader HR and organizational context. How do your results align with existing theories and practices? Discuss any limitations of your study and areas for future research.
Report Writing: Compile your research findings, analysis, and recommendations into a well-structured and coherent report. Pay attention to formatting, citations, and referencing according to your institution's guidelines.
Presentation: Prepare a clear and engaging presentation that highlights the key aspects of your project. Practice your presentation to ensure you effectively convey the significance of your study and its implications.
For more relevant information about the same topic you can read this detailed blog: Employee Retention
Remember that a well-defined and structured project is crucial for its success. Also, don't hesitate to seek guidance from your professors or mentors along the way. Good luck with your MBA project!
From India, Mumbai
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