The Best Booked on Board

Retaining good performers has always been both a priority and challenge for organizations. Retaining top talent is emerging as a major competitive imperative for organizations. Adopting the appreciative inquiry note, advocates suggest that instead of focusing on what causes employees to leave, companies should focus on what causes them to stay. Research conducted in this area has uncovered many variables that help people stay on board. These three major variables are fit, connection and sacrifice.

 

Fit refers to the employee’s perception of compatibility with the organization and the surrounding community. Employees with a sense of fitting in believe they have shared values with organization and also that their KSA and personality fits the job nature and demands.

In terms of connection the employee feels strong links with the colleagues and organizational community. These links foster organizational citizenship behaviour. In the spirit of sacrifice the employee believes that if he / she gives up work that will tantamount to giving up valuable, rich and rewarding relationships at work; lucrative projects and rich social life outside work.  The better the fit between the organization and the individual, the more connected he/she feels at work and greater the potential sacrifice in case of snapping the work relationship.

All these three crucial factors can be enhanced through proper on boarding, careful career planning and work-life balance. The process of on boarding offers many opportunities to build strong links between the new employee and the organization. It gives the employee a chance to bond with the community at work. When a new employee gets the opportunity to know colleagues at work and share experiences with them, strong links are forged. Some other ways in which organisations can help employees relate to work are by providing information on company resources, offering perks, bonuses on tenure etc. The provision of mentoring or coaching employees too helps them at work. Some organizations sponsor employee sports league and encourage at home dinners to help employees bond. Thus employee organization fit and connected can be built and improved during the on boarding process. Executive search firms help organizations design and deliver an extensive on boarding. This not only helps retain key talent but also helps them to perform better. Apart from this, discussing career development policies and opportunities also helps retention as by do so companies are in essence promising a future.