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‘Love'em or Lose'em,’ because replacement is costly 

by Jacquelyn K. Jones
Human Resources
 “Love’em or Lose’em” is not the title of a tawdry romance novel.  It is a Wall Street Journal bestseller about how to retain valuable employees.  Written by Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans, this easy-to-skim book provides practical suggestions for all managers and supervisors, regardless of where they are positioned in an organization.

An unexpected resignation can be costly in terms of lost productivity, recruitment costs and overtime pay, or compensatory time for employees who have to increase their workloads.  Various studies show that it costs between 70 and 200 percent of the exiting employee’s annual salary to replace him or her.

To retain valuable employees, it is important to know why people stay with an employer.  According to research conducted by Kaye and Jordan-Evans, they found that the most common reasons people stay are:  career growth, learning and development; exciting work and challenge; meaningful work, making a difference and a contribution; great people; being a part of a team; good boss; recognition for work well done; fun on the job; autonomy, sense of control over my work; flexibility—for example, in work hours and dress code; fair pay and benefits; Inspiring leadership; Pride in organization; great work environment; location; job security; family-friendly; and cutting-edge technology.

Through the years research has shown that the vast majority of managers and supervisors believe that money is the primary reason employees leave. However, various surveys have repeatedly shown that fair pay, although important, is not the primary reason that an employee stays or leaves an organization.

Managers have the greatest influence on retention.  Fifty percent of work life satisfaction is determined by the relationship a worker has with his or her immediate boss, according to the 1997 “Study of the Emerging Workforce,” conducted by the Saratoga Institute, Interim Services Inc.

Therefore, how does one retain valuable employees? The following represents some of the authors’ recommendations:
Support the Growth of Your Employees

Convey to them what you perceive their strengths to be and areas where they may need to improve.  Employees can grow when given honest and factual feedback about their performance.  The “One-Minute Manager,” by Kenneth Blanchard, also provides helpful hints on this subject.

Also, provide employees with opportunities to expand their knowledge and talk with them about their career goals or learning objectives. Promotional opportunities may be limited within your department. However, lateral movement, job enrichment, and/or mentoring can provide satisfactory opportunities for employees.

Treat Employees with Dignity and Respect. 
Treat employees the way you want to be treated. Do you want to be humiliated in front of others? Do you want to be subjected to someone’s “roller coaster” moods?  Or, do you want to have your suggestions ignored, just because you represent a different ethnic or cultural group? 

Kaye and Jordan-Evans urge managers to:

  • listen to your employees and respond to their requests in a timely manner,
  • practice fairness, 
  • leverage the differences among your employees,
  • learn to appreciate and utilize individual strengths, styles and talents, and 
  • if you are guilty of sloppy moods, take notice and take control.
“Compensation is a Right; Recognition is a Gift” 
 According to Rosabeth Moss Kanter, fair and competitive pay is important. However, money alone will not retain an employee.  Recognize an employee when he or she does well. Meaningful rewards and recognitions include sending a letter, memo or e-mail and copying higher-level management, a personal thank-you, praising employees in the presence of others, taking the employee to lunch or giving the employee a special pin/pen, T-shirt, mug, movie passes, etc.

There are 26 suggestions for retaining valuable employees in the book “Love’em or Lose’em.”  It may not be better than a tawdry romance novel, but it is more useful.