Here Today, Here Tomorrow TOC

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: Here Today….Gone Tomorrow!

• Why So Much Turnover?
• Fewer Workers, Better Times
• Higher Expectations
• Longer Hours, More Demanding Work
• Family Demands
• Changing Work Ethic
• A New Class of College Graduates
• The Biggest Challenge: Meeting the Needs of an Increasingly Diverse Workforce
• Money: Still a Factor?
• The Aging Workforce
• Reasons to Stay, Reasons to Go
• Needed: A New Workplace Paradigm
• The Changes are Permanent
• How to become an employer of choice organization

Chapter 2: Retentionship: A New Strategy Based on Action

• How Much Does an Ounce of Prevention Cost?
• A Great Return on Investment
• Why Doesn’t Everybody Practice Retentionship? Or, Take Your Pick: Keep Them or Lose Them
• Retention Means Productivity
• Leadership Makes the Difference
• The Eight Elements of the High-Retention Organization
• Clear Sense of Direction and Purpose
• Caring Management
• Flexible Benefits and Schedule Adapted to the Needs of the Individual
• Open Communication
• A Charged Work Environment
• Performance Management
• Recognition and Reward
• Training and Development
• SAS Institute: A Calm Ship in a Sea of Turbulence

Chapter 3: Provide a Clear Sense of Direction and Purpose

• The Three Directions of Leadership
• The Performance Satisfaction Quotient
• You’re in the Army Now
• Three Steps to Creating Meaning and Purpose at Work
• Step 1: Discover
• Steps 2 and 3: Align and Deploy
• Flying Above Mediocrity: Organizational Alignment at Singapore International Airlines
• TRC Staffing: Finding a Challenging Place to Work
• Generate Purpose and Direction with a Mission Statement
• Prescription for Action

Chapter 4: Become a Better Leader by Showing Me You Care

• Leadership Myths that block High Retention
• Leaders Who Care: Qiagen NV
• Building a Structure of Caring: La Rosa Pizza Company
• Measure What is Important
• People Development Charts
• Don’t Take a Tumble: Maintain Trust
• God, Car Batteries, and Concern for the Family: Interstate Batteries
• Best Practices for Caring Management
• Prescription for Action

Chapter 5: Flexible Benefits Build a More Loyal and Productive Workforce

• Good Benefits Equal High Retention
• Good Benefits Equal High Productivity
• Soft Benefits vs. Hard Benefits
• Benefits that Attract and Keep IT Workers
• Family-Friendly Benefits that Attract and Keep Working Women
• Flexible Work Arrangements Promote Productivity
• Better Parenting Skills Create a Better Workplace
• USAA and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
• Breast Pumps and “Lactating Rooms” for Working Mothers
• Office Design and Employee Retention
• Meanwhile, Back at the Cubefarm…
• Best Practices for Benefits that Keep Employees Happy, Content, and Productive
• Prescription for Action

Chapter 6: Keep the Doorways and Pathways of Communication Open

• The Importance of Accessibility in Organizations
• Symptoms of the Low-Access Organization
• PeopleSoft: A High-Access Organization
• Creating the High-Access Organization
• What People Need to Know
• Tools and Techniques that Create High Access
• Personal Communication
• Storytelling
• Newsletters
• Town Hall Meetings
• Focus Group and Sensing Sessions
• Employee Hotlines
• Props
• Signed, Anonymous
• Don’t Confuse Technology with Communication
• E-mail
• Answering Machines and Voice Mail
• Speaker Phones
• Cellular/Portable Phones
• Avoid Anger in Your Communication
• Best Practices for Creating High Access
• Prescription for Action

Chapter 7: Create a Charged Work Environment that Energizes and Engages the Workforce

• Engage and Energize Your Workforce
• Creating the Right Spirit
• Set a Motivating Goal or Target that Shapes the Environment and Gives People a Purpose and Direction
• Olympic Performance Events and Big Hairy Goals
• Provide and Process to Capture People’s Ideas
• Good Idea Boards
• Idea Campaigns
• Mini-Kaizens
• Idea Expositions
• Ideas Count
• Results Motivate People
• Involve Elements of FEST: Fun, Enthusiasm, Surprise, and Timing
• Teams Build upon the Efforts of Others
• Best Practices for Creating a Charged Workplace
• Prescription for Action

Chapter 8: Performance Management Transforms Workers to Winners

• How Joe Learned His Job
• The ABC Model: Antecedent, Behavior, Consequences
• Focus on the Right Thing: Antecedents
• Translating the ABC Approach into Performance Management: Bates Ace Hardware
• Creating the Behavior of Good Customer Service
• Managing Performance through Employee Ownership: McKay Nursery
• Financial Incentives for Performance
• Performance Bonus Plans
• Using Bonuses to Retain IT Personnel: Atlas Editions
• How Nucor Steel Rewards Performance and Productivity
• Best Practices for Performance Management
• Prescription for Action

Chapter 9: Reward and Recognition Programs Lead to Higher Retention

• Why Reward and Recognition Works
• Elements of an Effective Program
• Warning: Reward and Recognition Cannot Replace Leadership
• Basic Flavors of Reward and Recognition
• Informal Programs
• Peer Recognition: Employees Reward Each Other
• Online Reward and Recognition Programs
• Formal Programs
• Traditional Employee of the Month Programs: Not Recommended
• Achievement Awards
• Merchandise Awards
• How to Develop a Formal Reward and Recognition Program
• Step 1: Focus on the Desired Behaviors or Goal of the Program
• Step 2: Select an Implementation Team
• Step 3: Outline a Strategy
• Step 4: Pick the Type of Recognition or Award
• Step 5: Develop a Communication Strategy
• Step 6: Kick off the Program with Gusto
• Step 7: Create a Meaningful Presentation Strategy
• Step 8: Improve and Change the Program
• Cautions Concerning Consequence-Based Programs
• Best Practices for Reward and Recognition
• Prescription for Action

Chapter 10: Help People Move Up or They Will Move Out

• Good for the Individual, Good for the Organization
• The Bottom Line: Profitability and Productivity
• Why Doesn’t Every Company Train?
• Create a Career Ladder
• Training Programs the Work: Bay Network and Dell Computers
• Using Education to Attract and Keep a Part-Time Workforce: United Parcel Service
• Psychological Payment: Job Titles Reflect Company Attitudes
• Best Practices for Helping Employees Move Up
• Prescription for Action

Chapter 11: Implementing the High-Retention Workplace

• Step 1: Hold People Accountable
• Step 2: Assess the Organization
• Step 3: Measure What is Important
• Step 4: Build a Sense of Employee Ownership
• Step 5: Create a Good First Impression
• Before the First Day of Work
• The First Two Days at Work
• The First Week at Work
• Step 6: Devise Intervention Strategies
• Counter Offers Have Limited Impact
• Can I Come Back to Work Here?
• Make Post-Mortem Analysis Part of the System
• Re-Hire Your Employees
• Golden Key National Honor Society: Creating Change through an Implementation Team
• Hiring for Retention
• Pre-employment Screening and Assessments
• Best Practices for Welcoming New Hires and Preventing Departures
• Prescription for Action

Appendix A: Chart Your Course Workforce Retention Survey Results
Appendix B: Individual Retention Profile
Appendix C: Awards and Recognition Resource List