Poultry Industry is a very dynamic Industry and has its ups and downs. The typical challenges are pricing of Soya & Maize, Avian Influenza (Bird Flu), gut health, diseases, sanitation, quality of feed, spoilage due to light, oxygen, heat, humidity, temperature, etc. While these are commercial / manufacturing challenges, one big challenge faced by many Poultry organizations are Retaining its HiPo (High-Potential) employees. Organizations spend huge money and years & years to groom its people, to develop them. But one call from a different organization / head hunter may poach the employee. Not only Poultry, but Animal Nutrition & Health (ANH) is a very niche, small and well-connected industry. Funnily it is said, if someone sneezes in one company, it resonates in the other company. People are also reluctant to attend interviews in offices as someone may spill the beans. It has a very strong grapevine.

In this context, this article was written to provide few practical tips & tricks for employee retention (not text-bookish). In my own experience of leading HR for many MNCs, I have used these. Consider this conversation:

Two HR Heads, reporting to their Managing Directors, accidentally meet at the Airport, after a long time. For the purpose of this article, let’s name them as Priya & Rohit. Both are seasoned HR professionals and had been in the Animal Nutrition & Health (ANH) industry for more than a decade. Both of them know each other for some time. Owing to their busy schedules, they had not been in touch. Here’s how their conversation goes:

Priya: Hey Rohit!!!! Wassup, my man? Long time no see? Trust all ok with you?

Rohit: (coming straight to the point) Yeah, sort of? Employee Attrition rate is killing the Company and my boss does not take any cognizance of it. He neither takes any decision nor allows me enough decision-making powers to retain efficient people. He’s just focussed on the Business and P&L. Things suck man.

Priya: Totally understand, my friend. What’s the attrition rate?

Rohit: About 20%. How’s yours?

Priya: Around 12%. As you know the industry norm is between 8% – 10%. But don’t you think 20% is way too high?

Rohit: Yeah, I know. But how does one retain people? Does your Company have any strategy to retain people? I am sure, you guys are doing many things right. Please share some tips and I will show my boss, as to how to retain people, if proper strategies, tactics and operations, are in place.

Priya: It’s quite simple. We just see the offer of the employee and try to better it. Its operational and no strategy is required to counter these.

Rohit: (Now looks more confused than surprised) Does it work and what is the retention period? (He was actually expecting a “Life Saving” tips from Priya)

Priya: Mostly, it works and retention is also for quite some time. My boss is happy and I don’t have to struggle to retain them. I don’t waste my time on these & take this way out.

Rohit: Oh Ok… Actually, I was looking for more scientific, sustainable, long-term solution. In my opinion, quick-fixes don’t last long. In case any tips or suggestion, let me know.

Priya: Let me think about it, Rohit and will get back. Hey, that’s my flight announcement. Let’s keep in touch! Adios Amigos.

Now Rohit is in a dilemma. All the way back to his destination, he was toying with the idea of whether to take an easy way out OR be true to the organization (and to himself), provide a workable solution, using his HR and Man-Management skills, for which he was known for. He chose the latter.

Of late, this conversation is quite common in HR corridors. As the rumblings in the underbelly of Corporate grow louder with discussions on Retention, the HR illusionists, begin to worry. Why have employee retention become a hot topic and why HR Heads generally shy away giving vague reasons, such as:

• “India is a developing economy and many opportunities are available” OR
• “The competitor is poaching on our people as our people policies are not good” OR
• “You know, there is always another Company who will pay more to our people” OR
• “Our HR policies are not liberal enough to satisfy employee aspirations,” etc. etc.

Even if the above statements are true, what we as HR Professionals have to offer the Organisation and to our People. Let’s address some basic questions:

1. What are the Macro signs of disengagement / unhappy employee?
2. Why do people leave organisations?
3. What make an employee tick / stay in the organisation?
4. When should the organization, use tools / techniques of retention?
5. What are the tested methods of Employee Retention?? And finally
6. The big question – Whether Employee Retention to be considered as Strategy or Operation?

From here on, we take each of these questions diligently and as per my experience & exposure, the following may provide some tips, when an organisation / HR designs their retention plans.

1. What are the Macro signs of disengagement / unhappy employee?

The macro signs do not manifest overnight. The signals are in latent form and provide enough pointers to let the Management observe these. The Management should be sensitive to observe and many such signal may be:

• Absenteeism rate is slowly creeping up.
• Quality of employee deliverables are sliding down.
• Employees making excuses to avoid attending Meetings, Townhalls, Events, etc.
• Sales is going down and so is the profitability.
• Productivity is uneven or going south.
• Plunge in Customer Satisfaction ratings.
• Spike in Customer complaints.
• Suddenly employee(s) going silent or do not react to any progressive development.
• Employee(s) becoming overtly critical on all things that are happening around.
• Employee(s) becoming a doomsday prophet and bringing down the morale of others.

We need to have all our senses in peak condition to spot these and many more.

2. Why do people leave organisations?

Everybody knows this cliché – People don’t leave organisations; they leave bad bosses. While to this is true some extent, but there are many other attributes of the organisation, apart from the Boss, that compel an employee to leave. Consider:

1. Poor Leadership Style of Reporting Manager: Mr. Narayanmurthy of Infosys has rightly said, “People don’t leave organization – they leave bad bosses!” This is #1 reason why an employee will leave an organisation.

2. Poor relationship with boss, peer & subordinates: Many employees either burn-out or rust-out due to colleagues’ higher speeds or lethargy, respectively. Poor relationships also lead to lack of trust, which is very harmful for an organization where people work without trusting each other. If there are no peer pressures also, it may lead to attrition.

3. Role Expectation: When an employee joins an organization or promoted to a new role, if there is a role distance between the expectations and ground reality, s/he gets dissatisfied. Sometimes, the job has only responsibility and accountability but without any authority. The seeds to leave the organization are sown.

4. No perceived growth in current situation: The talented are ambitious – there is no doubt about it. If these people foresee that there is no growth (vertical / lateral) or challenging role ahead in the next 2 – 3 years, they will act as “tourists” and will leave as soon as a suitable role appears in other organizations.

5. No recognition / appreciation: People have an inherent desire to be appreciated / recognized for their jobs well done and on their achievements. This works as a panacea for success and the desperate intrinsic need “to be wanted”. If at all the appreciation / recognition is delayed or done at a wrong time / place, people tend to get dissatisfied.

6. Poor culture: An organization is known by its people and the culture that manifests values, beliefs, management style and freedom to work & experiment. Office gossip, politics, groupism, etc. de-motivate employees and propels them to the exit door.

7. Job stress: If the work pressures are more and lead to stressful life style, then such employees look out for changing their jobs. The stress could be due to any / many reasons such as demanding boss, micro-management, perfectionism, unrealistic timelines, unreal expectations, results, etc.

8. Work-Life imbalance: It is a proven fact that if you are happy at work, you will keep your folks happy at home. If the work pressures take a toll on your family life, please take it for granted that it is your spouse, who will not allow you to work in that organization – even if you are very happy with your work / the difficult working hours.

9. Better Prospects or Compensation or new job offer: Again, this is one of the commonest reasons provided by employees while leaving their organization. There is no reason or season for people to leave. When the employee’s need overtakes greed, the employee will leave. These are welcome attritions and we should show them the exit door quickly, before they disturb other employees.

Apart from the above, there are other reasons such as unsuitable location, higher studies, difficult working hours, marriages, family disruptions viz. ailing family members, divorce, deaths, etc. which are considered as genuine or true attritions.

3. What make an employee tick / stay in the organisation?

This is no rocket science. Everybody knows it and have experienced it. There are many surveys done on this topic. The outcomes are mostly similar and screams for attention on these four basic professional aspects. They are:

1. Meaningful Role / Responsibilities
2. Growth Opportunities – Vertically and/or Laterally
3. Great Leadership with Respect & Trust as shared Values
4. Good Working Environment

All the above aspects are self-explanatory and it fits all employees, irrespective of their levels / grades / hierarchy / roles. You will find more tips, as you read ahead.

(This is the end of Part 1 and look out for Part 2 in the next edition, where we will discuss about When should the organization use tools / techniques of retention? What are the tested methods of Retention? And Whether Employee Retention to be considered as Strategy or Operation?)

About the Author:
Trideep Chowdhury is an astute Human Resources Management professional with extensive experience of over 3 decades working in Companies viz. Provimi India/Cargill Inc., ITC Limited, Intervet/Schering Plough, Voith India, etc. He had been in the Board of Directors for Provimi India (a Cargill Inc. Company) for many years. Some of the sectors served by him are Manufacturing, Process, Pharma, Engineering and Consulting. He had worked with MNCs in most of his career and had rich Regional (Asia) & Global project experiences. Currently he runs his own firm, Invictus HRM Consulting. He could be contacted at trideep2000@yahoo.com or invictus.hrm@yahoo.com