Poultry Industry is a very dynamic Industry and has its ups and downs. While there are commercial / manufacturing challenges, one big challenge faced by many Poultry organizations are Retaining its HiPo (High-Potential) employees. In the previous part, we had discussed about the backdrop of Employee Retention. We had also discussed about:

• What are the Macro signs of disengagement / unhappy employee?
• Why do people leave organisations?
• What make an employee tick / stay in the organisation?

Going ahead from there, in this concluding part, we will talk about other crucial aspects of

• When should the organization, use tools / techniques of retention?
• What are the tested methods of Employee Retention?? And finally
• The big question – Whether Employee Retention to be considered as Strategy or Operation?

When should the organization use tools / techniques of retention?

Many HR Heads / Managers make the mistake of using the tools / techniques of retention, just when the employee has put in their papers. In general, the typical process is employee puts in papers ➔ HOD sends the papers with recommendations to the HR Department ➔ HR Manager takes Exit Interview and tries to find the reason of leaving ➔ HR Manager submits report with counter offers ➔ Management approves the offer ➔ HR Manager offers the counter offer to the employee ➔ Employee either takes it OR leaves.

However, the above process is very pathetic and unprofessional. In fact, Retention technique should start right at the beginning, when the employee joins the organization – Hire to Retire, should be the concept. The organization should take care in designing a robust induction program, a meaty job description, definite career path, T&D opportunities, Project possibilities, compensation & benefit plan in line with current CompBen trends, etc. etc. The organization should start taking STAY INTERVIEWS rather than EXIT INTERVIEWS. The organization should also design efficient Employee Engagement Programs, with a sole aim to attract and retain people. The bottom line is that the Retention plan to start during recruitment and if that bus is missed, the plan should start at the nearest point of sensing that the HiPo (High Potential) is worthy of retention.

What are the tested methods of Retention?

Further to the aspects of retention provided in the section “What make an employee tick / stay in the organisation?”, a detailed action plan is provided to retain and engage talent. Organizations need to do more than increase payroll and expand benefits. Organizations need to consider employees’ life-stage needs and values. In its endeavour, the organization should consider the following methods, which are to be used as per need / relevance / occasion:

1. Leadership Style of Reporting Manager: Many companies go extra-length to train their new people Managers and/or re-train their existing people managers to learn tips / tricks of managing their people – efficiently, effectively, compassionately, empathetically, truly and without any bias / pre-conceived notions. For all DIY enthusiasts, there are plethora of Management books available in hardcopies or online which are as effective. As you know, the proof of the pudding, is in its eating. So, apply all gathered knowledge in your day-to-day work. When you are a good manager, you will have a good team and both will enjoy a long fruitful career.
2. Work Culture: The organization should take extreme care and professional help to inculcate work culture. The work culture should be transparent and relatable. People should bask in the sunshine of this culture and lead a happy professional life. For this, the Management needs to inculcate the shared Value System, Company Philosophy and Management Styles, which should be unique to the organization and its line of business. Efforts need to be made that people should live the values, love the business and execute with excellence.
3. Empathy: The Management should empathize with its employees and support / cooperate with them, considering their life stages (and its responsibilities connected with it). This is one of the most effective retention tools. A timely support in terms of listening to their concerns, a few caring words, providing time to meet contingencies, extending financial support at time of need, providing out-of-the-way facilities, etc are just few examples. Trust me, this goes a long way.
4. Appreciation: Nothing works better than a simple note as “Congratulations on the job well done!!” “Keep up the good work going!!!” “We knew with your kind of talent and competency; you will successfully complete this project – in time. Way to Go!!!!”. These simple notes make the employee feel valued and take pride in their work. Organizations can make a Rewards & Recognition program to motivate and engage employees.
5. Work itself: The Organizations should provide to each employee, “a life – size job”, which should be fulfilling, satisfying and which provides a compelling future. It should keep its antennae up – to detect signs of burn-out or rust-out. Should keep an extra eye on work stress and provide avenues for work-life balance.
6. Management Support: The Management should encourage risk taking amongst employees to stretch and reach new milestones. However, caution should be taken that Mistakes should not be punished and Blunders should not be spared.
7. Employee Feedback: When Employees talk – The Organizations should listen (with interest). Even to the non-verbal communication. Employees have lot of feedback to give, probably about themselves, about company policies & procedures, business plans or simply pointing fingers at the things which are going wrong. The Organizations should take good notes of this feedback and make a genuine effort to address such feedback. It will be good for both the organization as well as the employee. Be cautious and don’t kill the messenger (read as Whistle Blower).
8. Communication: It is one of the best tools to inform the employees about each and everything about the organization – strategies, business plans, happenings, events, etc. The organization should open communication channels – BOTH WAYS. Through discussions and open communication, many problems are easily resolved. Having Townhalls works the best, instead of memos, bulletins, handouts, etc.
9. Employee Empowerment: It’s an addiction. Once employees feels that they are empowered to take certain decisions, they will do responsibly well in their jobs. The Management should give them more authority via self-managed work teams where employees can take turns leading, developing new products and have more decision-making opportunities. The key here is “Decision making at the nearest point of action”.
10. CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility or popularly known as CSR. It is a good concept to introduce in the organization and take employees out of their routine to explore and contribute to society. It works as a morale booster and gives ultimate satisfaction to employees. Employee will feel that they have contributed and added value to the society and in turn, the organization will also get mileage out of this social work. One of the most sought after, Employee Engagement tools.
11. Learning: Employees want to learn, work, earn and re-learn. Work and Earn are connected and very much expected. It is the Learning that they look forward to. “What is the new thing that this organization is going to teach” or “What new skill or area of work that I will be learning?” This seems to be the question. If the employees learn, while they work, they are more likely to stay.
12. Exposure to Higher Management: Employees need to meet and exchange notes with the Managing Director / CEO or the Board of Management, perhaps, once in a quarter. The Employees will feel privileged & valued to meet and express their thoughts to the Management.
13. Diversity & Inclusion: These are being spoken in hushed tones as to what the Organizations are doing to understand, accept and value employees with diverse background, caste, religion, physical appearances, geographical backgrounds etc. Also, how employees’ inclusions are collaborated, supported and respected. An Organization with higher D&I will have more engaged employees and less attrition.
14. Compensation & Benefits: Finally, Money is a great Motivator. The organization should see that the Comp & Benefits plans are in sync with the industry trends. The benchmark should be with organizations that fall between 50% – 75% of the industry, at least. Anything < 50% should be looked into.

Whether Employee Retention to be considered as Strategy or Operation?

Retention of employees is both a STRATEGY and an OPERATION. It is a cyclic process. The Organization should formulate STRATEGY first and equip all Managers with the tools / techniques, decision making powers & train them to detect early signs of employee attrition. Once the strategy is in place, then the next move is to convert that strategy into a policy and a process – to make it operational at the ground level. Over a certain period, the operation has to be reviewed to modify or amend or change the Strategy of retention. Remember – STRATEGY drives OPERATIONS and OPERATIONS drive STRATEGY.

Managing employee retention is a serious, tough and satisfying activity in a Manager’s role. Many organizations are linking their increment by attaching Retention as one of their Key Result Areas (KRAs). It is, now, not uncommon to see Retention as one of the key items in organizations’ Balance Scorecards. Retention is not solely an HR’s job. It is everybody’s job who have people responsibilities.

In conclusion, every Man-Manager should realize and treat PEOPLE as PEOPLE. People are very fragile and can be broken with one single inhuman act. Thereafter, no matter what one does, the employee will not come back to their original form. Managers should understand that people get motivated by their work and work environment. Most importantly, Managers should realize that people need to be trusted, respected, loved, admired, challenged, rewarded and appreciated for what they are. These are basics and key to employee retention.

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 orinvictus.hrm@yahoo.com

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