A Guide for Human Resource Professionals | Page 24

The Business Case to Hire Experience 05 | 24 RETAINING EXPERIENCE INVEST IN YOUR BEST Simple, Inexpensive and Effective Retention Strategies C orporate culture should inspire and RETENTION STRATEGIES encourage employees to engage To determine the best ways to reward your and grow within the organization. employees, start by asking your staff what motivates them and, if possible, customize Think of what you have invested in your their incentives. employees: Training, salaries, benefits, trust and knowledge, among many other FLEXIBILITY contributions. If work flexibility is key for your staff and operationally viable, look at ways to In exchange, the employee provides incorporate flexible hours, alternative work expertise, acts as an ambassador for the schedules or telecommuting. Make returning company with customers and clients, from a sabbatical or leave of absence as motivates other employees, and goes that easy as taking one. What does flexible extra mile to help the organization succeed. retirement look like? Flexibility is particularly valuable when hours need to be reduced The loss of an employee creates a out of necessity or to phase-in retirement. huge void in an organization. That void Many companies allow employees to is felt more acutely as key talent pursues make adaptations to their job roles and new opportunities or retires. Succession responsibilities. Sometimes small adaptations planning needs to begin long before an to work schedules can be the difference individual retires. between a productive employee and a vacant position. Creating the right employee environment doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. BENEFITS Regardless of age, employees respond to Within the benefits context, flexible both tangible (paycheque, benefits) and intangible (connecting to the meaning behind spending accounts (FSA) can provide a practical alignment between corporate their work) motivation.