Employee Retention:5 Key Management Practices

By Marcia Zidle on March 13, 2012

Are you aware of Tootsie Roll Pop Strategy of employee retention?

Inside a tootsie roll pop is the chocolate core- that is, the wages and benefits. Yes, a competitive compensation package is important. But that gets people to show up for work but not necessarily to give their 100%.

However, there is also the outer layer of tootsie roll pop. That is the different flavors—red, green, orange, etc. These different flavors are the variety of the management practices of a company. Some taste really good and satisfy most employees and some don’t.

Here’s what a manager of Information Systems, who has spent a good art of his career recruiting and supervising professionals as well as support people.

“It was a terrific learning experience for me…..mostly because it was a chance to discover some universal truths about employees.”

What Are These Truths?

1. Most people are content being paid at or around the market rate for good quality work.
SOME folks are extremely money conscious, but eventually they learn that the paycheck comes every two weeks all on its own, and other motivators come into play very quickly. There are very few folks who can be bought for money alone.

2. Most people want two opposing things out of their jobs.
They want to feel they are part of a group that’s able to accomplish greater things than they could on their own, AND they want to know that they stand out as individuals. The job as a manager is to give them BOTH experiences: to bring about a ‘team spirit’ and to let his staff or team know what a great job each one is doing.

3. Most people have a few ongoing needs that motivate them to do their best work and to stay.
They include a clear direction of their job or project; specific assignments that help them grow; access to necessary organizational resources, and feedback on their performance on a regular basis. Otherwise, they pretty much want to be left alone to get their job or assignment done.

Five Key Management Practices

He then realized that his job as manager became very simple. To motivate high performance and, at the same time, ensure employee satisfaction within his group, he just needed to:

  1. Provide employees with a clear sense of where we’re going and why
  2. Make sure they have the necessary resources to get their job done
  3. Be attuned to their professional needs and try to provide them with assignments that meet these needs (not always easy but still attainable)
  4. Regularly meet with them both formally and informally to give and get feedback on what’s going on
  5. Praise their efforts and their accomplishments. A simple “thank you” goes a long way.

Management Success Tip:

This manager’s comments reinforce my observations that the primary reason that people commit to a job, an organization, or an effort is not financial! It is the basic feeling of success. The employee who achieves, who accomplishes his or her goals and objectives, who maintains a feeling of personal worth and value, will more likely remain with the organization.

Do you want to develop your Management Smarts?