Keeping Good People

Keeping Good People: Strategies for Solving the #1 Problem Facing Businesses Today By Roger E. Herman 389 pagesBy: Carol Celeste Employee turnover leads to low staff morale and increased costs, which can dull any company's edge in the competitive market. Roger Herman, a management consultant who specializes in workplace stability, expects turnover to increase in the next decade. An employee spends an average of five years with one firm, reports show. Herman expects that number to shrink. Along with a scarcity of experienced workers, high turnover indicates problems ahead for many companies. "The economy is strong, technology is expanding our capacity, global markets beckon, but we don't have enough qualified people to get the work done," writes Herman in Keeping Good People. Unless business leaders hold on to their "good" employees, disaster awaits, warns the author. Good people must be retained if a business is to remain competitive in the marketplace in the next decade and beyond. Based on his research as an outside consultant, Herman discovered that people change jobs for five principal reasons. Interestingly, money falls at the bottom of the list. Today's strong economy, low unemployment, and shortage of experienced workers, makes it easier that ever for talented employees to find what they're looking for elsewhere. What employers must do to prevent turnover among their most treasured employees, is treat them psychological as well as their financial needs. Keeping good staff members on the payroll needs to be company strategy, the author says. Keeping Good People is a collection of strategies that infuse all business functions. Herman separates these strategies into five groups dealing with five main motivations for changing jobs: environmental, relationship, support, growth and compensation. Each group merits a chapter demonstrating a total of close to 200 strategies that uncover and address the factors that repel good employees. Most strategies deal with communications and social issues, but creative compensations receives attention. This book is really a handbook on employee retention for company leaders and all layers of management . In order to satisfy the needs of good workers, the entire leadership team must support and implement the strategic actions mentioned in the book. One tactic for showing workers their value is to dismiss any workers who don't perform to standard as soon as their deficiencies become apparent. "To hold you good people, sometimes you have to remove the bad ones surgically," counsels Herman. Before getting to specifics, Herman explains his view of good employees' wants, complaints and appeasements. He defines "good people" as those with strong capabilities who use their skills to achieve quality results. These are people you count on to get the job done regardless of conditions and who will have a negative effect on your business if they le