Date: September 25, 2011

To: Managers of Ottawa

From:

Subject: Improving employee retention Retaining employees is harder than ever in today’s world as workers begin to seek more short-term employment. Also considering that the costs of replacing an employee could be anywhere from 1.5 times up to 14 times that employee’s annual salary, keeping good employees from leaving is very important in today’s businesses. In order to boost employee retention, it is best to allow for some flexibility in the work schedule, know their employees, and provide frequent feedback.

Enable flexible work hours A major advantage a company can have over another is to allow employees to keep a more flexible schedule. Often, employees have cited an overly demanding work schedule as the reason for leaving an organization as it left them no time for their social and family life. In support to this a survey shows that 33% of workers are more likely to stay put in an organization if it gives some allowances for their personal lives.

As a well-balanced employee is so important, flexible schedules are valuable as employees would be able to adjust their work schedule to accommodate other family or social engagements they might have. This doesn’t mean that they should be allowed to arrive and depart from work whenever they wish. Managers could simply implement a schedule where employees must work during the core business hours each day, but have the option of moving around their starting and end times as long as they put in their required amount of hours each day. Studies have even shown up to a 10% increase in productivity for companies with flexible hours (E.M.S) so there is no worry of having declining work ethics with the implementation of this employee retention strategy.

Get to know employees

A common complaint of workers is that they feel their managers and higher-ups don’t even know who they are. While managers often have a very demanding schedule, it is still vital for them to get to know their employees. This small amount of connection can make a world of difference as no employee likes to feel as if they are just another faceless worker in the crowd.

Managers should make sure that they learn and remember the names and faces of their employees. This may not seem very important, but not knowing names of employees will make them feel undervalued and overlooked. It is also a good idea for managers to familiarize themselves with their employee’s skills and talents. This will allow managers to use all the resources available to them as well letting employees know that their skills are valuable and appreciated, a key to employee retention.

Give useful and frequent feedback

A vital part in retaining