SUBJECT: Staffing
APPLICATION: Creating conditions for retention

By James A. Peterson, Ph.D.

The obvious critical initial step in retaining good employees for your organization is to hire them in the first place. Once they're on board, however, you have to develop and implement specific strategies for keeping good people and ensuring that they stay productive. These strategies can address a number of diverse-yet often interlinked-crucial aspects of the workplace, including: ethics and values, policies, the physical environment, relationships, tasks, compensation and personal development.

Of all of the aforementioned elements on which a strategy for employee retention could be based, a strong argument can be made that none is more decisive than the one involving ethics and values. Roger E. Herman in his book, Keeping Good People, offers an extensive listing of possible ethical and values-based strategies, including the following:

  1. Share a common vision. Your organization has a much greater opportunity for being successful if it has a clearly defined vision that all of your employees can follow. This vision (usually presented in written form as the company's mission statement) provides the guiding foundation for everything your organization does.
  2. Value each employee. Every employee is an individual human being-unique and special in that person's own way. You should respect and treat all employees in a professional manner. Accept them for what they are, and recognize what they can become.
  3. Work together as a team. The more an employee interacts with other employees in a relationship in which all employees apply their talents, Knowledge and energy in a team-oriented manner to accomplish the goals of the organization, the greater will be the emotional bonds linking the employee with the organization.
  4. Enhance the value of loyalty. Treat your employees well to establish an environment in which your employees are likely to develop strong bonds of loyaltv to your organization. Never forget that loyalty is a two-way street. Where appropriate, always do those things to demonstrate your loyalty to your employees.
  5. Be customer-oriented. For the company that wants to be competitive and successful, the need to focus on customer service cannot be overstated. Everyone in your organization- whatever their position-should be continually reminded of the fact that they serve the company's customer, directly or indirectly.
  6. Develop and implement appropriate guiding principles for the organization. These principles should dictate attitudes and approaches for dealing with others. In essence, they provide the basis for how many decisions will (should) be made. Among the issues addressed by such guiding principles are integrity, health, safety, charitable contributions, etc.
  7. Offer an appropriate level of stability and risk. Strike a reasonable balance between stability and risk to provide the impetus for employees to stay on top of any situation, be relatively supportive of change, and be provided with a sense of long-term security.
  8. Be fair and honest. If you expect your employees to be fair and honest with others, including each other and you, you must set the example. "Do as I do, as well as I say." Integrity, honor and honesty should be bedrock values of every organization.
  9. Encourage a family feeling. Care about each other and show it (where appropriate). Call each other by your first names. Share responsibilities. Hold a strong allegiance to each other. People who enjoy each other's presence and respect each other have been found (all other factors being equal) to be more productive in the workplace.
  10. Promote a healthy working environment. If you care about the individuals who work for you, you'll want them to in a healthy environment. A work-place that is attuned to good health and wellness is in everyone's best interests.

James A. Peterson, Ph.D., is director of research and development at Randal Sports/Medical Products Inc. and former professor at U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.

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