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Can strategic motivation be at the heart of lowering attrition and improving employee retention? asks John Sylvester, motivation expert and executive director of P&MM
 British organisations face a bill of £38 billion per year on staff turnover, with 18 per cent of the population changing jobs annually at a cost of £8,000-10,000 per employee spent on recruitment and lost productivity.
The cost of retaining and developing staff will rank among the highest for any service based organisation. However, many organisations lack the structure, mechanics and communication channels to successfully maintain an ongoing motivation or 'staff engagement' programme. There are basic steps that any organisation can employ whether it means hiring a specialist agency or putting the necessary structure into practice themselves.
From an employer's perspective, a strategic motivation programme's core objective is to drive profitability, brand reputation and growth. Staff proficiency and motivation is a key factor in delivering this value.
According to call centre research an average of 30 per cent of staff leave a job within 12 months, at which time they have only achieved around 25 per cent proficiency. Only at 36 months are employees proven to reach the 90 per cent proficiency mark. Employers need to cross this hurdle by starting with
the basics as to why staff leave.
Why staff leave
It's vitally important for companies to find out what staff think and feel about their organisation. An open communication channel between a company and its staff is key to understanding staff churn rates and therefore reducing absenteeism.
Staff surveys are a good place to start. A well-structured survey will reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the employment proposition and provide a basis for an improvement strategy. Employee feedback with an action plan for improvement is an important starting point – this sends a strong message of intent and in itself will have a retention effect, providing the action plan is delivered.
Employee feedback needs to be analysed within the context of the strategic objectives and direction for the business. There needs to be synergy between how customers and staff see the business. It is no secret that those businesses that have strong strategic direction and leadership in their core marketplace tend to be more successful as employers too. The real magic comes from engaging employees in that vision and making them a central part of the success of the organisation.
Meeting staff needs
Salary and value based remuneration is fundamental. If employees believe that their basic needs are not being met, any incentive scheme to drive motivation will only be seen as a smoke screen. Once a fair and equitable remuneration scheme is in place, there are much richer pickings for an organisation by tapping into the emotive and less rational drivers that we all have inside ourselves.
With the strategic direction clearly defined and the basic remuneration and benefits package in place, companies can start to use classic motivation techniques to engage employees in the ongoing success of the business. In broad terms, this involves breaking down the strategic objectives so that individuals can understand the part they play in the future of the business. It involves a clear definition of what 'successful' looks like – but more than anything else it requires a good understanding of motivational techniques and how to effectively communicate the proposition.
Marketing the position
For many years now businesses have understood that there are major benefits in marketing their product proposition to customers rather than simply trading on price. The same is now true in the employment market. Employers must learn how to create and market an added value employment proposition to their employees and prospective employees. This crossover of HR management, marketing and communications technology is creating a whole new and interesting discipline. Getting it right has clear bottom line benefits for the employer.
Looking ahead, the motivation industry will continue to adopt appropriate strategies and technology to maximise the delivery of this discipline. The major change will be the increasing awareness of how important the people related marketing discipline is in achieving success at the bottom line.
About John Sylvester and P&MM
John Sylvester has been largely responsible for the development and growth of the motivation & incentive discipline with P&MM. Having worked in the motivation agency business since completing a business degree in 1984 he joined P&MM in 1989 and is responsible for the company's premier key accounts and the motivation/IT operations area of the business. He has a great depth of experience in developing, implementing and directing many large scale motivation and communications programmes, and is a recognised industry authority in the field of motivation, making regular contribution to industry press comment and speaking at leading industry conferences and seminars. |
