Companies are looking for new fidelity methods of employees

The year 2008 brings for many companies in Romania great personnel fluctuations or emphasized crisis of the work force, especially in areas as IT, FMCG, services, banking area, constructions and, not the last, in production. The personnel retention programs must also take into account the external factors, to action in time, and the solutions to be adapted to the situations happened on the labour market.    

Lately is being observed a diversification of benefits, a more flexible and varied offer, adapted to the employees needs.  Often, the employees can choose the benefit package which is more adequate for their needs, and some companies invest even in the personalization of recreation spaces for employees. “In 2008, the companies will focus on performances bonus, with higher share in the employee income (up to 70%), professional development perspectives, training, health insurances. In Romania will be more underlined other benefits than the traditional cell-phones and work cars and the life insurances or private pension will gain field”, Florin Ochiana, Country Manager to Grafton Recruitment states.

On the other hand, the popularization of the good employer brand is a tactic more and more used by the big companies, in terms in which companies invest considerable budgets in promoting the brand and the image. Under the personnel retention aspect, the relation employee-employer and the brand of favorite employer represent decisive factors for keeping the employees in company.  In Cristina Caramizaru’s opinion, partner to Stanton Chase, “the retention methods are used in 80% of the present companies on the Romanian market, in one way or another. The domains in which the most attractive benefit packages are applied and in which is put accent on the personnel retention are the telecommunications, banking and the pharmaceutical one”.  

Why do the employees leave?

Since the use rate of personnel retention methods in the companies from the Romanian market is meaningful increased, the experts wonder which are the causes that determine employees to quit a job although, despite the efforts of employer companies to keep them. In order to answer this question, the experts in human resources analyze especially the reasons for which the employees decide to quit from the employer company.

Liviu Constantinescu, Business Development Manager to Hart Human Resource Consulting, enumerates a few reasons that are in base of the employees decision to leave the company: “Lack of opportunities for professional development, a better premium and benefits package in another company, a work ambient that makes you thinking, an uncertain situation of their future within the company, the job security, a deficit relation with the direct manager”. Once identified the causes of employees quitting, the human resources companies look for solutions for the company’s problems and design the retention strategy of personnel. This has to assure equilibrium between the financial and non financial factors, in order to counteract the eventual personnel fluctuations.

Among the advantages of the personnel retention programs is also counted the fact that these assure the success of a long term business and reduce, too, the cost bounded by the replacement of employees that leave the company. Liviu Constantinescu draws up the attention on the priority of some retention measures – so, “if the relation with the direct manager is defective, than the improvement of this situation is an immediate priority”. The priority of the retention measures of personnel can bring more efficiency to the whole process, and the employees feel immediate the benefic effects of such a process.
Not just the money

The retention strategy of personnel is bounded to the relation between the manager and employees. The most employees leave the companies as a result of defective communication with managers and not just because of the work conditions or financial packages. “It’s an illusion to believe if people will be better rewarded, will stay longer in a company in which the manager stresses them, doesn’t appreciate their work or doesn’t take into account their needs of professional development”, Liviu Constantinescu states. The key-element for keeping the employees in company is represented by the managerial efficiency and communication between manager and employees.

The managerial competence has an essential role in employees retention - moreover, Robert Hogan, a well-known psychologist in personality company area and leaders’ behavior, considers that the evaluation instruments of personality from the companies areas assure as for a recruitment procedure and proper selection (proper persons to work in proper companies), as the fact that the teams will be lead by competent managers. If the managers don’t give periodically feed-back, don’t listen to the employees opinion, don’t respect their employees, don’t involve them in taking decisions, aren’t flexible or don’t admit their performances is very likely that the respective employees to gather frustrations in the relation with the employer and to decide directing towards other companies.  

The counselors from Hart Human Resource Consulting use instruments as CCi Assessment Group Int, by which measure aspects bounded to the relation employee-employer, proposing, depending of results, specific measures for retention of personnel. In many cases the relation employee - employer is the most sensible factor which determines the motivation of employee to remain in the company or to quit the job.

Florin Ochiana, Country Manager at Grafton Recruitment, reminds a few of the retention methods of personnel with the highest rate of success: the ones non financial on long term (as long the financial methods action on short term), the work atmosphere and creative extra material benefits (such as, for example, gym at the work place).  

Cristina Caramizaru, partner to Stanton Chase International, draws up attention on the message which a company should transmit to the employees, by the strategy and the used retention methods. “Lately, the employers introduced in the benefit package pension plans, life insurance plans and specific action plans, in the idea of transmitting long term messages, such as «we see you in our company till you retire».

The top of retention methods

The most frequent used retention methods of personnel make reference to the work atmosphere, relation with the manager or to the strategy of rewards and benefits. If the financial packages are in agreement with the employees performances, and these are professionally stimulated, if, besides the financial packages, interferes also the motivation by non financial benefits, the employees will be less tempt to quit their job. In Florin Ochiana’s opinion, Country Manager to Grafton Recruitment, the most used retention methods of personnel consist in a pleasant work atmosphere, benefits – which indicates the preoccupation for professional development on long term, as the concern for improvement of human qualities and of their attachment against the company (by training, team-buildings, several insurance types, subscriptions, performance bonuses etc.). For Florin Ochiana, directing and guiding, the permanent support from managers, the open attitude, the company’s healthy atmosphere, in which is avoided the lie and the team’s split, as the proper reward for the accomplished activity represent efficient retention methods. These methods can be applied “when there are proper managers within the company” and when “the company’s aims are clearly understand, the persons are helped to make progress, the reward package is proper, and the employees are appreciated for their results”, Liviu Constantinescu, Business Development Manager to Hart Human Resource Consulting added.