Manager Role in Retention When asked about why employees leave, low salary comes out to be a common excuse.

However, research has shown that people join companies, but leave because of what their managers do or dont do. It is seen that managers who respect and value employees competency, pay attention to their aspirations, assure challenging work, value the quality of work life and provided chances for learning have loyal and engaged employees. Therefore, managers and team leadersp lay an active and vital role in employee retention. Managers and team leaders can reduce the attrition levels considerably by creati ng a motivating team culture and improving the relationships with team members. Thi s can be done in a following way: Creating a Motivating Environment: Team leaders who create motivating environments are likely to keep their team members together for a longer period of time. Retention does not necessarily have to come through fun events such as parties, celebrations, team outings etc. They can also come through serious even ts e.g. arranging a talk by the VP of Quality on career opportunities in the field of quality. Employees who look forward to these events and are likely to remain mor e engaged. Standing up for the Team: Team leaders are closest to their team members. While they need to ensure smooth functioning of their teams by implementing management decisions, they also need to educate their managers about the realities on the ground. When agents see the team leader standing up for them, they will have one more reason to stay in the team. Providing coaching: Everyone wants to be successful in his or her current job. However, not everyone knows how. Therefore, one of the key responsibilities will be providing coaching that is intended to improve the performance of employees. Managers often tend to escape this role by just coaching their employees. Howeve r, coaching is followed by monitoring performance and providing feedback on the same. Delegation: Many team leaders and managers feel that they are the only people who can do a particular task or job. Therefore, they do not delegate their jobs as much as they should. Delegation is a great way to develop competencies. Extra Responsibility: Giving extra responsibility to employees is another way to get them engaged with the company. However, just giving the extra responsibility doe s not help. The manager must spend good time teaching the employees of how to manage responsibilities given to them so that they dont feel over burdened. Focus on future career: Employees are always concerned about their future caree r. A manager should focus on showing employees his career ladder. If an employee sees that his current job offers a path towards their future career aspirations, then they are likely to stay longer in the company. Therefore, managers should play t he role of career counselors as well. How to Improve Employee Retention People want to enjoy their work so make work fun and enjoyable. Understand that employees need to balance life and work so offer flexible starti ng times and core hours. Provide 360 feedback surveys and other questionnaires to

foster open communication. Consider allowing anonymous surveys occasionally so e mployees will be more honest and candid with their opinions. Provide opportuniti es within the company for career progression and cross-training. Offer attractive, competitive benefits Rewards and Recognition Employees want to be recognized for a job well done. Rewards and recognition respond to this need by validating performance and motivating employees toward continuous improvement. Rewarding and recognizing people for performance not only affects the person being recognized, but others in the organization as well . Through a rewards program, the entire organization can experience the commitment to excellence. When the reward system is credible, rewards are meaningful; however, if the reward system is broken, the opposite effect will oc cur. Employees may feel that their performance is unrecognized and not valued, or tha t others in the organization are rewarded for the wrong behaviors. Unrecognized an d nonvalued performance can contribute to turnover. Recognition for a job well don e fills the employees need to receive positive, honest feedback for their efforts . Need for Rewards and Recognition Recognition should be part of the organization s culture because it contributes to both employee satisfaction and retention. Organizations can avoid employee turnover by rewarding top performers. Rewards are one of the keys to avoiding turnover, especially if they are immediate, appropriate, and personal. A Harvard University study concluded that organizations can avoid the disruption caused by employee turnover by avoiding hiring mistakes and selecting and retaining top performers. Designing a Rewards and and Recognition Solution In designing a rewards and recognition program, the following guidelines should be considered. Rewards should be visible to all members of the organization. Rewards should be based on well-defined, credible standards that have been developed using observable achievements. Rewards should have meaning and value for the recipient. Rewards can be based on an event (achieving a designated goal) or based on a time frame (performing well over a specific time period). Rewards that are spontaneous (sometimes called on-the-spot awards) are also highly motivating and should also use a set criteria and standard to maintain credibility and meaning. Rewards should be achievable and not out of reach by employees. Nonmonetary rewards, if used, should be valued by the individual. For example, a n avid camper might be given a 10-day pass to a campsite, or, if an individual enj oys physical activity, that employee might be given a spa membership. The nonmonetary rewards are best received when they are thoughtfully prepared and of highest quality. Professionalism in presenting the reward is also interpreted as worthwhile recognition. Rewards should be appropriate to the level of accomplishment received. A cash award of $50 would be inappropriate for someone who just recommended a process that saved the organization a million dollars. Determining the amount of money given is a delicate matter of organizational debate in which organizational hist ory, financial parameters, and desired results are all factors. Recognition for a job well

done can be just as valued and appreciated as monetary awards. Hire Right Talent employee retention starts with recruitment. Early departures arise from the wron g recruitment process. Here are a few ways to ensure how to hire the right talent for a particular job. Hire appropriate candidates. Hire candidates who are actually suitable for the jo b. For this the employer should understand the job requirements clearly. Dont hire under qualified or clearly overqualified candidates. Provide realistic job preview at the time of hiring: Mostly employees leave an Organization because they are given the real picture of their job responsibiliti es at the time of joining. Attrition rate can be reduced if a right person is hired fo r a right job.Realistic preview of the job responsibilities can be given to the employment seekers by various methods like discussions, trial periods, internships etc. Clearly discuss what is expected from the employee: Before joining the organization, tell the candidate what is expected from him. Setting wrong expectations or hiding expectations will result in early leaving of employees. Discuss what the expectations of the employees are: Ask employees what they expect from the organization. Be realistic. If their requirements can be fulfill ed only then promise them. Or tell them before hand that their requirements can not be fulfilled. Dont show them an unrealistic picture. Culture fit: Try to judge individuals capability to adapt to the organizations culture. A drastic change in the culture may give a culture shock to the candida te. Referrals: According to the research, referred candidates stay longer with the organization. There is a fear of hampering the image and reputation of the perso n who referred the candidate How To Increase Employee Retention Companies have now realized the importance of retaining their quality workforce. Retaining quality performers contributes to productivity of the organization and increases morale among employees/ Four basic factors that play an important role in increasing employee retention include salary and remuneration, providing recognition, benefits and opportunities for individual growth. But are they real ly positively contributing to the retention rates of a company? Basic salary, these days, hardly reduces turnover. Today, employees look beyond the money factor. Retention Bonus Higher attrition rates within a particular industry have forced companies to use some innovative strategies to retain employees. Retention Bonus is one of the important tools that are being used to retain employees. Retention bonus is an incentive paid to an employee to retain them through a critical business cycle. Retention bonuses are becoming more common in the corporate world because companies are going through more transitions like mergers and acquisitions. They need to give key people an attractive incentive to stay on through these transit ions to ensure productivity. Retention bonuses have proven to be a useful tool in persuading employees to stay.A retention bonus plan is not a panacea. According to a survey, nonmanagement employees generally receive about 10 percent of their annual salaries in bonuses, while management and top-level supervisors earn an additional 50 percent of their annual salaries. While bonuses based on salary percentages are the generally used, some companies choose to pay a flat figure. In some companies,

bonuses range from 25 percent to 50 percent of annual salary, depending on position, tenure and other factors. Employees are chosen for retention bonuses based on their contributions to management and the generation of revenue. Retention bonuses are generally vary from position to position and are paid in o ne lump sum at the time of termination. However, some companies pay in installments as on when the business cycle completes. A retention period can run somewhere between six months to three years. It can also run for a particular project. A p roject has its own life span. As long as the project gets completed, the employees who have worked hard on it are entitled to receive the retention bonus. Managing Employee Retention The task of managing employees can be understood as a three stage process: 1. Identify cost of employee turnover. 2.Understand why employee leave. 3.Implement retention strategies The organizations should start with identifying the employee turnover rates with in a particular time period and benchmark it with the competitor organizations. This will help in assessing the whether the employee retention rates are healthy in the company. Secondly, the cost of employee turnover can be calculated. According to a survey, on an average, attrition costs companies 18 months salary for each manager or professional who leaves, and 6 months pay for each hourly employee who leaves. This amounts to major organizational and financial stress, considering that one out of every three employees plans to lea ve his or her job in the next two years. Understand why employees leave : Why employees leave often puzzles top management. Exit interviews are an ideal way of recording and analyzing the factors that have led employees to leave the organization. They allow an organization to understand the reasons for leaving a nd underlying issues. However employees never provide appropriate response to the asked questions. So an impartial person should be appointed with whom the employees feel comfortable in expressing their opinion Implement retention strategy : Once the causes of attrition are found, a strategy is to be implemented so as to reduce employee turnover. The most effective strategy is to adopt a holistic approach to dealing with attrition. An effective retention strategy will seek to ensure: Attraction and recruitment strategies enable selection of the right candidate for each role/organization New employees initial experiences of the organization are positive Appropriate development opportunities are available to employees, and that they are kept aware of their likely career path with the organization The organizations reward strategy reflects the employee drivers Importance Of Employee Retention The process of employee retention will benefit an organization in the following ways:1. The Cost of Turnover: The cost of employee turnover adds hundreds of thousands of money to a company s expenses. While it is difficult to fully calcu late the cost of turnover (including hiring costs, training costs and productivity lo ss), industry experts often quote 25% of the average employee salary as a conservativ e estimate. Loss of Company Knowledge: When an employee leaves, he takes with him valuable knowledge about the company, customers, current projects and past history (sometimes to competitors). Often much time and money has been spent on the employee in expectation of a future return. When the employee leaves, the

investment is not realized. Interruption of Customer Service: Customers and clients do business with a company in part because of the people. Relationships are developed that encourag e continued sponsorship of the business. When an employee leaves, the relationship s that employee built for the company are severed, which could lead to potential customer loss. Turnover leads to more turnovers: When an employee terminates, the effect is fel t throughout the organization. Co-workers are often required to pick up the slack. The unspoken negativity often intensifies for the remaining staff. Goodwill of the company: The goodwill of a company is maintained when the attrition rates are low. Higher retention rates motivate potential employees to join the organization. Regaining efficiency: If an employee resigns, then good amount of time is lost i n hiring a new employee and then training him/her and this goes to the loss of the company directly which many a times goes unnoticed. And even after this you cannot assure us of the same efficiency from the new employee

. Abstract: Today, neither employees nor employers seem to take for granted that a person will stay with the same firm until retirement. Yet, keeping employees for longer periods is an imp-ortant challenge for firms. One industry where retentio n is interesting is the auditing industry in Sweden, this because certain requirement s are needed to become an auditor. Firstly, the employee needs to have a Swedish university degree, including specific courses within au-diting/accounting. Furthermore, the person needs practical experience for a specific period of time . Due to these statements the challenge of retaining and motivating valuable employees is crucial for the auditing firms, which is why we have chosen to do a c aseCompanies today are forced to function in a world full of change and complexity, and it is more important than ever to have the right employees in order to survive the surrounding competition. It is a fact that a t oo high turnover rate affects companies in a negative way and retention strategies should therefore be high on the agenda. When looking at this problem area we found that there may be actions and tools that companies could use to come to terms with this problem. Research told us that leadership, remuneration and elements like participation, feedback, autonomy, fairness, responsibility, development and work-atmosphere is important for job satisfaction and retention. Object: The main objective is to increase the understanding regarding employees retention in relation to leadership style, remuneration and elements such as participation, feedback, autonomy, fairness, responsibility, development and wor katmosphere in the Swedish financial

SUGGESTIONS Employee should be provided with proper training. Employee should be appreciated for good work. Employee should be motivated to welcome the change. If any changes are brought in to software or any module is added then proper training should be given. Conclusion Retention is an important concept that has been receiving considerable attention from academicians, researchers and practicing HR managers. In its essence, Retention comprises important elements such as the need or content, search and choice of strategies, goal-directed behavior, social comparison of rewards reinforcement, and performance-satisfaction. The increasing attention paid towar ds Retention is justified because of several reasons. Motivated employees come out with new ways of doing jobs. They are quality oriented. They are more productive . Any technology needs motivated employees to adopt it successfully. Several approaches to Retention are available. Early theories are too simplistic in thei r approach towards Retention. For example, advocates of scientific Management believe that money is the motivating factor. The Human Relations Movement posits that social contacts will motivate workers. Mere knowledge about the theories of Retention will not help manager their subordinates. They need to have certain techniques that help them change the behavior of employees.One such technique is reward. Reward, particularly money, is a motivator according to need-based and process theories of Retention. For the behavioral scientists, however, money is not important as a motivator. Whatever may be the arguments, it can be stated that money can influence some people in certain circumstance. Being an outgrowth of Herzbergs, two factor theory of Retention, job enrichment is considered to be a powerful motivator. An enriched job has added responsibilities. The makes the jo b interesting and rewarding. Job enlargement refers to adding a few more task elements horizontally. Task variety helps motivate job holders. Job rotation inv olves shifting an incumbent from one job to another. Recommendations 1. Develop an attractive employee value proposition. An employee value proposition means that your company has something attractive to offer that is perceived as valuable to an employee. as an employer, you must understand what makes your organization attractive to potential recruits and current employees. Branding yourself as an employer of choice is not just a slic k set of marketing tactics. The best advocates for an employers brand are its current employees. What messages do they send to others about their employer? Are they honestly saying and believing that, This is a great place to work. 2. Create a total reward structure that includes more than compensation. Every company should have all the normal compensation mechanisms common to their type of employment. yet, total rewards packages go far beyond money. While money might temporarily retain employees, it does not always equate with engagement. People want a chance to make a difference and realize themselves. That self-realization is multi-dimensional and different for each employee. The total reward structure should include, in addition to compensation, support for employees to attain their personal objectives aligned with the goals of their organization. 3. Give feedback on employee performance on a regular basis. Most managers and employees are not enamored with the performance appraisal process in their organization. yet, an effective performance management process

serves many purposes. Ongoing performance feedback allows employees to better know where they stand, gives them a formal means to provide input, indicates tha t their managers pay attention to them and that their performance matters. This feedback contributes to employee engagement and retention. 4. Be flexible in terms of work-life balance. Workers more and more value a balance between work and life. They want more flexible ways to engage with their employer. To attract and retain workers with different work and career expectations, organizations have to be more flexible i n structuring work and its expectations. It calls for a different managerial mindset and practices that involve letting go of old ways of controlling workers time and attendance in favo r of result criteria such as output, productivity and quality. 5. Create a culture of engagement. Employees have become more connected with others in the organization (and the broader supply-and-customer chain) through project-based team work and process m anagement activities. Employees are shifting their loyalty to people, teams and projects and away from company loyalty. It is organizations that create the cult ure and climate that allow people, processes and projects to become fully connec ted and engaged with one another. Engaged employees are more likely to stay with their employer. 6. Train managers to be effective. Exit interviews consistently show that poor and bad management practices greatly contribute to an employees decision to leave a company. It is imperative to provide supervisors and managers with adequate tools to become effective managers since we cannot assume that these competencies are innate. Professor Patrick Connor, recently retired after teaching 25 years at the atkinson Graduate school of Management, i s famous among MBA students and alumni for his Connorisms.He told them, your employees do not work for you, they work for themselves. When I teach my students about managing organizations, I have them reflect on what really matter s to employees and what they are constantly asking of their managers and their organizations. In the end, what employees expect of their managers is fairly sim ple: Can I trust you? are you committed to excellence? Do you care about me? What people constantly ask of their organization is: Do you tell the truth? Do you keep promises? Do you ac t fairly? Do you respect me? Managers and organizations that keep these questions in mind will have a competitive advantage over others in retaining their employees.