A few techniques that could help retain employees are:

1. Compensation should be competitive with the necessary benefits such as health, retirement and life insurance.

2. Provide a very clear path for career advancement within the organization.

3. Provide necessary programs for employee development. Training programs, fee reimbursement for higher studies, etc.

4. Employees should be very clear about your organization mission. They should feel part of the organization and get connected to it.

5. Create open communication channels in the organization. Employees should be encouraged to speak frankly with their managers without fear of repercussion.

6. Expectations from the employee should be clear to them. They should know what is expected in terms of their responsibilities towards the organization.

7. Offer some special financial rewards such as stock options or other financial awards for employees who meet performance goals or exceed them based on certain levels of achievement in the specific goals.

8. Make work fun.

Hong, E. N. C., Hao, L. Z., Kumar, R., Ramedran, C., & Kadiresan, V. (2012). An effectiveness of human resource management practices on employee retention in institute of higher learning: A regression analysis. International Journal of Business Research and Management, 3(2), 60-79.

Retaining a positive and motivated staff is vital to an organization's success. High employee turnover increases expenses and also has a negative effect on company morale.

Dear @Mahfuz, it is matter of strategy to retain positive staff in organization. Some measures and ways for solving this issue are given in the following articles!

http://www.zeroriskhr.com/articles/sevensteps.aspx

http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/04/employee-retention.html

http://www.employeeretentionstrategies.com/

According to several experts opinion, the benefits of improved retention are enormous: Reduced turnover costs, improved service productivity, higher customer satisfaction, a more knowledgeable workforce and better employee morale. Retention is a result of thinking strategically and doing many things well. There is no one tool or technique that alone will get results. The entire talent supply chain must be reviewed to get maximum benefit.

1-Many organizations ignore the basics.

•Be data driven. You have to know where you are before you can figure out a plan to improve. Good data will drive good decisions.

•Few organizations truly understand the cost of turnover. Costs include recruitment, selection, orientation, loss of productivity, vacancy costs and customer impact costs. Knowing the costs is an important first step because it creates the resolve to make changes.

•Know why your employees are leaving your organization. Exit interviews are helpful, but may not give you accurate data. Employees will often cite pay as a reason for leaving because they don't want to hurt feelings or create waves. Better are interviews with former employees who left six months before.

•Know the best sources for your new hires. Cultivate relationships with these sources to increase the number of candidates applying for positions.

2-Develop a profile of your ideal candidate. Retention begins with recruitment, but a recruitment effort is flawed from the beginning if you don't have this. Identify the key elements of the kinds of people you want to attract and keep - those that will fit your culture, support your mission and enjoy their work. For example, people tend to prefer working with either other people, things or ideas. Which kind of people fit best in your jobs?

3- Develop a compelling value proposition. You must be able to answer this question: Why should a good candidate come to work for your organization? Make no mistake, this is marketing. Your challenge is to differentiate your offering from all other competitors. What makes your mission appealing to exactly the kinds of people you want? Why are your jobs the best for your ideal candidates? How do your rewards and worklife benefits best fit the needs of the people you most want to hire? Too many organizations focus on pay, when in fact, the work itself is often what can be most attractive to the right candidates.

4- Increase your pool of candidates. To increase retention, you must hire only the candidates who are most likely to stay and be productive. Yet being selective requires that you have a pool of candidates from which to choose. If you hire whomever you get, you're in trouble. Identify the most productive, best places to recruit, then put together a focused recruitment plan to increase the numbers of viable candidates.

5- Improve your selection process. Your selection process needs to be fast and valid so that you can identify good candidates and make offers quickly. Map the selection process and work through solutions to improve both cycle time and the quality of hires. Focus on the ideal candidate characteristics and select for the profile traits. Many selection tools are available, but you must be careful they fit the job (are a bona fide occupational qualification). Don't rely on interviews alone - research has shown that interviews are one of the least valid tools for selection.

6- Invest in employee orientation. You must make sure a person has a positive entry experience in your organization. Half of all people who leave a job in the first ninety days make that decision on day one or two. You'll never have a more eager employee than on the first day. Capitalize on it be giving people reasons why you're pleased to have them and why they should feel great about being selected. Don't park them at a desk reading the employee handbook!

7- Focus on people development. People want to learn and grow. If employees are not mentally challenged, you will lose them. People will check out mentally long before they check out physically. Mentor programs can be highly effective in boosting retention of great employees. Well-designed mentor programs speed development of both the new employee and the mentor. Identify ways to keep people learning and developing even after a few years on the job. For example, special projects or a transfer to a different part of the organization can help keep high performers stimulated and challenged. Your best employees, those employees you want to retain, seek frequent opportunities to learn and grow in their careers, knowledge and skill. Without the opportunity to try new opportunities, sit on challenging and significant teams, attend seminars and read and discuss books, they feel they will stagnate. A career-oriented, valued employee must experience growth opportunities within your organization.

8- Develop your managers. The quality of the supervision an employee receives is critical to employee retention. Employees stay where they have a manager who truly manages them. Great managers listen to employee ideas and encourage collaboration. The converse is also true: many studies cite ineffective managers as the number one reason why good performers leave. The best performers will not stay with you if they work for a jerk. Make sure that your managers and supervisors demonstrate high quality skills. When employees leave, they usually leave managers, not companies. People leave managers and supervisors more often than they leave companies or jobs. It is not enough that the supervisor is well-liked or a nice person, starting with clear expectations of the employee, the supervisor has a critical role to play in retention. Anything the supervisor does to make an employee feel unvalued will contribute to turnover. Frequent employee complaints center on these areas.

--lack of clarity about expectations,

--lack of clarity about earning potential,

--lack of feedback about performance,

--failure to hold scheduled meetings, and

--failure to provide a framework within which the employee perceives he can succeed.

9- Run a high-performing organization. People want to work for winners. The best performing organizations have a tremendous advantage in getting and keeping good people. Align your strategy, structure, people and processes. Make sure your employees understand the big picture and can see how they individually support the strategy. Establish measures and let everyone know how you're doing on a regular basis.

10- Provide employee recognition. Employees stay where they feel appreciated. Encourage individual management recognition but also develop organizational recognition vehicles. Simple recognition of jobs well done in the quarterly newsletter, pictures on the bulletin board, dinner gift certificates, and other small rewards provide a high return on investment. Frequently saying thank you goes a long way. Monetary rewards, bonuses and gifts make the thank you even more appreciated. Understandable raises, tied to accomplishments and achievement, help retain staff. Commissions and bonuses that are easily calculated on a daily basis, and easily understood, raise motivation and help retain staff.

11- Talent and skill utilization is another environmental factor your key employees seek in your workplace. A motivated employee wants to contribute to work areas outside of his specific job description. How many people could contribute far more than they currently do? You just need to know their skills, talent and experience, and take the time to tap into it.

For example, in a small company, a manager pursued a new marketing plan and logo with the help of external consultants. An internal sales rep, with seven years of ad agency and logo development experience, repeatedly offered to help. His offer was ignored and he cited this as one reason why he quit his job. In fact, the recognition that the company didn't want to take advantage of his knowledge and capabilities helped precipitate his job search.

12- The ability of the employee to speak his or her mind freely within the organization is another key factor in employee retention. Does your organization solicit ideas and provide an environment in which people are comfortable providing feedback? If so, employees offer ideas, feel free to criticize and commit to continuous improvement. If not, they bite their tongues or find themselves constantly in trouble - until they leave.

A methodical approach to assessing your talent chain is the best way to identify ways to improve outcomes. Remember, retention is the result of doing many things well.

13- The perception of fairness and equitable treatment is important in employee retention. In one company, a new sales rep was given the most potentially successful, commission-producing accounts. Current staff viewed these decisions as taking food off their tables. You can bet a number of them are looking for their next opportunity.

14- No matter the circumstances, never, never, ever threaten an employee's job or income. Even if you know layoffs loom if you fail to meet production or sales goals, it is a mistake to foreshadow this information with employees. It makes them nervous; no matter how you phrase the information; no matter how you explain the information, even if you're absolutely correct, your best staff members will update their resumes. I'm not advocating keeping solid information away from people, however, think before you say anything that makes people feel they need to search for another job.

By

1) Providing sincere growth-opportunities and timely appraisals

2) Consistent and equitable acknowledgement and recognition

3) By ensuring that employees have adequate tools and training to meet the targets set out for them (selves) and that these targets are viable and realistic

4) By focusing on overall wellness and effective stress management strategies

5) Creating/ maintaining an ambience/ work environment where employees work because they want to, not because they have to

Retention will depend upon several factors. Research has revealed the following:

--Pre-hiring variables (please see the link attached) such as whether the new hires knew existing employees.

--All variables that lead to employee commitment and engagement (including career management, challenging work, diversity management, rewards & recognition, positivity & fun, communication, empowerment, etc,)

--Transformational leadership

--There will be some local variables e.g. in SMEs it will depend upon the the ability of the employer to provide employee care through paternalism

http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=5&sid=bcbb50c5-430c-4375-8d03-defc1548227a%40sessionmgr115&hid=112&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=bth&AN=37267998

A few techniques that management can use::

1-Ensure effective on-boarding

2-Establish clear expectations for all employees

3-Ensure compensation and benefits opportunities are easy to understand and accurate

4-Deploy Achievement Based Compensation

5-Deploy visible, supportive leadership

6-Provide tools, training (including life skills) and supportive environment

7-Encourage employees to speak freely within the organization and reciprocate

8-Create an environment of fair and equitable treatment of all employees

Assure associates feel rewarded, recognized and appreciated

9-Provide ample career growth opportunities within the organization

To improve employee retention in organizations, following steps can be taken;

Appreciate their skills and accomplished work

Keep them happy and satisfied with reference to remuneration and health benefits

Have a humanitarian approach

Get the work done without exerting pressure

Work autonomy should be followed ie allot the work and let them do it according to their capacity and planning

Minimum dead lines should be given

Dear @Mahfuz, this is a very important issue, especially during the difficult years of recession; the following reports discuss this problem: How to Improve Employee Retention

BY Josh Spiro. As the economy revives, companies with dissatisfied employees will experience a swift exodus of their top talent. Here's how to keep your staff engaged and happy.

http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/04/employee-retention.html

The following report also gives seven steps to increase employee retention by Mike Poskey, ZERORISK HR, Inc.

http://www.zeroriskhr.com/articles/sevensteps.aspx

1.By addressing their financial needs as pay / wage and bonus is the biggest motivation

2. Address their work and domestic related problems

3.Keep interests and track their personal problem and solutions

4.Keep continues involvement in their job work and track their progress , this track of their work will give you a clear picture to how and when recognize their efforts and reward accordingly

5.Appreciate their knowledge , skills , abilities and capabilities means motivate them

6. Lead them as a leader not as a manager

MOST IMPORTANT THING IS JUSTICE AMONG ALL EMPLOYEES

Transparency and fairness in promotion and work allocation.

There are some good practices in my school in recent years. Who teaches what is published in a spreadsheet for everone to see. This preempts many perceived unfairness in allocating teaching work.

Pomotion guidelines and time scales are also published well beforehand to allow preparation and review.

Consultation to colleagues before makign a bid decision is also essential.

@ Abedallah. Thank you for the references you recommended on how to keep your staff engaged and happy.

In addition to the three retention tips offered by HR professionals in the SHRM-CareerJournal.com survey, competitive salary, competitive vacation and holidays and tuition reimbursement, these are your key retention strategies. (If you think they read like the Golden Rule, you're right they do.) And, they're also common-sense, basic and incredibly hard to find in organizations today.http://humanresources.about.com/cs/retention/a/turnover_2.htm

If their needs are satisfied, then why to change work environment?

But this is a difficult task, since not all of employees needs are identical.

So a 'mixture needs satisfaction policy' is required.

People join a job to earn livelihood and to work in a congenial environment wherein their expertise is used satisfactorily. If they salary is too low to meet their family's demand according their status or the job is not of their liking or their skills are not optimally used or they develop the perception that they are not appreciated as much as others are, they are most likely to leave the organisation. Management should not only know its employees talents but should take time to often appreciate them. Salary must be linked to the ups and downs of the market so that their needs are satisfied. Management should no be very professional like in dealing with the employees nor it should it be involved with employees so that they do not share personal matters with the management or take the personal relationship to their advantage.

Interesting to see different views on this important issue which is badly affecting efficiency of many organizations especially in developing countries.

Indeed, there are many reasons for it. I believe , professional and personal growth is one of the main root cause. This is also a big challenge for HRM experts.

Interestingly, compensation and welfare are seen as hygiene factors and not motivators in motivation theory. That means if we give good reward, this by itself will not inspire a person. But if we do not give good reward then the employee would feel de-motivated. But in some situations, they may even be motivators, some researches reveal that.

In the two attached researches, even not-a-high-paying Wal-Mart does a good job on retention by doing strategic hiring and talent management . Another research shows that in the US context, mothers form psychological contracts including content related to family that supervisors do not fulfill, resulting in intention to leave the organization.

http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=9&sid=94550179-3d06-44c6-991d-7b0bff7b5b7e%40sessionmgr4003&hid=4114&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=bth&AN=80235932

http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=9&sid=94550179-3d06-44c6-991d-7b0bff7b5b7e%40sessionmgr4003&hid=4114&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=bth&AN=16363123

I agree with you Debi. Accurate statement. Thank you for the attachments you recommended.

Let us admit that the U.S.A has been the most successful "magnet" for attracting a huge number of distinguished scientists. This caused "brain drain" in other countries which lost skilled intellectual & technical persons to that country. A number of my own friends who went there refused to come back to the Arabic world willingly and when I asked them about the reasons of sticking to their jobs there, most of them replied: i) freedom ii) favorable economics (high salaries& more benefits) iii) professional environment which encourages R&D. iv) mostly just systems in universities & research centers v) vast diverse opportunities for progress.

Motivation will help in the short and medium term but ultimately (in the long run) corporate leaders must INFECT their followers with CORPORATE VISION

Good relations with superiors, peers, and subordinates can improve retention of employees in organizations.

Opening job promotions for employees can also improve employee retention in organizations.

Dear Mahfuz. Fully agree that should give promotion opportunities to the best employees because they are the most value resources of a business or of an organization. An intelligent manager adopt all necessary measures to keep the best employees on board.

Dear Jeorge. Some organizations do not follow "promotion from within". This policy will block any promotion opportunities. 

Dear Mahfuz. This is, in my opinion, a very wrong policy with a very negative impact in the positive develop of a business. This type of policy has a clear consequence: the lost of the most valuable employees with a clear desire to be promoted within the organization.

Dear Jorge, I completely agree with you that the "promotion from within" policy has a very negative impact in business development.

Dear Mahfuz

I'm here to learn. I appreciate the merit answers by @Nageswara and @Ljubomir.

Reason identified by EXIT INTERVIEWS, on why an employee leaves an organization reveals more than that is normally "observed" on a daily basis.

It brings out...

All above have explained it nicely.. Toatally agree with them..

A friendly and lively work atmosphere  will give positive boost and improves employees retention..

This is big question. I agree of the above. I suggest motivations and incentives  are the drive key for success.

I agree  with  krishnan umachandran.

@ Dhara. I agree with you that friendly and lively work atmosphere  will give positive boost and improves employees retention.

Dear Mahfuz

Motivated and enthusiastic employees are the best assets in an organization

As your team members grow in their jobs, give them real responsibilities. They will respect you for it and will do all they can to rise to the challenge.

You need to give your people the freedom to be creative, submit your own ideas and play them on.

If your employee is leaving, either to a competitor or to open his own firm, the best you can do is wish the person a hearty "good luck". There are many ways you can make a career, and someday - who knows - you may even decide to join a business together

First, I thank Mahfuz Judeh for sharing this Query with me.

Excellent views by Nageswara Rao & Krishnan  - I thank them both for illuminating replies on this important query.

I also thank Ljubomir Jacić  for sharing nice links..

Some how this "7 steps" way of solving / addressing an issue is attractive.

I hope one day someone comes up with "7 steps to improve your RG score" and if so, please share your article link with me.

With best wishes

Sundar

By improving employment conditions and/or reewards.

The problem that if somebody wants to leave the organization to join another organization.... competitor.

Dear Mahfuz. This is a real problem only if the employee that wish to leave is a key element within the organization. In this case you should be aware of the following:

1- The employee is going to get more salary for the same job or perhaps will get  a better job.

2- The employee have the feeling that his/her work is not adequate considered by the top manager or his/her supervisor .

3- The employee is not doing the work that he/she is suppose to do according to the level of knowledge and time working in the organization.

4- The employee sees no possibility to move up in the organization or is thinking that others that began before are moving up first not because of the outcome of their work but for other reasons. 

5- The employee are going to receive more benefits in the competitor.

6- The competitor is doing better and the employee see no future for the organization.

7- The employee sees that the organization is going in the wrong direction and his/her suggestions or advise to avoid the future possible closure of the organization are not taken into account by the top manager.

8- The employee moves to another city where the competitor has better position than the organization where he/she is now working.

9- The working environment within the organization is not the correct one and for this reason the employee cannot work properly and feel uncomfortable.

The best solution is to keep them happy at the work place and allow for incentives where that is warranted. in this way, I agree with Alexandra that we can make employees inserted in the company and in the workplace.

Employee Retention is improved by making employee satisfied with the organizational policies and practices. When employee feels satisfied with the organization then automatically turns to a liable person for the organization. so organization has to take care in the employees welfare activities, work activities, facilities and other benefits.........

Employees look for good relations with their superiors, peers, and subordinates. Respect of employees is an important issue in this concern.

The employee retention, the talent retention in particular, is an important  strategic responsibility of HR department. In order to retain the creative, innovative and entrepreneurial employees, they are required to be provided with more challenging assignments; a favorable organizational climate is required to be created, where policy of recognition to the deserving employee, mutual trust , transparency etc are maintained and value based leadership is provided.

Dear Jaharkanti,

"The employee retention, the talent retention in particular, is an important  strategic responsibility of HR department". Nicely said.

Employee retention can be measured by economic value distributed

• Operating costs ( maintained or reduced)
• Payments to recruitment providers / third party

How to Measure Employee Retention! Some articles and suggestions about. The links follow!

http://www.ehow.com/how_7682107_measure-employee-retention.html

http://www.hrvoice.org/how-to-measure-employee-retention/

Mahfuz and Krishnan said very nice views - I agree.

Basically job satisfaction is the key to retain employees. This includes pay package, perks, benefits & workload.

-Sundar

In the paper, Cook stated that, " The basic measure of employee retention is often referred to as turnover. This is calculated in the following way:

Number of employees leaving the organization/Total Number of employees

* This the the measure for turnover and not retention.

* The measure of turnover is better to read as follows:

Number of employees leaving the organization during the year * 100 /

Average number of employees during the year

In the equation of turnover, Average number of employees during the year equals number of employees in the beginning of the year added to number of employees last of the year, and devided by 2.

Flexibility is positively perceived  for employee engagement, and expected retention.

SURVEY FINDINGS (2002), Boston College analyses provide evidence that workplace flexibility may enhance employee engagement, which may in turn lead to longer job tenure

Yes, Dear Krishnan, Flexibility can lead to employee engagement and expected retention.

Retaining Employees is also called as movement for Satisfying Internal Customers....

This has the following benefits

Yes, Dear Krishnan,

Retaining Employees can lead to satisfying Internal customers (stage B is a customer to Stage A .. at work).

Based on studies of exit interviews taken at many different organizations, there could be many reasons for resignations of employees - salary, family reasons, government jobs, workload, organization attitudes, work atmosphere etc, but "salary" is often the main reason.

Wishes, Sundar

Dear Kamal, I fully agree with you! "Job satisfaction" and "Psychological ownership" are two keys for employee retention! (Mahfuz recently asked a Q on psychological ownership and organizational development and this has a long set of answers).

Best wishes, Sundar

Dear Kamal and Sudar,

I agree with both of you that Job satisfaction" and "Psychological ownership" in addition to some other factors can lead to employee retention.

Retention of employees fosters

• Better understanding of Needs and Wants
• Improves organizational performance
• Evolves informal work and organization structures

Yes, dear Krishnan.  Retention of employees fosters better understanding of needs and wants of employees.

Providing a boosting and encouraging atmosphere, with some salary perks/hikes to well performers, functional and active social and health clubs, listening o their demands, timely promotions, avoiding biasness and dictatorship, a friendly environment  and modern infrastructure with luxurious housing facilities, and some freedom of working hrs -- may help retention of employees,

Dear Kuldeep,

Yes,  providing  the atmosphere you described with more salary and fringe benefits will help retaining employees. 

Mahfuz, employee retention has been a fundamental problem for both large and small organisations. Part of the reasons for this include both intrinsic and extrinsic factors not being satisfied. In addition, Human Resource Management policies, practices and procedures need to be adapted in line with the socio-economic, psychological and cultural needs of the staff whose services a company wishes to retain. Interesting.

Hr marketing

Without the right talent, businesses struggle. In fact, according to the PwC Pulse Survey: Executive Views on Business in 2022, more than three-quarters of business leaders say the ability to hire and retain talent is the biggest factor in achieving growth.

Less than a third of those responding to the survey expect talent shortages to ease this year. Therefore, employers who are still struggling to recover from the “Great Resignation” must quickly shift their attention to the “Great Retention.” Recent workforce surveys conducted separately by PwC and Oracle offer clues on how to accomplish that. There are three crucial places to focus: talent development, remote work, and technology used strategically....

https://blogs.oracle.com/oraclehcm/post/how-to-leverage-emerging-technology-to-drive-employee-retention?source=:em:nw:mt::::RC_WWMK200429P00044C0095:NSL400227849

We know that the existing workforce development system isn’t working as efficiently as it could, so companies need to try every strategy in the book to retain their workers (rather than expect to replace departing workers with new ones)...

https://insights.cermacademy.com/409-workforce-attraction-and-retention-strategy-matt-fieldman/