a empolyee renrention techniques

1. EMPLOYEE RETENTION IN PRIVATE SECTOR
DISSERTATION REPORT
2010
Submitted for the partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award
Of
POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN MANAGEMENT
SUBMITTED BY
---------------------
UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF
-----------------------
DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT

2. CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the dissertation entitled (employee retention in public sector) and
submitted by ------------------- having roll ----------------for the partial fulfilment of the
requirements of ------------------embodies the bonafide work done by her supervision.
Signature of guide
Place:
Date:

3. ABSTRACT
Employee retention is a process in which the employees are encouraged to remain with the
organization for the maximum period of time or until the completion of the project.
Employee retention is beneficial for the organization as well as the employee. Employees
today are different. They are not the ones who don’t have good opportunities in hand. As
soon as they feel dissatisfied with the current employer or the job, they switch over to the
next job. It is the responsibility of the employer to retain their best employees. If they don’t,
they would be left with no good employees. A good employer should know how to attract
and retain its employees.
Most employees feel that they are worth more than they are actually paid. There is a natural
disparity between what people think they should be paid and what
organizations spend in compensation. When the difference becomes too great and another
opportunity occurs, turnover can result. Pay is defined as the wages, salary, or compensation
given to an employee in exchange for services the employee performs for the organization.
Pay is more than "dollars and cents;" it also acknowledges the worth and value of the human
contribution. What people are paid has been shown to have a clear, reliable impact on
turnover in numerous studies.
Employees comprise the most vital assets of the company. In a work place where employees
are not able to use their full potential and not heard and valued, they are likely to leave
because of stress and frustration. In a transparent environment while employees get a sense of
achievement and belongingness from a healthy work environment, the company is benefited
with a stronger, reliable work-force harbouring bright new ideas for its growth Blog Online
And Earn Money.

4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am very grateful --------------- for giving me the opportunity of working in this project and
give me useful instruction .
I extend my regards and sincere thanks to----------------------with who support & effort, I
completed my project.
Also I am thankful to the management and my fellow colleges for making my project
duration a memorable and fruitful one.
-------------------]

5. CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. Company profile.
• Need of the study
• Scope of the study
2. Research methodology
• Objective of the study
• Research methodology (Sample size, Instrument used, Methods of data collection)
• Scope of the study
• limitations
6. Descriptive work
7. Data Analysis
8. Suggestion and Conclusions
9. Bibliography
10. References
11.Appendices
12. Checklist of the items in the project

6. Introduction
Employee turnover is one of the largest though widely unknown costs an
organization faces. While companies routinely keep track of various costs such as supplies
and payroll, few take into consideration how much employee turnover will cost them: Ernst
& Young estimates it costs approximately $120,000 to replace 10 professionals. According to
research done by Sibson & Company, to recoup the cost of losing just one employee a fast
food restaurant must sell 7,613 combo meals at $2.50 each. Employee turnover costs
companies 30 to 50% of the annual salary of entry-level employees, 150% of middle-level
employees, and up to 400% for upper level, specialized employees. Now that so much is
being done by organizations to retain its employees.
Why is retention so important? Is it just to reduce the turn over costs ?
Well, the answer is a definite no. It’s not only the cost incurred by a company
that emphasizes the need of retaining employees but also the need to retain
talented employees from getting poached.
Retention involves five major things:
 Compensation
 Environment
 Growth
 Relationship
 Support
 Compensation:
Compensation constitutes the largest part of the employee retention process. The employees
always have high expectations regarding their compensation packages.
Compensation packages vary from industry to industry. So an attractive
compensation package plays a critical role in retaining the employees.

7. Compensation includes salary and wages, bonuses, benefits, prerequisites, stock
options, bonuses, vacations, etc. While setting up the packages, the following
components should be kept in mind:
 Salary and monthly wage: It is the biggest component of the compensation
package. It is also the most common factor of comparison among employees. It
includes
• Basic wage
• House rent allowance
• Dearness allowance
• City compensatory allowance
Salary and wages represent the level of skill and experience an individual has. Time to time
increase in the salaries and wages of employees should be done. And this increase should be
based on the employee’s performance and his contribution to the organization. Bonus:
Bonuses are usually given to the employees at the end of the year or on a festival. Economic
benefits: It includes paid holidays, leave travel concession, etc. Long-term incentives: Long
term incentives include stock options or stock grants. These incentives help retain employees
in the organization's start up stage.
 Health insurance: Health insurance is a great benefit to the employees. It
saves employees money as well as gives them a peace of mind that they have
somebody to take care of them in bad times. It also shows the employee that the
organization cares about the employee and its family.
 After retirement: It includes payments that an Employee gets after he retires like
EPF (Employee Provident Fund) etc.
 Miscellaneous compensation: It may include employee assistance
programs (like psychological counselling, legal assistance etc), discounts on
company products, use of a company cars, etc.

8. Scope of the study
It is not about managing retention. It is about managing people. If an organization manages
people well, employee retention will take care of itself. Organizations should focus on
managing the work environment to make better use of the available human assets. People
want to work for an organization which provides
• Appreciation for the work done
• Ample opportunities to grow
• A friendly and cooperative environment
• A feeling that the organization is second home to the employee
Organization environment includes
• Culture
• Values
• Company reputation
• Quality of people in the organization
• Employee development and career growth
• Risk taking
• Leading technologies
• Trust
Types of environment the employee needs in an organization
• Learning environment: It includes continuous learning and improvement of the
individual, certifications and provision for higher studies, etc.
• Support environment: Organization can provide support in the form of work-life
balance. Work life balance includes:
 Flexible hours
 Telecommuting
 Dependent care
 Alternate work schedules
 Vacations
 Wellness

9. • Work environment: It includes efficient managers, supportive co-workers,
challenging work, involvement in decision-making, clarity of work and
responsibilities, and recognition. Lack or absence of such environment pushes
employees to look for new opportunities. The environment should be such that the
employee feels connected to the organization in every respect.
Growth and Career Growth and development are the integral part of every
individual’s career. If an employee can not foresee his path of career development in
his current organization, there are chances that he’ll leave the organization as soon as
he gets an opportunity. The important factors in employee growth that an employee
looks
for himself are:
• Work profile: The work profile on which the employee is working
should be in sync with his capabilities. The profile should not be too low or too high.
• Personal growth and dreams: Employees responsibilities in the organization should
help him achieve his personal goals also. Organizations can not keep aside the
individual goals of employees and foster organizations goals. Employees’ priority is
to work for themselves and later on comes the organization. If he’s not satisfied with
his growth, he’ll not be able to contribute in organization growth.
• Training and development: Employees should be trained and given chance to
improve and enhance their skills. Many employers fear that if the employees are well
rained, they’ll leave the organization for better jobs. Organization should not limit the
resources on which organization’s success depends. These trainings can be given
toimprove many skills like:
 Communications skills
 Technical skills
 In-house processes and procedures improvement related skills or customer
satisfaction related skills
 Special project related skills
Need for such trainings can be recognized from individual performance reviews, individual
meetings, employee satisfaction surveys and by being in constant touch with the employees.
Importance of Relationship in Employee Retention Program
Sometimes the relationship with the management and the peers becomes the
reason for an employee to leave the organization. The management is sometimes not able to
provide an employee a supportive work culture and environment in terms of personal or

10. professional relationships. There are times when an employee starts feeling bitterness towards
the management or peers.
This bitterness could be due to many reasons. This decreases employee’s interest and he
becomes demotivated. It leads to less satisfaction and eventually attrition. A supportive work
culture helps grow employee professionally and boosts employee satisfaction. To enhance
good professional relationships at work, the management should keep the following points in
mind.
Respect for the individual: Respect for the individual is the must in the organization.
• Relationship with the immediate manager: A manger plays the role of a mentor
and a coach. He designs and plans work for each employee. It is his duty to involve
the employee in the processes of the organization. So an organization should hire
managers who can make and maintain good relations with their subordinates.
• Relationship with colleagues: Promote team work, not only among teams but in
different departments as well. This will induce competition as well as improve the
Relationship among colleagues.
• Recruit whole heartedly: An employee should be recruited if there is a proper place
and duties for him to perform. Otherwise he’ll feel useless and will be dissatisfied.
Employees should know what the organization expects from them and what their expectation
from the organization is. Deliver what is promised. Promote an
employee based culture: The employee should know that the organization is there to support
him at the time of need. Show them that the organization cares and he’ll show the same for
the organization. An employee based culture may include decision making authority,
availability of resources, open door policy, etc.
• Individual development: Taking proper care of employees includes
acknowledgement to the employee’s dreams and personal goals. Create opportunities
for their career growth by providing mentorship programs, certifications, educational
courses, etc.
• Induce loyalty: Organizations should be loyal as well as they should promote loyalty
in the employees too. Try to make the current employees stay instead of recruiting
new ones.
Support Lack of support from management can sometimes serve as a reason for employee
retention. Supervisor should support his subordinates in a way so that each one of them is a
success. Management should try to focus on its employees and support them not only in their
difficult times at work but also through the times of personal crisis. Management can support

11. employees by providing them recognition and appreciation. Employers can also provide
valuable feedback to employees and make them feel valued to the organization.
The feedback from supervisor helps the employee to feel more responsible,
confident and empowered. Top management can also support its employees in their personal
crisis by providing personal loans during emergencies, childcare services, employee
assistance Programs, conseling services, etc
Employers can also support their employees by creating an environment of trust
and inculcating the organizational values into employees. Thus employers can
support their employees in a number of ways as follows:
• By providing feedback
• By giving recognition and rewards
• By counseling them
• By providing emotional support

12. COMPANY PROFILE
In August, 1994 the Housing Development Finance
Corporation Limited (HDFC) was incorporated in the name of
HDFC Bank Limited. The Reserve Bank of India has approved in
principle to set up private banks. HDFC was one of the first
organizations to receive in principle approval from RBI. The HDFC
Bank has its registered office in Mumbai. In January 1995, the
operations of HDFC Bank as a commercial bank has commenced.
In India and in international markets HDFC has an impeccable
track record. HDFC has maintained a healthy growth and a
consistency in its operations and remained as a leader in market of
mortgages. The portfolio of HDFC’s outstanding loan has a million
dwelling units. HDFC has a large corporate client base for housing
related credit facilities. HDFC was ideally positioned to promote a
bank in the Indian market with its experience and strong reputation
in market of finance.
i Objective :
· HDFC Bank is a young and dynamic bank, with a youthful
and enthusiastic team determined to accomplish the vision of
becoming a world-class Indian bank.
· Bank’s business philosophy is based on four core values
- Customer Focus, Operational Excellence, Product
Leadership and People. Bank believes that the ultimate
identity and success of bank will reside in the exceptional
quality of our people and their extraordinary efforts. For this
reason, bank is committed to hiring, developing, motivating
and retaining the best people in the industry.

13. Mission :
Bank mission is to be “a World Class Indian Bank”,
benchmarking bank against international standards and best
practices in terms of product offerings, technology, service levels,
risk management and audit & compliance. The objective is to build
sound customer franchises across distinct businesses so as to be
a preferred provider of banking services for target retail and
wholesale customer segments, and to achieve a healthy growth in
profitability, consistent with the Bank’s risk appetite. Bank is
committed to do this while ensuring the highest levels of ethical
standards, professional integrity, corporate governance and
regulatory compliance.
HDFC Bank has been recognized as 'Best Bank in India' in
the magazine rankings as well as surveys year on year. HDFC
Bank is the most preferred employer in banking industry in India.
Bank business strategy emphasizes the following:
· Increase bank’s market share in India’s expanding banking
and financial services industry by following a disciplined
growth strategy focusing on quality and not on quantity and
delivering high quality customer service.
· Leverage technology platform and open scalable systems to
deliver more products to more customers and to control
operating costs.
· Maintain current high standards for asset quality through
disciplined credit risk management.
· Develop innovative products and services that attract
targeted customers and address inefficiencies in the Indian

14. financial sector.
· Continue to develop products and services that reduce cost
of funds.
· Focus on high earnings growth with low volatility.
· Vision :
Visions don’t change quite often. Near-term objectives do.
The country’s second largest private bank still strives to become a
“world-class Indian bank”, a vision that was documented in its first
annual report back in 1995. Call them less aggressive or more
conservative, it doesn’t ruffle the top management of Housing
Development Financing Corporation (HDFC) Bank.
As American author, Frank Herbert says: “There’s no secret
to balance. You just have to feel the waves.” It may be quite a
unique distinction but HDFC Bank hasn’t seen a change in the
leadership since day one. Aditya Puri, in his capacity as MD and
CEO, has continued to surprise industry critics and consistently
delivered a growth of around 25-30% (Quos) in net profit for the
past 40-50 quarters. Today, the Rs 54,000-crore bank services
over 11 million customers and operates from more than 1,200
branches in 444 Indian towns and cities, while some 2,500-odd
ATMs offer anytime, anywhere banking.
For HDFC Bank executive director Paresh Sukthankar, this
consistent performance has been his defining moment at the bank.
“It may look less glamorous, but personally this achievement has
been much more valuable. It’s very easy to have a great quarter,
and fall back to mediocrity, in terms of a lazy quarter. What makes
this success even more remarkable is the fact that the last 10

15. years have seen a fair amount of volatility in the macroeconomic
environment, domestically as well as globally,” he quips.
e Strengths :
Highest level of ethical standards
· Professional integrity
· Corporate governance
· Regulatory compliance
· Business Philosophy :
The four values are the bank’s business philosophy,
· Operational Excellence
· Customer Focus
· Product Leadership
· People
· Management :
· Chairman
In July 2001 Mr. Jadish Capoor has taken the
responsibilities of the bank as Chairman. He was a Deputy
Governor of the RBI.
· Managing Director
Mr. Aditya Puri is the managing director of the HDFC bank,
before he was with Citibank as a head for operations in
Malaysia.
· Board of Directors
The members of the HDFC bank’s Board of Directors are
senior banking professionals with experience in abroad and
India, who head various businesses.

16. PROMOTERS :
HDFC is India's premier housing finance company and
enjoys an impeccable track record in India as well as in
international markets. Since its inception in 1977, the Corporation
has maintained a consistent and healthy growth in its operations to
remain the market leader in mortgages. Its outstanding loan
portfolio covers well over a million dwelling units. HDFC has
developed significant expertise in retail mortgage loans to different
market segments and also has a large corporate client base for its
housing related credit facilities. With its experience in the financial
markets, a strong market reputation, large shareholder base and
unique consumer franchise, HDFC was ideally positioned to
promote a bank in the Indian environment.
p BUSINESS FOCUS :
HDFC Bank's mission is to be a World-Class Indian Bank.
The objective is to build sound customer franchises across distinct
businesses so as to be the preferred provider of banking services
for target retail and wholesale customer segments, and to achieve
healthy growth in profitability, consistent with the bank's risk
appetite. The bank is committed to maintain the highest level of
ethical standards, professional integrity, corporate governance and
regulatory compliance. HDFC Bank's business philosophy is based
on four core values - Operational Excellence, Customer Focus,
Product Leadership and People.
P CAPITAL STRUCTURE :
At present, HDFC Bank boasts of an authorized capital of Rs
550 crore (Rs5.5 billion), of this the paid-up amount is Rs 424.6

17. crore (Rs.4.2 billion). In terms of equity share, the HDFC Group
holds 19.4%. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) have around
28% of the equity and about 17.6% is held by the ADS Depository
(in respect of the bank's American Depository Shares (ADS)
Issue). The bank has about 570,000 shareholders. Its shares find
a listing on the Stock Exchange, Mumbai and National Stock
Exchange, while its American Depository Shares are listed on the
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), under the symbol 'HDB'.
N Awards :
Awards with its strengths and its talented people the HDFC
banks have made all its efforts to achieve its mission to be World
Class Indian bank. Its services are recognized not only nationally
but also internationally. The HDFC bank is appreciated with so
many awards like:
· Asian Banker Excellence Awards 2009
· The Asset Triple A Awards
· Financial Insights Innovation Awards 2010
· Global Finance Awards 2010
· Business World Best Bank Award 2009

18. 2011
BloombergUTV's Best Bank
Financial
Leadership Awards
2011
IBA Banking Winner -
Technology Awards 1) Technology Bank of the Year
2010 2) Best Online Bank
3) Best Customer Initiative
4) Best Use of Business Intelligence
5) Best Risk Management System
Runners Up -
Best Financial Inclusion
IDC FIIA Awards Excellence in Customer Experience
2011

19. 2010
Outlook Money Best Bank
2010 Awards
Businessworld Best Best Bank (Large)
Bank Awards 2010
Teacher's Mr. Aditya Puri
Achievement
Awards 2010
(Business)
The Banker and Best Private Bank in India
PWM 2010 Global
Private Banking
Awards
Economic Times Business Leader of the Year - Mr. Aditya Puri
Awards for
Corporate
Excellence 2010
Forbes Asia Fab 50 Companies - 5th year in a row
NDTV Business Best Private Sector Bank
Leadership Awards
2010
The Banker World's Top 1000 Banks
Magazine
MIS Asia IT BEST BOTTOM-LINE I.T. Category
Excellence Award
2010
Dun & Bradstreet
Banking Awards 2 Overall Best Bank
2010 Best Private Sector Bank
Best Private Sector Bank in SME Financing
Institutional HDFC Bank MD, Mr. Aditya Puri among "Asian Captains of
Investor Magazine Finance 2010"

20. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design:
The research design indicates the type of research methodology under taken to
collect the information for the study.
The researcher used both descriptive and analytical type of research design for his research
study. The main objective of using descriptive research is to describe the state of affairs as it
exits at present. It mainly involves surveys and fact finding enquiries of different kinds. The
researcher used descriptive research to discover the characteristics of customers. Descriptive
research also includes demography characteristic of consumer who use the product.
The researcher also used analytical research design to analyze the existing facts
from the data collected from the customer.
Area of study:
The area of study is confined to employees of HDFC BANK .LTD
Research instrument:
The Structured questionnaire is used as the research instrument for the study.
Questionnaire Design:
The questionnaire framed for the research study is a structured questionnaire in
which all the questions are predetermined before conducting the survey. The form of question
is of both closed and open type.
The scales used to evaluate questions are:
• Dichotomous scale (Yes or No)
• Likert 5 point scale (Highly satisfied, satisfied, Neither Satisfied nor dissatisfied,
Dissatisfied, Highly dissatisfied)

21. • Category scale (Multiple items)
• Ranking type (R1, R2, R3…)
The questionnaire for the research was framed in a clear manner such that it
enables the respondents to understand and answer the question easily. The
questionnaire was designed in such a way that the questions are short and simple and is
arranged in a logical manner.
Pilot study:
It is appropriate to conduct pilot survey to check the reliability of the questionnaire. So pilot
study was conducted on 5 respondents which is a 10% of the sample.
Sampling design:
A Sample design is a definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given population. It is the
procedure used by the researcher in selecting items for the sample.
Sample size:
Sample size=125 samples, variance and confidence methods are used for
determining sample size.
Sampling Technique:
The researcher adopted simple random sampling for the study.

22. DATA COLLECTION METHOD
Primary data:
Primary data is the new or fresh data collected from the respondents through
structured scheduled questionnaire.
Secondary data:
The secondary data are collected through the structured questionnaire, literature
review and also from the past records maintained by the company.
STATISTICAL TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES
PERCENTAGE ANALYSIS:
Percentage = (No. Of respondents / total no. Of respondents)*100
WEIGHTED AVERAGE METHOD:
Formula:
Mean score = total score/no of respondents.
Where total score = no of respondents*weighted average
CHI – SQUARE TEST:
1. Null Hypothesis (Ho): There is no difference in attributes
2. Alternate Hypothesis(H1): There is a difference in attributes
3. Level of significance α = 0.05
4. Degrees of freedom = (r-1)(c-1)
5. Expected frequency:
E = R.T × C.T

23. 6. Calculation of :
Σ = Σ (O-E)2
7. The tabulated value of at given level of significance with (r-1)(c-1)
ONE RUN TEST:
Null hypothesis (H0):
There is a no significant relationship between the variables
Alternate hypothesis (H1):
There is significant relationship between the variables
μr = 2 n1 n2 + 1
n1 + n2
2 n1 n2- n1- n1
σr = 2 n1n2
(n1+ n2)2 (n1+ n2-1 )
Lower limit = μr + (2.58) σ
Upper limit = μr + (2.58) σ
KENDALL’S COEFFICIENT OF CONCORDANCE:
Null hypothesis (H0): There is a difference in attributes
Alternate hypothesis (H1): There is no difference in attributes
Σ Rj = (Rj-Rj)2
S= Rj = Σ Rj
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
1. The findings of the study are subjected to bias and prejudice of the respondents.
2. Area of the study is confined to the employees in Chennai only.
3. Time factor can be considered as a main limitation.
4. The findings of the study are solely based on the information provided by the
respondents.

24. 5. The accuracy of findings is limited by the accuracy of statistical tools used for analysis.
6. Findings of the research may change due to area, demography, age condition of economy
etc.
Analysis and Interpretation of data
1. PERCENTAGE ANAYLSIS
2. AWARENESS OF HR POLICIES
Chi-Square Test
To find whether there exists a significant relationship between Work Culture of the Company
and interpersonal relationship between employees.
H0: There is a no significant relationship between Work Culture of the Company and
interpersonal relationship between employees.
H1: There is a significant relationship between Work Culture of the Company
and interpersonal relationship between employees.
Calculated value is more than table value therefore accept H0
Result:
There is a significant relationship between overall satisfaction and aspects of job.
KENDALL’S COEFFICIENT OF CONCORDANCE
Null hypothesis (H0): There is a no significant difference in the rank assigned by
respondents towards the attributes that gives them satisfaction in the company.
Alternate hypothesis (H1): There is a significant difference in the rank assigned by
respondents towards the attributes that gives them satisfaction in the company.

25. Ranking Based on Satisfaction
K=20:
Salary, Superior Role, Team Coordination, Work responsibilities, Rules and Policies,
Physical work environment Training
Calculated value : S= 5815.714
Table value : 1158
Calculated value is more than table value therefore reject H0
Result:
There is a significant difference in the rank assigned by respondents towards the
attributes that gives them satisfaction in the company.
ONE RUN TEST:
Null hypothesis (H0): The samples are not taken randomly.
Alternate hypothesis (H1): The samples are taken randomly.
Retention Management:
Background: retention management is a highly topical subject and an
important dilemma many organizations might face in the future, if not facing it
already. We believe that the leader plays a key role in employee retention and
retention management. The concept of retention management can both have a
narrow, and a broader significance. Both parts of its significance are generally
included in this thesis. The background of the thesis present a few articles that
discuss issues that makes it important for the organization, and the leaders, to work hard with
retention management. The research is based on the leaders in the Finnish case company
Tradeka. Following key questions are intended to be
answered: What are the consequences between leaders actions and employees
retention? Which is the leader’s role when it comes to retaining employees?
Purpose statement: The purpose of the thesis is to investigate and analyze how company
leaders today can retain their key employees. How can the provision of key human resources

26. develop a long-term relationship that makes top employees stay in the company? The study
aims to establish the procedure leaders apply to retain employees. The purpose is to compare
the qualitative study, made at the case company, with findings from the thesis theoretical
framework.
Research method: The study is a qualitative, as well as a theoretical study where empirical
findings and theories has been compared. The intention of investigating and using the Finnish
company Tradeka Limited as a case company, is to make the information from the theories
more valid, and also the interest in how retention management works in practice. Eleven
qualitative interviews were conducted at Tradeka?
financial department, both with supervisors and employees to get a broader view at the
phenomenon retention management. Result: Leaders and their skill in creating a culture of
retention, has becoming a key in why people stay and what usually drives them away from a
company. The leader has become the main factor in what motivates people’s decision to stay
or leave. For organizations to keep its key employees their number one priority should be to
look at their management, because people leave managers and not companies. Characteristics
in a leader that are of importance, as the leader plays a key role in retention management is:
trust builder, esteem builder, communicator, talent developer and coach, and talent finder.
The leader’s relation to the employees plays a central role in retaining employees.
Employee Retention Strategies
The basic practices which should be kept in mind in the employee retention
strategies are:
1. Hire the right people in the first place.
2. Empower the employees: Give the employees the authority to get things done.
3. Make employees realize that they are the most valuable asset of the
organization.
4. Have faith in them, trust and respect them
5. Provide them information and knowledge.
6. Keep providing them feedback on their performance.
7. Recognize and appreciate their achievements.
8. Keep their morale high.
9. Create an environment where the employees want to work and have fun.

27. These practices can be categorized in 3 levels:
• Low,
• medium and
• high level.
• Low Level Employee Retention Strategies:
 Appreciating and recognizing a well done job·
 Personalized well done and thank-you cards from supervisors·
 Congratulations e-cards or cards sent to spouses/families·
 Voicemails or mess·ages from top management
 Periodic days off for good performance·
 Rewards ( gift, certificates, monetary and non monetary rewards)·
 Recognizing professional as well as personal significant events·
 Wedding gifts
 Anniversary gifts
 New born baby gifts
 Scholarships for employee’s children
 Get well cards/flowers
 Birthday cards, celebrations and gifts
 Providing benefits·
 Home insurance plans
 Legal insurance
 Travel insurance
 Disability programs
 Providing perks: It includes coupons, discounts, rebates, etc·
 Discounts in cinema halls, museums, restaurants, etc.
 Retail store discounts
 Computer peripherals purchase discounts
 Providing workplace conveniences·
 On-site ATM
 On-site facilities for which cost is paid by employees
 laundry facility for bachelors

28.  Shipping services
 Assistance with tax calculations and submission of forms
 Financial planning assistance
 Casual dress policies
 Facilities for expectant mothers
 Parking
 Parenting guide
 Lactation rooms
 Flexi timings
 Fun at work·
 Celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, retirements, promotions, etc
 Holiday parties and holiday gift certificates
 Occasional parties like diwali, holi, dushera, etc
 Organize get together for watching football, hockey, cricket matches
 Organize picnics and trips for movies etc
 Sports outings like cricket match etc
 Indoor games
 Occasional stress relievers·
 “Casual dress” day
 “Green is the color” day
 Handwriting analysis
 Tatoo, mehandi, hair braiding stalls on weekends
 Mini cricket in office
 Ice cream Fridays
 Holi-Day breakfast
 Employee support in tough time or personal crisis·
 Personal loans for emergencies
 Childcare and eldercare services
 Employee Assistance Programs ( Counseling sessions etc)
 Emergency childcare services
• Medium Level Strategies for Employee Retention
 Appreciating and recognizing a well done job
 Special bonus for successfully completing firm-sponsored certifications

29.  Benefit programs for family support
 Child adoption benefits
 Flexible benefits
 Dependents care assistance
 Medical care reimbursement
 Providing conveniences at workplace·
 Gymnasiums·
 Athletic membership program·
 Providing training and development and personal growth opportunities·
 Sabbatical programs
 Professional skills development
 Individualized career guidance
• High Level Strategies
 Promoting Work/Life Effectiveness·
 Develop flexible schedules·
 Part-time schedules·
 Extended leaves of absence·
 Develop Support Services·
 On-site day care facility etc.
·
• Understand employee needs: This can be done through proper management style
and culture·
 Listen to the employee and show interest in ideas·
 Appreciate new ideas and reward risk-taking
 Show support for individual initiative
 Encourage creativity
• Encouraging professional training and development and/or personal growth
opportunities: It can be done through:·
 Mentoring programs
 Performance feedback programs
 Provide necessary tools to the employees to achieve their professional and personal
goals
 Getting the most out of employee interests and talents

30.  Higher study opportunities for employees
 Vocational counselling
 Offer personalized career guidance to employees
• Provide an environment of trust: Communication is the most important and
effective way to develop trust.·
 Suggestion committees can be created
 Open door communication policy can be followed
• Regular feedbacks on organization’s goals and activities should be taken from
the employees by:
 Management communications
 Intranet and internet can be used as they provide 24X7 access to the information
Newsletters, notice boards, etc.
• Hire the right people from the beginning: employee retention is not a process that
begins at the end. The process of retention begins right from the start of the
recruitment process.
The new joinees should fit with the organization’s culture. The personality,
leadership characteristics of the candidate should be in sync with the culture of the hiring
organization.
Referral bonus should be given to the employees for successful hires. They are the best
source of networking. Proper training should be given to the managers on interview and
management techniques. An internship program can be followed to recruit the fresh
graduates.
Retention Success Mantra
• Transparent Work Culture
In today’s fast paced business environments where employees are constantly
striving to achieve business goals under time restrictions; open minded and
transparent work culture plays a vital role in employee retention. Companies invest very
many hours and monies in training and educating employees. These

31. companies are severely affected when employees check out, especially in the
middle of some big company project or venture. Although employees most often prefer to
stay with the same company and use their time and experience for personal growth and
development, they leave mainly because of work related stress and dissatisfactions .More and
more companies have now realized the importance of a healthy work culture and have a
gamut of people management good practices for employees to have that ideal fresh work-life.
Closed doors work culture can serve as a deterrent to communication and trust within
employees which are potential causes for work- Related apathy and frenzy.
A transparent work environment can serve as one of the primary triggers to
facilitate accountability, trust, communication, responsibility, pride and so on. It is believed
that in a transparent work culture employees rigorously communicate with their peers and
exchange ideas and thoughts before they are finally matured in to full-blown concepts. It
induces responsibility among employees and accountability towards other peers, which
gradually builds up trust and pride. More importantly, transparency in work environment
discourages work-politics which often hinders company goals as employees start to advance
their personal objectives at the expense of development of
The company as a single entity.
.
Quality Of Work
The success of any organization depends on how it attracts, recruits, motivates, and retains its
workforce. Organizations need to be more flexible so that they develop their talented
workforce and gain their commitment. Thus, organizations are required to retain employees
by addressing their work life issues. The elements that are relevant to an individual’s quality
of work life include the task, the physical work environment, social environment within the
organization, administrative system and relationship between life on and off the job. The
basic objectives of a QWL program are improved working conditions for the Employee and
increase organizational effectiveness.

32. Providing quality work life involves taking care of the following aspects:
Occupational health care: The safe work environment provides the basis for the person to
enjoy working. The work should not pose a health hazard for the person. The employer and
employee, aware of their risks and rights, could achieve a lot in Their mutually beneficial
dialogue.
Suitable working time: Organizations are offering flexible work options to their employees
wherein employees enjoy flexi-timings for dedicating their efforts at work.
Appropriate salary: The appropriate as well as attractive salary has always been an
important factor in retaining employees. Providing employees salary at par with the other
counterparts of above that what competitors are paying motivates them to stick With the
company for long. QWL consists of opportunities for active involvement in group working
arrangements or problem solving that are of mutual benefit to employees or employers, based
on labor management cooperation.
People also conceive of QWL as a set of methods, such as autonomous work groups, job
enrichment, and high-involvement aimed at boosting the satisfaction and productivity of
workers. It requires employee commitment to the organization and an environment in which
this commitment can flourish. Providing quality at work not only reduces attrition but also
helps in reduced absenteeism and improved job satisfaction. Not only does QWL contribute
to a company's ability to recruit quality people, but also it enhances a company's
competitiveness. Common beliefs support the contention that QWL will positively nurture a
more flexible, loyal, and motivated workforce, which are essential in determining the
company's competitiveness. Supporting Employees
Organizations these days want to protect their biggest and most valuable asset and they want
to do this in a way that best suits their organizational culture. Retaining employees is a

33. difficult task. Providing support to the employees acts as a mantra for retraining them.
Employers can also support their employees by creating an environment of trust and
inculcating the organizational values into employees.
The management can support employees directly or indirectly. Directly, they
provide support in terms of personal crises, managing stress and personal
development. Management can support employees, indirectly, in a number of ways as
follows:
Manage employee turnover: Employee turnover affects the whole organization in terms of
productivity. Managing the turnover, hence, becomes an important task. A proactive
approach can be adopted to reduce attrition. Strategies should be framed in advance and
implemented when the times arrives. Turnover costs should also be taken into consideration
while framing these strategies.
Become employer of choice: What makes a company an employer of choice? Is the benefit
it offers or the compensation packages it gives away to its employees? Or is it measured in
terms of how they value their employees or in terms of customer satisfaction? Becoming an
employer of choice involves following a road map which tells where to go as a brand.
Engage the new recruits: The newly hired employees are said to be least engaged in the
organization. Keeping them engaged is an important task. The fresh talent should be utilized
to maximum before they start feeling bored in the organization.
Optimize employee engagement: An organization’s productivity is measured not in terms of
employee satisfaction but by employee engagement. Employees are said to be engaged when
they show a positive attitude toward the organization and express a commitment to remain
with the organization. Employee satisfaction also comes with high engagement levels. So,
organizations should aim to maximize the engagement among employees.
Coaching and mentoring: Employees whose work performance suffers due to poor
interpersonal relationships or because of lack of interpersonal skills should be provided
proper coaching by their superiors. Planed coaching sessions help an individual to work
through issues, maximize his potential and return to peak
performance.

34. Feedback
Feedback acts as a channel of communication between the employee and his
manager. The amount of information employees receive about how well or how
poorly they have performed is what we call feedback. It is a dialog between a
manager and an employee which acts as a way of sharing information about the
performance. It suggests where the employee performance is effective and where
performance has to improve. Managers can provide either positive feedback or negative
feedback to employees. This feedback helps the employee assess his performance and
identify the improvement areas. Positive feedback communicates managerial satisfaction.
Positive recognition for good performance boosts up morale of employees and results in
performance improvement to a higher productivity level. It is believed that positive feedback
is the only type of feedback that generates performance above the minimum acceptable level.
Negative feedback obviously communicates manager’s dissatisfaction. However, negative
feedback sometimes make employee to put more efforts to improve his performance. But
such times are very rare. Moreover this improvement is short term. Some managers do not
provide any kind of feedback to their employees. Due to no feedback, employees may assume
that they are performing productively or they may feel that the manager is satisfied with their
performance. Studies reveal the performance tends be same or even decreases if no feedback
is provided. Thus, feedback is necessary because:
• It builds trust and enhances communication between manager and employee.
• It gives managers and employees a way to identify and discuss skills and strengths.
• Positive feedback leads to employee retention and Retention.
• It helps in identifying performance areas that need improvement and specific ways to
improve them. It acts as an opportunity to enhance performance by identifying
resources for skill development. It is an opportunity for managers and employees to
assess and identify career and advancement opportunities. It helps employees to
understand the effectiveness of their performance and contributes to their overall

35. knowledge about the work Managers have tendency to ignore good performances of
their employees. Providing no feedback may demotivate employees and may lead to
employee absenteeism. Input from manager’s side is necessary as it help employees to
improve their performance and increase productivity.
• Communication Between Employee and Employer
Communication is a process in which a message is conveyed to the receiver by the sender.
The message may be or may not be in a common format or language that both the sender and
receiver understand. So there is a need to encode and decode the message in the process.
Encoding and decoding also helps in the security of the message. The process of
communication is incomplete without the feedback. Communication is the solution to almost
everything in this world. Same applies to employee retention also.
Straight-from-the-shoulder communication is what the employees need from their employers.
Employees look for organizations where communication and process are transparent. Nothing
is hidden and shared with the employees.
There are 3 categories of employees:
A: Who will leave their current employer in 3 years of their employment
B: Who have a probability of leaving their current employer in next 3 years
C: Who will stay with their current employer in the next 3 years
Category A: These are the employees who lack communication with their
employers.
Category C: These are the employees who have proper, well structured
communication with their employers. Communication is also the way to win the
employees trust in the organization. Employees trust the employers who are
friendly and open to them. This trust leads to employee loyalty and finally retention.
Employers also feel that the immediate supervisors are the most authenticated and trusted
source of information for them. So the organizations should hire managers who are active
communicators. Communication mediums.

36. Open door policy: Organizations should support open door policies so that the
employees feel comfortable and are able to express their doubts and feeling to their
employers. Frequent meetings and Social gatherings Emails, Newsletters, Intranet and many
more. So there should be effective communication across the organization and this
communication should be two-way. Communication alone can lead to unimaginable heights
of employee retention.
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 calculate the cost
of turnover (including hiring costs, training costs and productivity loss), industry experts
often quote 25% of the average employee salary as a conservative 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 encourage continued
sponsorship of the business. When an employee leaves, the relationships 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 felt
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.

37. Regaining efficiency: If an employee resigns, then good amount of time is lost in 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
What Makes Employee Leave? Employees do not leave an organization without any
significant reason. There are certain circumstances that lead to their leaving the organization.
The most common reasons can be:
Job is not what the employee expected· to be: Sometimes the job responsibilities don’t
come out to be same as expected by the candidates. Unexpected job responsibilities lead to
job dissatisfaction.
Job and person mismatch: A candidate may be fit· to do a certain type of job which
matches his personality. If he is given a job which mismatches his personality, then he won’t
be able to perform it well and will try to find out reasons to leave the job.
No growth opportunities: No or less learning and growth opportunities in the current job
will make candidate’s job and career stagnant.
Lack of appreciation: If the work is not appreciated by the supervisor, the employee feels
de-motivated and loses interest in job.
Lack of trust and support in co workers, seniors and management: Trust is the most
important factor that is required for an individual to stay in the job. Non-supportive co
workers, seniors and management can make office environment unfriendly and difficult to
work in.
Stress from overwork and work life imbalance: Job stress can lead to work life imbalance
which ultimately many times lead to employee leaving the organization.
Compensation: Better compensation packages being offered by other companies may attract
employees towards themselves.

38. New job offer: An attractive job offer which an employee thinks is good for him with respect
to job responsibility, compensation, growth and learning etc. can lead an employee to leave
the organization.
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 within 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 leave 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 and 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 opinions.
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

39. 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 organization’s reward strategy reflects the employee drivers
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 really 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 transitions 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, non management
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 one lump sum at the time
of termination. However, some companies pay in instalments 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 project
has its own life span. As long as the project gets completed, the employees who

40. have worked hard on it are entitled to receive the retention bonus. For example, the
implementation of a system may take 18 months, so a retention bonus will be offered after 20
months. Although retention bonuses are becoming more common everywhere, some
industries are more likely than others to offer them.
Retail/wholesale companies are the most appropriate to implement stay-pay
bonuses, followed by financial service providers and manufacturing firms.
Companies of all sizes use retention bonus plans to keep knowledge employees
retained in the company. To retain its key senior employees post merger with EDS
Corporation, Mphasis is providing cash component based retention bonus plan for its
employees. This is mainly to retain good employees and provide them a cash incentive to
keep them motivated.
Hire Right Talent
employee retention starts with recruitment. Early departures arise from the wrong 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 job. For this the
employer should understand the job requirements clearly. Don’t 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 responsibilities at the time of
joining. Attrition rate can be reduced if a right person is hired for 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 fulfilled only then promise them.
Or tell them beforehand that their requirements cannot be fulfilled.

41. Don’t show them an unrealistic picture Culture fit: Try to judge individual’s capability to
adapt to the organization’s culture. A drastic change in the culture may give a culture shock
to the candidate.
Referrals: According to· the research, referred candidates stay longer with the
organization. There is a fear of hampering the image and reputation of the person who
referred the candidate.
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 don’t 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 leaders play an
active and vital role in employee retention.
Managers and team leaders can reduce the attrition levels considerably by creating a
motivating team culture and improving the relationships with team members. This 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 events. 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 more 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.

42. 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. However, 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 does not help. The
manager must spend good time teaching the employees of how to manage responsibilities
given to them so that they don’t feel over burdened.
Focus on future career: Employees are always concerned about their future career. 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 the role of career counsellors 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 starting times and
core hours. Provide 360 feedback surveys and other questionnaires to foster open
communication. Consider allowing anonymous surveys occasionally so employees will be
more honest and candid with their opinions. Provide opportunities within the company for
career progression and cross-training. Offer attractive, competitive benefits .
Organizations should target job applications for employees who have characteristics that fit
well with the organizational culture. Upon conducting an interview, seek out traits, such as
loyalty. Also, ask the potential employee what motivates them on the job. Having more
information about the potential employee’s expectations can help retain them, should they get
hired into the company.

43. 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 occur. Employees may feel that their performance is unrecognized and not valued, or that
others in the organization are rewarded for the wrong behaviours. Unrecognized and no
valued performance can contribute to turnover. Recognition for a job well done 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.
One of the keys to avoiding turnover is to make rewards count. Rewards are to be immediate,
appropriate, and personal. Organizations may want to evaluate whether getting a bonus at the
end of the year is more or less rewarding than getting smaller, more frequent payouts.
Additionally, a personal note may mean more than a generic company award. Employees
should be asked for input on their most desirable form of recognition. Use what employees
say when it comes time to reward for performance.
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.

44. • 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, an
avid camper might be given a 10-day pass to a campsite, or, if an individual enjoys
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 history, financial parameters, and
desired results are all factors. Recognition for a job well done can be just as valued and
appreciated as monetary awards. Formal recognition program can be used with success. First
Data Resources, a data processing services company that employees more than 6,000
individuals in Omaha, Nebraska, uses a formal recognition program (Adams, Mahaffey, and
Rick,2002). Rewards are given on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis, and range from
Nebraska football tickets, gift certificates, pens, plaques, mugs, and other items.
One of the most popular awards at First Data is called the "Fat Cat Award" that
consists of: $500 gift check Professional portrait of the employee
• Appreciation letter from the CEO and senior management
• E-mails, phone calls, and notes from peers

45. In addition to nonmonetary rewards, employees can be rewarded using money in numerous
ways. Cash is a welcome motivator and reward for improving
performance, whether at formal meetings or on the spot. Variable bonuses linked to
performance are another popular reward strategy. Profit sharing and pay-for-skills are
monetary bonus plans that both motivate individuals and improve goal achievement. Small
acts of recognition are valuable for employee daily Retention. Sometimes a personal note
may mean more than a generic company award.
In one survey, employees cited the following as meaningful rewards (Moss, 2000):
• Employee of the month awards Years of service awards
• Bonus pay (above and beyond overtime) for weekend work
• Invitations for technicians to technical shows and other industry events
• Meaningful and Retention Rewards
What gives meaning to rewards and recognition? What makes them effective? First, rewards
and recognition should be based on a clear set of standards, with
performance verifiable or observable. The standards for the reward should also be achievable.
If the reward is based on an unachievable result, such as a production goal that is beyond
employees' power, then those employees will not be motivated. Meaningful rewards and
recognition that are achievable have the greatest impact.
Case Studies
1.Employee Retention Best Practices in Keeping and Motivating Employees By
LisBeth Claus Ask any CEO of an organization, “What keeps you awake at night?”
and you will get a response that relates to people management issues. a main concern
for any organization (whether small or large; private, public or nonprofit) is its
capacity to attract, engage, and retain the right people. The problem of retention is
compounded by the predicted talent shortage resulting from the upcoming retirement
of the baby boomers, the scarcity of talent with relevant work skills for today’s jobs,
the changing values about work and the high cost of turnover. Research and human
resource practices provide us with a number of recommendations to increase
employee retention.

46. 2.How Auditing Company X Works with Retaining Valuable Employees : Swedish
Case study University essay from Hogskolan i Jonkoping/IHH, EMM
(Entrepreneurskap, Marknadsforing, Management) Author: Josip Bogic; Elina
Armanto; Maja Cassel; [2008]
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 retention is
interesting is the auditing industry in Sweden, this because certain requirements 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 case study at
Auditing Company X to see how they work with employee retention. We have
compared the findings to our chosen theory, which consist of four categories:
the hiring process, in-ternal labor market and career, motivation and performance, and finally
culture and leader-ship. These four categories are initially based on Leigh Branham?s book: ?
Keeping the people who keep you in business: 24 ways to hang on to your most valuable
talent? (Bran-ham, 2001).
In our conducted case study, at Auditing Company X, we have been able to conclude that the
firm’s retention practices are to a great extend in line with the theoretical framework. There
are some areas that need further attention from the company, such as an individualized
reward system and communication between managers and employees. Even though there are
some parts to work on the most important aspects of retention, such as having a holistic and
long-term orientation, Auditing Company X seems to have incorporated this into their
practices successfully.
3.Retention: An explanatory study of Swedish employees in the financial sector
regarding leadership style, remuneration and elements towards job satisfaction
University essay from Vaxjo universitet/Ekonomihogskolan Author: Sanna Paulsson; Linda
Lindgren; [2008]

47. Abstract: Introduction: Companies 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 too
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 employee’s retention
in relation to leadership style, remuneration and elements such as participation, feedback,
autonomy, fairness, responsibility, development and work atmosphere in the Swedish
financial
Sector Method: We wanted to investigate how employee of the Swedish financial sector
prefers to be retained, and how they consider and react to the chosen areas.
The survey has a quantitative approach with a web based questionnaire and
includes 129 respondents from banks, insurance and finance companies. The
theoretical framework includes leadership and leadership style, financial as well as non-
financial remuneration and research done in later years regarding participation, feedback,
autonomy, fairness, responsibility, development and work-atmosphere connected to retention.
Conclusion: The result shows that regarding leadership the respondents prefer
leadership based on relations were they feel appreciation. Both appreciations from the closest
manager as well as the company management influences employee job satisfaction in a
positive way. More money was the most common reason for wanting to change jobs, and
when asking how the remuneration system should be designed, base pay with additional
bonus and benefits were preferred. But also non financial factors such as participation,
feedback, autonomy, fairness, responsibility, development and work-atmosphere must be
taken in consideration to satisfy since they seem to increase employees? Willingness to stay
in the company.

48. 4.What leaders can do to keep their key employees - Retention Management
University essay from Goteborgs universitet/Foretagsekonomiska institutionen
Author: Lisa Hedberg; Maria Helnius; [2007-09-03T08:22:31Z]
Abstract: Background: retention management is a highly topical subject and an
important dilemma many organizations might face in the future, if not facing it
already. We believe that the leader plays a key role in employee retention and
retention management. The concept of retention management can both have a
narrow, and a broader significance. Both parts of its significance are generally
included in this thesis. The background of the thesis present a few articles that
discuss issues that makes it important for the organization, and the leaders, to work hard with
retention management. The research is based on the leaders in the Finnish case company
Tradeka.
Following key questions are intended to be answered: What are the consequences between
leaders actions and employees retention? Which is the leader’s role when it comes to
retaining employees? Purpose statement: The purpose of the thesis is to investigate and
analyze how company leaders today can retain their key employees. How can the provision
of key human resources develop a long-term relationship that makes top employees stay in
the company? The study aims to establish the procedure leaders apply to retain
employees. The purpose is to compare the qualitative study, made at the case
company, with findings from the thesis theoretical framework.
Research method:
The study is a qualitative, as well as a theoretical study where empirical findings and theories
has been compared. The intention of investigating and using the Finnish company Tradeka
Limited as a case company, is to make the information from the theories more valid, and also
the interest in how retention management works in practice. Eleven qualitative interviews
were conducted at Tradeka? financial department, both with supervisors and employees to
get a broader view at the phenomenon retention management. Result: Leaders and their skill
in creating a culture of retention, has becoming a key in why people stay and what usually

49. drives them away from a company. The leader has become the main factor in what motivates
people’s decision to stay or
leave. For organizations to keep its key employees their number one priority should be to
look at their management, because people leave managers and not
companies. Characteristics in a leader that are of importance, as the leader plays a key role in
retention management is: trust builder, esteem builder, communicator, talent developer and
coach, and talent finder. The leader’s relation to the employees plays a central role in
retaining employees, because employees need to feel involvement, and that their presence
count. When retention is a core value, good things happen for customers, employees, and the
company. because employees need to feel involvement, and that their presence count. When
retention is a core value, good things happen for customers, employees, and the company.
FINDINGS
・ It is found out that, 40% of respondents are aware of HR Policies and 60 % of respondents
are not aware of HR Policies.
・ It is found out that, 76% of respondents are getting right amount of accurate
information at right time and 24% of respondents are not getting right amount of accurate
information at right time.
・ It is found out that, 82% of respondents are able to meet superior’s expectation and 18%
respondents are not able to meet superior’s expectation.
・ It is found out that,57% of respondents feels that there pay is on par with compare to
employee’s handling similar responsibilities, and 39% of respondents feels that there pay is
less with compare to employee’s handling similar responsibilities.
・ It is found out that, 70% of respondents are satisfied with hygiene and cleanliness of
company infrastructure and 30% of respondents are not satisfied with hygiene and cleanliness
of company infrastructure.
・ It is found out that, 40% of respondents are satisfied with Availability of system, storage
facilities of company and 60% of respondents are not satisfied with Availability of system,
storage facilities of company.

50. ・ It is found out that, 78% of respondents skills are recognized by superiors and 22% of
respondents skills are not recognized by superiors.
・ It is found out that, 74% of respondents feel that superiors are taking efforts to motivate
them and 26% of respondents feel that superiors are not taking efforts to motivate them.
・ It is found out that, 83% of respondents feel that workload is manageable and 10% of
respondents feel that workload is very hard to manage.
・ It is found out that,55% of respondents feels that the field worker are able to get updates
on internal activities, and 45% of respondents feels that the field worker are not able to get
updates on internal activities.
・ It is found out that, 89% of respondents feel that the superiors are easily
accessible and 11% of respondents feel that the superiors are not easily accessible.
・ It is found out that, 51% of respondents feel that their complaints are resolved quickly and
49% of respondents feel that their complaints are not resolved quickly.
・ From weighted Average analysis it is found that most of the respondents are
satisfied with the working hours of the organization
・ From weighted Average analysis it is found that roles & responsibilities are clearly
defined by the Reporting heads.
・ From weighted Average analysis it is found that employees feel that their
superior's commitment towards job is good.
・ From weighted Average analysis it is found that respondents feel that training and
orientation programs are neither good nor bad.
・ From weighted Average analysis it is found that most of the respondents are
satisfied with job.
・ From chi-square it is found that there is a significant relationship between Work Culture
of the Company and interpersonal relationship between employees.
・ From chi-square it is found that there is a no significant relationship between
overall satisfaction and Commitment towards Company.
・ From chi-square it is found that there is a significant relationship between overall
satisfaction and aspects of job.
・ From Kendall’s coefficient of concordance it is found that there is a significant difference
in the rank assigned by respondents towards the attributes that gives them satisfaction in the
company.
・ From One Run Test it is found that the samples are taken randomly.

51. 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 behaviour, social comparison of rewards
reinforcement, and performance-satisfaction. The increasing attention paid towards 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 their
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 manage 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

52. arguments, it can be stated that money can influence some people in certain circumstance.
Being an outgrowth of Herzberg’s, two factor theory of Retention, job enrichment is
considered to be a powerful motivator. An enriched job has added responsibilities. The makes
the job interesting and rewarding. Job enlargement refers to adding a few more task elements
horizontally. Task variety helps motivate job holders. Job rotation involves
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 slick set of marketing tactics. The best
advocates for an employer’s 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 that their managers

53. 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 in 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 favor 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 management activities. Employees are shifting their loyalty to people,
teams and projects and away from company loyalty. It is organizations that create the culture
and climate that allow people, processes and projects to become fully connected 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 employee’s 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, is
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 matters 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 simple: 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 act 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.

54. BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
・ Human Resource Management C.B.Memoria
・ Research methodology C.R.Kothari
・ Journals, Newspaper and Internet
For more Notes, Presentations, Project Reports visit
• a2zmba.blogspot.com
• hrmba.blogspot.com
• mbafin.blogspot.com
• HDFCbank.com