Role of HR in Employee Retention

An organization can’t survive if the top performers quit. It needs employees who are loyal and work hard with full dedication to achieve the organization’s objective. It is essential for the management to retain its valuable employees who think in favour of the organization and contribute their level best. An employee who spends a longer duration at any particular organization is familiar with the rules, guidelines and policies of the organization and thus can adjust better.

The Human Resource team plays an important role in employee retention. Let us find out their role in the same:

• Whenever an employee resigns from his current assignments, it is the responsibility of the HR to intervene immediately to find out the reasons which prompted the employee to resign. No one leaves an organization without a reason. There has to be one and the human resource team must probe into it. There can be innumerable reasons for an employee to leave his current job. The major ones being conflict with the superiors, lesser salary, lack of growth, negative ambience and so on.

• It is the duty of the HR to sit with the employee and discuss the various issues face to face. Understand his problems and listen to his side of the story as well. Remember the HR should not focus on conducting exit interviews, rather more emphasis should be laid on retaining the employees.

• Try to provide a solution to his problem. Hiring is a tedious process and it is really very difficult to recruit the right candidate and train him once again. Do check the track record of the employee who wishes to move on. It is really essential for the management to retain those employees who have the potential and are really indispensable for the organization. If they leave and join the competitors; the organization would be at loss. If one feels that the employee is not very happy with his team leader, try to shift him to a new team. If the employee feels his salary is not justified, try to give him a hike but make sure he is worth it and you don’t end up upsetting others.

• The HR person must ensure that he is recruiting the right employee who actually fits into the role. A right person doing the wrong job would never find his job interesting and certainly look for a change. Make sure every individual has been assigned responsibilities according to his specialization and interest. The employees must be clear with their KRAs from the very beginning. Every individual works for money and the HR must quote a justified salary acceptable to the other person. Don’t compel anyone to join at a lesser salary. He might join at that moment but would most likely quit after sometime. The hike should be on the present salary and must match the market trends and the expectations of the individual.

• The human resource department must conduct motivational activities at the workplace. Organize various internal as well as external trainings which help the employees to learn something extra apart from their routine work. Make them participate in extracurricular activities important for their overall development. Encourage them to interact with each other so that the comfort level increases.

• The HR must launch various incentive schemes for the top performers to motivate them. This way the employees feel important for the organization and strive hard to perform even better the next time. The employees who show promise should be awarded with cash prizes, lucrative perks and certificates to make the individual stand apart from the crowd. Send a mail wishing the employees on their birthdays or congratulating them when they perform exceptionally well or come out with something innovative. Arrange a small bouquet for them as a gift from the organization’s side. This way the employees feel attached to the organization and are reluctant to look for a change. A friendly atmosphere is essential for the employees to feel safe and secure. Make them participate in various management decision making.

• Performance reviews are a must. The HR along with the respective team leaders must monitor their team member’s performance to ensure whether they are enjoying the work or not. The employees look for a change only when their job becomes monotonous and does not offer any growth or learning. Job rotation can be one of the effective ways to retain employees.

The HR professional must try his level best to motivate the employees, make them feel special in the organization so that they do not look for a change.

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