Some
of your very most valuable employees may be the most difficult to retain.
These employees value personal challenge, growth and contribution to
an organization. Whether or not your unit, clinic or department provides
advancement options for employees, there are ways to meet these employees'
development need while retain them as a valuable resource.
A
best-selling human resource book “Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em” by Beverly Kaye
and Sharon Jordan-Evans highlights a local Kansas City plant, Harley
Davidson, which has done just that through “job enrichment.” By increasing
employees' input into their production process, the Harley Davidson
plant not only enriched the employees' job enjoyment but they developed
3 new work tool/systems that improved productivity.
Enrichment
for one may be dread for another. To accommodate individual needs and
interests, job enrichment must be tailored to the individual. Below
are some possible ideas to spark employees' creativity and personal
accountability through job enrichment:
- Rotate job duties
- Add customer or co-worker
feedback into your performance review process
- Always demonstrate appreciation
for quality improvement
- Reward creativity
- Challenge employees to expand
their knowledge and capabilities
- Provide opportunities for
employees to take on workplace problems and see them through to positive
results
- Ask employees what talents
they have that are not used in their job and allow employees to apply
those skills when applicable
To
allow a talented employee some enrichment autonomy may feel like you
are losing control but in the long-run you will be keeping a treasured
employee from looking for a new job opportunity.
Working Solutions is a non-profit organization providing employee training and leadership development services for healthcare organizations, non-profits and corporations. This retention tip is published monthly to provide tips, strategies and new ideas for HR professionals, managers and executives to help retain their employees.
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