talent retention penne gabel and colleen la rose

Talent Retention

Penne Gabel, PHRDirector, Talent ManagementEaster Seals New Jersey

What Does “Workforce Investment”

Mean to You?

• Job matching (who has the right skills to fill this job order?)• Job development (what jobs are available?)• Training (skills development, education)• Helping people overcome barriers to employment• Helping people “sell themselves” (resumes, interviews, cover letters)


Also Mean…

• Job creation (business growth, development, succession planning)– “Bringing in the right people” (H1B visas, talent attraction)– At the right time (temp work, workforce planning)– At the right price (wage profiles)

• Industry sector collaboration• Incumbent worker training (customized training) • Stabilizing the workforce (retention)• Employee engagement• Career planning (apprenticeship, internships, continuing education, transferable skills, retirement planning)• Entrepreneurship training

What is “Talent Retention?” • Reduces hiring and training costs• Offers career advancement • Increases morale – more employee loyalty• Increases productivity with lower learning

curves

Bureau of Labor and Statistics - Current Unemployment Rates

Why Talent Retention Matters

Estimated Turnover Costs

• Job Type/gory Average Turnover Cost

• Entry Level - Hourly, Non Skilled (e.g. Fast Food worker) 30-50%• Skilled Hourly (e.g. Machinist) 70-100%• Technical (e.g. Computer Technician) 100-150%• Engineers (e.g. Chemical Engineer) 200-300%• Specialists (e.g. Computer Software Designer) 200-400%• Supervisors/Team Leaders (e.g. Section Supervisor) 100-150%• Middle Managers (e.g. Department Manager) 125-200% Source: Case Study by Jack Phillips Center for Research, ROI Institute and Bloom Consulting, Inc. 2009

What helps people feel connected and want to stay in the region

Networking:• Make connections/introductions. Facilitate networking opportunities (co-op

working, tech meet-ups, sector meetups/career fairs)• Encourage school/college/business interactions (internships, job shadowing,

career planning)• Engage students and young workers in cultural and recreational activities in

the region

Growth/Transition:• Discuss regional potential/opportunities in open forums• Encourage entrepreneurship training/access to capital• Encourage CEO training (business expansion)

External Public Relations

Recognizing businesses who invest in their workforce

– tuition reimbursement– home buying programs– family leave– Flexible work environments– community donations– Compensation and Rewards– Socialization– Opportunities for Development– staff community volunteer programs, etc– Employer of the month/year?

Talent Retention Factors within Businesses

1. Organizational Development (career opportunities, training)

2. Compensation (fair salary, generous benefits)

3. Organizational Culture (work environment, policies, recognition)

4. Motivational Compatibility (strengths, values and circumstances in position, in company, in community)

5. Workload (equitable, reasonable, expected)

6. Management (immediate supervisor, chain of command, organizational leadership)

So Why Do Employees Leave?

Leigh Branham, author of 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave• Reviewed more than 20,000 exit surveys.Employers - 89 % believed that employees quit because of moneyEmployees - 88% quit for something other than money.

Seven primary reasons for leaving a job:

1. Trust in leadership2. Vision - Not feeling valued (pay, recognition, having your voice

heard, being in the loop, having the right resources, etc)3. Lack of connection with the overall strategy3. Ineffective manager, particularly lack of coaching and feedback4. Insufficient opportunity for personal career growth and learning5. Job-person mismatch/talent underutilization6. No enjoyment or excitement; challenging work

What keeps workers on the job?

• Increased salary? More benefits? Security?

• Most important are fulfillment of these employee needs: – Power– Achievement – Affiliation

Critical strategies for retaining employees

• Engagement• Recognition• Valuing• Support• Mobility/Career planning• Clear goals

Internal public relations

Creating Employee Loyalty

• Suggestion box• Feel informed (company newsletter, intranet)• Sense of purpose/clear goals• Recognition of Accomplishments/Achievements• Comraderie/Team approach• Opportunity for Innovativeness

Employee Engagement

Only 9% of employees are engaged when not focused on strengths. But, engagement soars 73% when focus is on strengths

-Strengths based Leadership – Rath and Conchie

"It goes in circles: When people are more engaged, their companies do better, and those companies have room to add more people. When employees are not engaged or are actively disengaged, their companies don't do as well, they don't hire new workers, and they may even lay off the workers they have. But when the ratio between engaged employees and actively disengaged employees improves, the whole company improves. That, in turn, can improve whole economies.“

- Sangeeta Agrawal, Gallup workplace research manager

What if jobseekers put their strengths on their resumes? …and employers purposefully placed people in work situations

that played to their strengths?

Contact

Penne GabelDirector of Talent ManagementEaster Seals of New Jersey

Email [email protected]

201-452-3777hrpennewww.linkedin.com/in/pennegabel

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.linkedin.com/in/pennegabel

10 things the workforce system can do to help businesses with

Talent Retention

Colleen LaRosePresident and CEONorth East Regional Employment and Training Association

Retention is required in all four DOL performance measures

• ADULT, DISLOCATED WORKER AND OLDER YOUTH – “Retention in unsubsidized employment six months after entry into the

employment” • YOUNGER YOUTH – “Placement and retention in postsecondary education, advanced

training, military service, employment, or qualified apprenticeships”

What are you doing to actively assure retention for placements?

What do you spend most of your time on?

Helping people get a job Helping people stay employed


Mean to You?

• Job matching (who has the right skills to fill this job order?)• Job development (what jobs are available?)• Training (skills development, education)• Helping people overcome barriers to employment• Helping people “sell themselves” (resumes, interviews, cover letters)

But Doesn’t “Workforce Investment”

Also Mean…

• Job creation (business growth, development, succession planning)– “Bringing in the right people” (H1B visas, talent attraction)– At the right time (temp work, workforce planning)– At the right price (wage profiles)

• Industry sector collaboration• Incumbent worker training (customized training) • Stabilizing the workforce (retention)• Employee engagement• Career planning (apprenticeship, internships, continuing education, transferable skills, retirement planning)• Entrepreneurship training

The “Talent Retention” Concept

• Talent retention for individual businesses– Controlling for churn, turnover, poor hiring, conflict (Not retirement, disability, death, etc.)

• Regional retention– Brain drain

Talent retention = business growth = job creationHigh cost of talent replacement Economic impactEconomy stabilization

What Most Influences Talent Retention

• Career opportunities• Work environment• Work life balance• Organizational justice• Leave policy • Organization image

In Business

In Community

•Belonging/fit in (CampusPhilly.org)•Quality of life•Opportunity to grow and improve

Workforce Investment Opportunities1. Worker preparation2. Wage information/Job posting clarity3. School/Business cooperation4. Networking opportunities5. Incumbent worker training6. HR staff training/Management training7. Business expansion training8. Career path identification9. Entrepreneurship assistance10.Workforce planning software assistance

Worker preparation

• Employee expectations• Powerpath• Strengths Identification

Workforce System Opportunity

Wage information/Job postings

• Local labor market study• Realistic wage information (based on local economy)

• Clarity with Job postings• Realistic employer expectations


School/Business Cooperation

• Coordinate with college career placement offices • Internships• Job shadowing• Career planning


Business and Employee Networking Opportunities

• Social responsibility/community volunteer opportunities• Social/work integration opportunities (ie. company night out at a baseball game)

• Opportunity to socialize/network vertically and horizontally• Co-op working• Tech meet-ups• Entrepreneur meet-ups• Sector meet-ups• Career fairs/Job fairs


Incumbent worker training

Customized training

Corporate training

Coordinating customized training providers

Sector approach to training


HR staff training/Management training

• Employee engagement• Employee recognition strategies• Suggestion box• Team Building• Customized training


Business expansion training

Market expansion opportunities

Economic gardening

CEO Training


Career Path Identification/Development

• Career Development services by sector• Discussions about internal career path

opportunities


Entrepreneurship Assistance• Local system of support for entrepreneurs and small business• Innovative culture• Co-op/Meetup (spontaneous) working opportunities• Potential to become owner• Hope


Workforce planning• Workforce planning fails when it is viewed as an

HR issue rather than a business issue.


What is workforce planning?• Workforce planning is the process that provides

strategic direction to talent management activities to ensure an organization has the right people, in the right place, at the right time and at the right price to execute its business strategy.


Most companies do workforce planning only on an “as needed “ basis

• Relocation• Mergers and acquisitions• Change in leadership • Change in company strategy• Global expansion• Diversifying the workforce


Workforce Planning Software• Effective and efficient employee development and performance

software that enables organizations to staff, develop, deploy, track and reward their workforce.

• Applications address:– requirements for hiring and selection– human resources– Payroll– absence management and analytics– integrated learning– talent management solutions.

• Solutions span the workforce life cycle, including performance, succession planning, streamline onboarding, skill and knowledge retention, reduce new hire time to productivity, social networking, compliance and compensation.


Questions? Need further assistance? NERETA can help!• Employer engagement• Industry sector/Industry cluster studies• Website improvement/development• Strategic planning/Organizational and Community development• Public relations/Marketing• Social Media/Online technologies

Colleen LaRosePresident and CEONorth East Regional Employment and Training Association (NERETA)P (908) 995-7718E [email protected]