Do you really want a culture of retention?

A lot of the talk in HR circles is all about retention and making sure that retention figures are up there with the best and having these marvelous statistics that focus on longevity. I think sometimes that this can overshadow the issue of performance. Are you wanting a group of long-termers in your business who are average performers? Your retention statistics might look fantastic but are you meeting your targets?

There are a handful of things that have stuck out to me over the years of HR consultancy and recruiting:

• High performing teams are never easy to manage. (They will challenge you all the way – and this is a good thing!).
• Overly relaxed, low performing teams are low maintenance because you don’t really see them “sticking their neck out”.
• High performing individuals generally want and need to progress and move on. I’m not suggesting every one or two years but every 3 to 5 years, there needs to be an incremental step and advancement. (This doesn’t mean they need to leave your business but they need to progress).
• The people who stay stationary and don’t advance and better themselves, generally have a big influence on your culture because they are the ones who have plenty of time to chat around the coffee machine and tie people up with emails that have no real relevance to their work or spend the first half of Monday chatting about their weekend.

Don’t get me wrong, long-termers are fantastic and you want that retention. They build up IP within the business and have so much knowledge. You just don’t want to retain the wrong people, for retention’s sake.

Jamie Smith