Membership in Professional Organizations, Essay Example

As the rate of turnover increases throughout the corporate world, attention is being paid to employee retention. The cost of turnover for employers is high (costing thousands for the company every year) as the company is left with the need to fill a gap in employment that costs the company in time, human resource hours (Cascio, 2014, p. 121), termination costs (unemployment), as well as cost to train replacements (Shilpi, & Prachi, 2014, p. 221). Money is not, however, the main solution (or problem) in employee retention, as Kashyap & Rangnekar (2014) state, “Targeted effective recruitment and working environment that satisfies both intrinsic and extrinsic needs of the employees help improve employee retention” (p. 110).

In studying employee retention, it becomes clear that a multifaceted approach to this subject is needed. In order to maintain employee retention, there must be focus on the employer: this includes organizational strategies in regards to recruitment, training (quality of training, and pay of training), as well as the normal elements including education, job fit, and personal satisfaction with not only the job, the role, but also the goals of the company (Kashyap & Rangnekar, 2014, p. 111). Other areas to include in employee retention are how management supports employees, reward system infrastructure, incentive programs and health benefits (Vasquez, 2014, p. 1).

The primary focus of employee retention is pay grade. Compensation is top tier for managers in the following areas “deferred compensation, stock options, and retirement plans” (Kashyap & Rangnekar, 2014, p. 111).

Second tier for employee retention includes variables such as quality of life during employment (this focuses on personal goals/purpose, family concerns, and paid holiday leave). When an employee is taking a job, or leaving a job, these variables are their keystone to making a decision. Within this tier, intrinsic rewards become important as personal commitment to the company becomes a factor in employee retention. There is in fact a “retention factor measurement scale (RFMS)” (Kashyap & Rangnekar, 2014, p. 111) wherein “compensation, training, worklife [sic] policies [sic], job characteristics, supervisor, support, and career opportunities” (p. 111) measure the success or failure of employee retention.

Third tier factors in employee retention involve stats from the human resources department. HR policies, practices, compensation (again), training and development, ability to move up the ladder at the company, characteristics about the job (such as quality and recruitment strategies (i.e. school credit, car, stock options) make “it difficult for [employees] to leave the organization” (p. 111). In regards to employee retention, employees will focus on HR’s productivity in keeping employees through these variables, and the employee’s perception of the company with turnover intentions directly reflects employee retention.

The sundry elements will help me in deciding a career path. By first highlighting my needs for a career and from an organization (pay, benefits, stock options, career vs. personal life, etc.) and contrasting it with HR’s department page, I will more easily find a place in which I could see myself staying until retirement. The key is to find the organization whose HR bullet points match my own in each capacity highlighted above. Thus, my professional development will adhere to an organization’s expectations of me in regards to these keystone ideas.

References

Cascio, W. F. (2014). Leveraging employee branding, performance management and human resource development to enhance employee retention. Human Resources Development International, 17(2), 121-128.

Shilpi, G., & Prachi, S. (2014). A study in turnover and employee retention: a closer review. Indian Journals, 5(2), pp. 221-226.

Kashyap, V. & Rangnekar, S. (2014). The moderating role of servant leadership: investigating the relationships among employer brand perception and perceived employee retention. Social Science Research Network Vol. 3, pp. 105-118.

Vasquez, D. (2014). Employee retention for economic stabilization: a qualitative phenomenological study in the hospitality sector. International Journal of  Management, Economics and Social Sciences, 3(1), pp. 1-17.