Managing Employee Retention and Absenteeism - Essay Example

Human Resource Management Managing Employee Retention and Absenteeism Introduction Human resources are the most valuable asset of an organization.It is the quality of the human resources that an organization possesses that gives it a competitive edge over its competitors in the market. At the same time, human resources are the toughest asset of the organization to manage. If an organization has to remain competitive in the market and continue on its success growth, it is very essential to effectively manage its human resources. Today’s work place is very demanding and challenging. Globalisation and industrialisation have had a great impact on how an organization is run and human resource management is no different. There is not just added pressure on the employees to perform at their best all the times but they also have greater opportunities. Therefore, if an organization cannot understand what the employees want it will not be able to effectively manage them and extract maximum output. There are numerous challenges and issues that the human resource professionals encounter. The various issues that crop up with respect to human resource management are job design job flexibility, psychological disorders related to work, performance management, employee’s wellness and work life balance, employee retention, absenteeism, etc. Most of these are interrelated and affect each other. This report is aimed at critically analysing the key issues that HR managers face with respect to managing employee retention and absenteeism. The report also suggests ways how HR managers can address and overcome these issues. Managing Employee Retention Retention of employees has become one of the main challenges for human resources professionals. Employment opportunities have sky rocketed in the recent years and employees today have numerous choices. There is a great demand for skilled and experienced labour. Therefore, it has become very hard for organizations not just to attract the best talent but also to retain them. Studies in the recent years have shown that managing employee retention has become a top priority to HR professionals leaving behind employee relations issues, performance management issues, etc (Taylor, 2002). Top most priority when it comes to managing employee retention is to understand why employees quit. It is only when HR professional understand the intrinsic motivators of the employees that they can effectively manage employee retention. There are various challenges or issues that HR managers face with respect to employee retention and following are few important ones: Employees leave managers not companies Theoretically, numerous reasons can be pointed out for employees quitting the company. But studies and researches have shown that the number one reason that employees leave their job is the relationship they have with their immediate supervisors or managers. Whatever are the policies, culture or human resource strategies of a company, at the end of the day employees communicate and deal with their immediate supervisor or manager (Halpern & Lubar, 2003). Employees’ perception of the company depends on the interaction with their supervisor or manager. So literally, it is the manager who represents the company for the employees and not the CEO or the Vice President. The various employees’ related factors that are influenced by the manager are work atmosphere; decision making involvement, appreciation and recognition for work, communication, work condition, team building, etc. It is the supervisor and the manager who are responsible for these factors. A HR strategy or a program can only be devised by the top management but it can only be implemented by the line supervisors and managers. Therefore, it is the manager’s leadership style that influences the employees and makes a direct impact on the employee satisfaction. If the employees are satisfied with their managers and have loyalty towards them, then are bound to be satisfied and loyal to the company (Ernsberger, nd). Therefore, it is a challenge to the manager to motivate the employees under them and evoke loyalty. Not all employees are equally talented and driven to carry over their responsibilities. Also each employee is different and reacts differently to different situations. Therefore, a manager must good at identifying what drives an individual and accordingly motivate them. Also, he must identify the potential of each employee and extract the best out of him. The manager must be able to adapt to different situations and mould his leadership style accordingly. He must understand the personality differences among employees and appreciate those differences Recognition and Rewards Irrespective of nature of the job and profile of the employee, everybody wants to be recognised and appreciated for the good work they do. This is one of the basic human requirements. If an organization fails to recognise the good work of their employees and reward them for the efforts that they put in, employees lose their motivation and are not driven to work anymore. Therefore, it is important for HR managers to identify the quality effort that employees put in. These employees need to recognised and rewarded for their efforts. This not only motivates the rewarded employees to work better but also motivated other employees to out in extra efforts. Opportunities for Personal and Career Growth This is one of the major reasons why employees move out of their existing jobs or remain in them. Opportunities for employees to grow both personally and professionally are what motivates the employees and also evoke loyalty to the company (Mathis & Jackson, 2010). If an employee is not able to build on his existing skills and knowledge, then they lose the motive to work. Also employees would want to advance in their careers and take up positions with greater responsibilities and rewards. A job which stagnate their growth is one of the main reasons that lead to dissatisfaction. Workplace atmosphere and Environment Workplace atmosphere and environment are also important reasons that contribute to employee dissatisfaction. Even though these are not primary reasons, they add up to an ongoing and underlying issue contribute to attrition. If the atmosphere at the workplace is not friendly and more importantly does not encourage participation and sharing of ideas/views, it becomes difficult for employees to handle it. Also a safe working environment is essential. The issues that fall under the physical workplace environment may be trivial but important nonetheless (Taylor, 2002) Recommendations to HR Managers to Manage Employee Retention Following are a few recommendations to HR managers in handling issues related to employee retention: There are various proven methods that have to be followed to understand the psyche of the employee leaving the job. This will throw light on the various reasons why employees quit and help identify the actual problem. Some of the tools that can help understand why employees are dissatisfied are exit interviews, surveys, interviews, 360 feedbacks, etc. This will give access to the information or data point out what factors play a role in employee satisfaction and this must be used to devise strategies to retain employees. We have learnt that managers are vital to any employee retention programs. They need to be coached and their skills developed in order to effectively carry out their jobs. The various aspects in which they need to be coached are: balance the needs of the employees with that of the organization, managing different work and personality styles and motivating employees under them (Ernsberger, nd). Retention Bonuses is an effective way to retain talented and valuable employees. It is also called as pay-to-stay bonus. A retention bonus can be made to encourage the employees to continue working (Phillips & Edwards, 2008). But this must be the last option. HR managers must focus on creating an atmosphere that does not lead to a situation where retention bonus would be need. Design a recognition and reward program that will effectively recognise and reward the employees for the effort that they put in. Employee stock options are an effective tool that can be used to share the overall success of the company with the employees. This will motivate them to remain in the company and also put in effort wholeheartedly. Also other perks such as free food, transportation, will help (Cappelli, 2008). Design training and development programs that will help the employees to develop their skills and talents, and acquire new knowledge. Also create opportunities wherein they can grow in the respective careers. Promotions and internal job postings can help the employees to satisfy their intellectual needs (Mathis & Jackson, 2010). Managing Absenteeism Absenteeism has a greater negative impact on a organization that it seems at first glance. The cost of absenteeism is not just limited to wages and benefits paid during absence but also lead to lower productivity, increased workload on other employees, low morale of the team members, feeling of inequality among other employees, etc. Therefore it is highly important for HR managers to manage absenteeism. But it is easier said than done. There are various factors that lead to absence and they are mainly characterised into personal factors, job situational factors and attendance factors. HR managers must pay attention to issues arising from all factors. Personal Factors Personal factors include personality, gender, age, sex, employee values, etc. For some employees are of the belief that by working less and being paid for the same it would improve the deal that they have with the employer. This is a negative behaviour trait of the employee that can be dangerous. Age and sex also plays a role as it is noticed that younger employees and female employees are more prone to be absent (Armstrong, 2009). Job Situational Factors These are factors related to the job such as working conditions, poor management, higher stress levels, greater responsibility that can be handled, job repetitiveness, etc. These fall primarily under the responsibility of the HR managers. It is their job to ensure that these factors do arise and make an impact on the employees which leads to absenteeism (Armstrong, 2009). Attendance Factors This includes sick pay schemes, reward systems, work group norms. It is been identified that absenteeism is impacted by sick pay schemes. Attendance is bound to increase with increase in rewards for work (Armstrong, 2009). Analysis The above factors related to absenteeism also collide with that of employee retention. Factors under jobs situational factors are also mentioned and discussed under analysis of issues arising in managing employee retention. Recommendations to Manage Absenteeism Following recommendations are made to HR managers to effectively manage absenteeism: Create stricter absent policies and ensure that the employees know the importance of improving attendance. Rewards systems must be created to recognise and reward employees with good attendance. Disciplinary actions must be in place so that employees are aware of lapses in attendance for inappropriate and unprofessional reasons/behaviour. Creating a positive workplace environment would help eliminate job situational factors such as workplace conniptions. Factors such as aesthetics and safety must be considered while designing work place. A great atmosphere must be created that helps to beat job stress and help the employees to relax. HR managers must understand the nature and profile of the job and accordingly create work schedule so that it does not become repetitive and boring. Conclusion The report has successfully analysed the various issues that HR managers face with respect to managing employee retention and absenteeism. References Armstrong, M. (2009). Armstrongs Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. PA: Kogan Page Publishers. Cappelli, P. (2008). Employment relationships: new models of white-collar work. NY: Cambridge University Press Ernsberger, M. (N.D.). People Leave Managers, Not Companies. [Online]. Available at: http://www.farrleadership.com/articles_pdf/Articles_new_design/04%20-%20PEOPLE%20LEAVE%20MANAGERS%20NOT%20COMPANIES.pdf. Accessed on 22 January 2012. Halpern, B.L. & Lubar, K. (2003). Leadership presence: dramatic techniques to reach out, motivate, and inspire. New York: Penguin Books. Mathis, R. L. & Jackson, J.H. (2010). Human Resource Management. OH: Cengage Learning. Phillips, J.J. & Edwards, L. (2008). Managing Talent Retention: An ROI Approach. NJ: John Wiley and Sons. Taylor, S. (2002). The employee retention handbook. Trowbridge: Cromwell Press. Read More