Today’s post is courtesy of Joshua Ro with People Consulting Group in Seoul, Korea. People Consulting Group places senior executives in manufacturing, information technology, consumer products, banking and finance, telecommunications, logistics and distribution, professional services, entertainment, and fashion. Joshua serves as a member of the NPAworldwide Board of Directors.
Recently, I attended a human resources seminar where most of the attendees were foreign companies doing business in Korea. There I had an opportunity to speak with a HR Director of McDonald’s Korea and she mentioned that they have a high rate of employee retention. The reason is 3 keywords their employees have identified: Family & Friends, Flexibility and Future. McDonald’s Korea’s staff members and employees feel they belong to a Family & Friends, enjoy Flexibility at work which drives better performances, and see a vision for the Future in getting promotion and opportunities.
Then I came to think about the implications of these three key factors in successful employee retention in our own field. The recruitment industry is somewhat notorious for having a high turnover rate.
I understand making staff members and employees feel they belong to a family and/or group of friends is a key factor in retaining them. Amongst any group, there must be some who are doing better than others, yet others who are struggling. Surely it would be your desire to have all of your family members perform well. Thus, investing your time to make them feel they are a member of the family may encourage that high performance and ultimately help you to retain your staff and employees.
Another key to employee retention is providing flexibility at work. We are so used to working from 9:00AM to 6:00PM, but it is important to recognize the different situations of each staff member and employee. Offering flexibility at work, such as giving different options in working schedules, will certainly lift their burdens off from their shoulders and lead to higher performance.
Lastly, envisioning a realistic and tangible future (not a transient one) at work helps retain staff members and employees. Setting goals and making them see what is achievable triggers their sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. This means employees have to see the benefits and rewards generated from both their work and your organization.
Retaining staff members and employees, especially the high performers in the recruitment industry, is challenging. Addressing the “3 F’s” of Family/Friends, Flexibility, and Future improves employee retention and may also increases their job performance and overall satisfaction.
