Cambridge Business Association
Rethinking Retention in Good Times and Bad
Book

Rethinking Retention in Good Times and Bad

Breakthrough Ideas for Keeping Your Best Workers

Richard P. Finnegan
Davies-Black Publishing, 2009
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Editorial Rating

8

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Recommendation

You might think that a recession is exactly the time when good employees batten down their hatches and cling to their jobs, even if they do not like them. Think again. Really talented employees can find work during any economic period. Indeed, they change jobs all the time. Such turnover cuts productivity, making operations less efficient, and burdens companies with heavy employee replacement costs. Although the tariff can be staggering, most organizations do not have a formal – or even an informal – turnover abatement process. Instead, they relegate retention to a sideline human resources department activity. To correct this operational oversight, retention consultant Richard P. Finnegan provides the “Rethinking Retention Model,” a robust best-practices program you can use to cut down on expensive employee churn. In his heavily researched and sourced book, Finnegan thoroughly details the exact steps organizations should implement to increase retention. He offers numerous case studies that illustrate how companies hold on to their best employees. getAbstract highly recommends this comprehensive, logical, thoughtful guide as an ideal resource for CEOs, managers and HR executives who need to close the revolving door.

Summary

Turnover Hurts

The turnover ratio in the hotel industry is a staggering 75%-150%. Such turnover is incredibly expensive and eats directly into profits. Hotelier Harris Rosen of Rosen Hotels and Resorts has been able to reduce turnover at his seven Orlando, Florida, properties to a remarkably low 15%-20%. His pivotal decision was to provide superior health care to his 5,000 employees. He opened a company health clinic, with “two doctors and two nurse practitioners...as well as a part-time podiatrist and nutritionist.” The cost: employees pay $14.75 per week and they can add “two family members” for an additional $48.25 weekly. Costs are approximately half of typical insurance expenses and have “stayed about flat” over time.

Even during recessionary periods when firms slash jobs, employee turnover remains an expensive problem. Good employees don’t leave their positions because of a weak economy. They leave because they’re not happy. Usually they find and secure new jobs before walking out on their old ones. When firms lose their best people, they are shedding vital lifeblood. Replacing top staffers as the door slams behind them is hugely expensive. Executives know what...

About the Author

Richard P. Finnegan heads Finnegan Mackenzie, a retention consultancy. His articles on employee retention routinely appear in the business and professional media.

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