Ms Carol Furtado,Head of HR, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, believes that successful retention of employees is to respect, listen & support employees while they are in the process of achieving their goals – both individual & organisational.

Employee Retention is the key in any successful organisation. Good retention strategies go a long way in improving employee productivity and thereby better bottom line results & most definitely customer satisfaction. Happy employees have happy customers.

Retention efforts begin with good, strong hiring and recruitment practices – because good hiring practices convert to high employee retention rates. It is prudent not only to hire well, but to also invest in attracting the right individuals for jobs. While hiring especially for customer-facing roles, Organisations can benefit from inviting applicants from customer segments as well. This practice will ensure that candidates bring in strong understanding of the customer segments and environments. Further, organisations often underestimate the power of good communication & systematic approaches during recruitment. By adding frequency of communication during and after the process of Recruitment and having integrated induction methods, companies can make lasting impressions on individuals & also lay foundations to lasting associations.

A key to successful retention of employees is to respect, listen & support employees while they are in the process of achieving their goals – both individual & organisational. Respect creates an atmosphere of trust and makes employees feel valued. Recognising employee achievements, mentoring and providing opportunities for career progression and overall development makes the employees involved in the goals and growth of the organisation. Managers can enhance employee retention through simple initiatives such as sharing positive & actionable feedback, encouraging employee creativity, encouraging healthy work-life balance and providing role clarity. Design and implementation of a balanced compensation philosophy which recognises employee performance through variable pay programs including deferred compensation and long term incentives - both monetary and non-monetary - will also go a long way in keeping employees motivated and involved. Organisations and leaders can improve employee retention by establishing strong on-boarding & orientation programmes, feedback mechanisms, recognition & reward systems and Training & Development programmes. Additionally, organisations must also pay attention to equipping employees for change. Communicating change

with timeliness & sensitivity is critical to developing a thriving workplace culture. When Ujjivan, previously an NBFC, obtained a licence for Banking, an elaborate change management programme called ‘Parivartan’ was put in place to help employees in the transition journey. ‘Parivartan’ was a structured programme that included communicating the change, educating employees and enabling them to transition into their new roles.

The ability for employees to share their opinions & feedback is another key factor in employee retention. Besides providing a platform for feedback, Organisations must pay attention to how employee feedback is received and how actions are implemented from the feedback. Processes and policies must be implemented after careful consideration of real-time challenges that people may face. Lack of thought and care in developing programmes, can result in counterproductive results.

Leaders must identify strengths of individuals and also understand what employees expect from their jobs and careers. This knowledge will help leaders and organisations to extend the necessary opportunities for growth according to employee strengths. When people see that their companies are actively investing in their development, the result will be higher engagement levels and lesser turnover of employees.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors' and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house