Lucy Caudle asked:
You might be able to attract people with high value skills through a well-presented ad. However, to keep them with you, your organization must have put in place workforce management policies that make these people want to continue with the organization.
The policies must fit in with the organization and the place where it is located. If the policies are incompatible with the existing organization and place, they are likely to remain just book policies that will not be implemented in their true spirit.
We look at some standard workforce management policies that can create an environment that make people want to remain with you.
Organizational Culture: We mentioned how the organizational environment affects the policies that can be implemented in their true spirit in an organization. You could consider creating an environment that would facilitate the development of your workforce into a cohesive team of achievers. Basically, what you try to do is to create an organizational culture where people tend to help each other rather than blame or hinder each other.
Induction Training: Help new employees to quickly become a productive member of your team through an effective induction process. Introduce them to other team members and help them absorb your organizational culture, and to become familiar with the ways of working in your organization.
Clear Goals and Roles: Develop job descriptions that indicate clearly what team role each employee should seek to play, and what goals the person should seek to achieve.
Goals Aligned to Higher Level Goals: Carefully align employee goals with the team goals, which are aligned with successively higher level goals culminating in overall company goals. That way, the employee would find it easy to contribute in a meaningful manner, and be rewarded accordingly.
Work Environment: Arrange workstations, facilities and tools that help employees perform without undue stress. Uncomfortable workstations, high noise levels, having to find needed tools yourself, and so on are stressful and make employees look for better places to work in.
Credible Performance Measurement and Reward Structure: One of the best motivating factors is being recognized and rewarded for good performance. The performance must be measured in a way that the employee can understand clearly. Good performance, which can also be measured in terms of contribution to team effectiveness, should be rewarded consistently and without discrimination.
Skills and Career Development Options: Each employee should be able to develop his or her skill, and a career development path should be open for his or her progress in the organization. A certification program can add to the attractiveness.
An Effective Mentoring Program: A mentoring program that helps each employee achieve personal and company objectives should supplement the above. The mentor would try to help the employee meet company expectations in a way that also meets personal expectations.
Conclusion
Carefully developed workforce management policies that would fit in with the organization and the place where it is located could pay high dividends. Your organization would then find it easier to attract the right kind of people, with the right skill set that you need. More importantly, you would find it possible to retain these skilled employees in your organization.
We looked at standard workforce management policies that can help you develop a highly motivated workforce in your organization.