BEIJING, July 26 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- CCID Consulting, China's leading research, consulting and IT outsourcing service provider, and the first Chinese consulting firm listed in Hong Kong (Hong Kong Stock Exchange: HK08235), delineates the biggest challenge facing enterprises today and gives suggestions of how to retain skilled employees.
CCID Consulting's latest human resources management survey in China shows that 45% of the surveyed human resources managers regard retaining skilled employees as the biggest challenge facing enterprises. How to effectively lower the rate of employee loss has become an urgent human resources management problem.
CCID Consulting's survey shows that in the more than 100 surveyed enterprises only some 15% of their employees showed a rather high degree of devotion to their work. And among them, only 5% of these employees said that they would choose to take up new employment opportunities if they were offered higher income and better career development prospects.
Fig.1 ( http://www.ccidconsulting.com/upload_fr/0707260 )
Most employees recruited by companies do not have much industry experience when they first take on their job. When trained, they often become targets for other enterprises wishing to "abscond away" with them. How can enterprises avoid playing the embarrassing role of the "Whampoa Military Academy"--only training talent for the benefit of others? How can they retain outstanding employees, and win the talent competition war?
First, engage in more communication in the recruitment process.
CCID Consulting thinks that the key to lowering the rate of employee loss is to recruit employees who suit an enterprise. Concerning key employees, enterprises can adopt psychological tests to determine job seekers' mobility preferences and career interests during recruitment. Enterprises should reduce the possibility of recruiting job seekers who have strong mobility tendencies, and then screen applicants according to the job requirements and the applicant's qualifications and abilities in order to create a suitable match. On the other hand, enterprises should also introduce their corporate culture and management philosophy to their employees so that the employees have a greater knowledge of their enterprises, engage in good communication and thus reduce the possibility of their loss.
Second, establish an in-service training system for employees.
CCID Consulting's survey and analysis show that half of the employees of any given age group resign from their jobs within the first three years. The first 2-3 years after graduating from college is a peak period of employee loss, most especially the first year. This is because young people pay a lot of attention to knowledge accumulation and the improvement of their business skills and comprehensive abilities. They have concerns about wasted study and idling away their talents. This phenomenon can be explained by the human capital theory. After receiving training, employees expect to get greater returns from the training the longer they stay in the labor market. If enterprises can provide sufficient training opportunities to such employees, they will reduce the possibility of their losses. Most multinational companies have taken employee training as an important means to retain skilled employees. For example, Motorola has set up Motorola University to train its workers. The Chinese company Haier Group has also established Haier University to train its employees.
Third, set specific performance goals.
Without specific and measurable goals, identification with an enterprise will become meaningless. The link between key employees' loyalty and performance will become blurred and unclear. This requires enterprises to let their employees understand the goals they are striving for and assess them from time to time. Engaging in full communication concerning the problems found in the assessment can help employees gain a deeper understanding of their overall goals. The purpose is to make employees identify with their enterprises and improve their sense of affiliation.
Fourth, establish meaningful participation mechanisms for key employees.
Key employees will not generate identification with an enterprise on their own. The only way to let key employees truly understand that their daily activities are linked with the performance of their company is to nurture these employees' identification with their enterprise, let them get to know the operational status and corporate philosophy of their company a little better, enable them to feel a greater pride in their company, and improve their understanding of customer demands. The key to successful employee participation in solutions lies in "being meaningful." There is a need to establish mechanisms that allow employees to check the changes which they recommend and determine whether such changes are effectively implemented. In this way, they make the changes from less of a diagnostic role and more of a headship role, thus enabling employees to more actively devote their efforts and take responsibility for performance improvement.
Fifth, implement multiple professional career paths.
CCID Consulting's research shows that through professional career management, employees can realize their own interests, advantages and deficiencies and establish specific career development goals. Meanwhile, career management also makes employees feel that they are valued by their enterprises, thus stimulating their enthusiasm for work and improving their loyalty. In the career management paths in many hi-tech enterprises, the only way for engineers and researchers to get promotions and material returns is to enter into management positions. Compared with management career opportunities, their returns are also rather low. Due to the poorer position, pay and growth opportunities which management personnel get, research personnel may leave their companies. But, if research personnel want to raise their own status and get pay rises, they can only do so by becoming a manager. Many outstanding foreign companies are developing dual or multiple professional career path systems to provide more career development opportunities for their research personnel and other technical personnel. Multiple professional career paths can embody the importance which companies attach to their employees' career interests. Therefore, they better help enterprises to attract and retain outstanding research personnel and engineers.
Sixth, establish internal mobility mechanisms for key employees.
Affected by the trend of organizational flattening, many employees find that their chances of a promotion are falling. Either their career development is stagnant or the grades for promotion which they can attain through effort are becoming less, and their work progress diminishes. Consequently, employees with high skills have to leave their current companies and go to other places to give rise to these skills and look for better development opportunities. Enterprises can encourage horizontal changes to improve promotional opportunities for their employees and reduce the impact of employee losses. Through encouraging internal mobility, enterprises can let their employees understand new technology and handle their career. CCID Consulting's research shows that 85% of the employees in a business department of a company can at least serve two different posts in the company. By establishing internal mobility mechanisms for key employees, enterprises can easily make employees flow inside their company, thus reducing the possibility of employees looking for chances outside the company. However, enterprises should also pay attention to the need for there to be certain conditions and restrictions when they encourage internal mobility for their employee. Depending on their work performance, employees generally need to work for two years in one post and then are eligible for applying for post change. There is also a need to maintain equal opportunities for all.
Seventh, provide systematic incentives programs to employees.
To make key employees highly committed to an organization and perform well, there is a need to provide a systematic and competitive incentive plan. Only those organizations which pay attention to key employees' loyalty and performance will maintain an advantageous and skilled workforce in this competitive market for the long-term. Incentives to key employees are not merely economic incentives but can also be non-economic incentives, such as interesting and important work, smooth channels for information, communication and feedback; participation in decision-making and sense of affiliation; independence and flexibility; and opportunities for learning, growth and taking responsibility. Paying double attention--to both work and life--to employees is also an effective way to motivate employees and reduce their loss.
Eighth, train managers to become outstanding human resources experts.
CCID Consulting's survey and research shows that many employees join a company because they value the influence and career prospects of the company. But, the reason that most people quit their job is that they cannot effectively or directly communicate with their boss. This can be figuratively described as "looking at a company when seeking jobs, looking at the boss when quitting jobs." For enterprises, the only way to lower the loss of key employees is to train managers to become human resources management experts.
In addition, enterprises' attitude towards and management of employees who quit jobs and change boats are also important factors that affect existing employees. Many enterprises have biases against, show a cold shoulder towards or avoid employees who leave them and switch to another employer. They usually cannot treat those employees who return to them in a correct and fair manner. Enterprises must absorb the lessons from losing skilled employees, establish necessary systems, strengthen the management of job quitters, do good work such as holding interviews with job quitters and giving public notice of quitting employees' work performance, and get their suggestions for improving human resources management. Meanwhile, enterprises should also improve employees' professional qualifications through systematic education and training, strengthen employee cohesion through corporate culture building, enhance employees' identification with them through institutional optimization and change, and establish an employee force with an enterprising spirit and high loyalty.
About CCID Consulting
CCID Consulting Co., Ltd. (also known as CCID Consulting), the first Chinese consulting firm listed in the Growth Enterprise Market of the Stock Exchange (GEM) of Hong Kong (stock code: HK08235), is a direct affiliate of the China Center for Information Industry Development (hereinafter known as CCID Group). Headquartered in Beijing, CCID Consulting has so far set up branch offices in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Harbin, with over 300 professional consultants and industry experts. The Company's business scope has covered over 200 large- and medium-sized cities in China. Apart from home market development, CCID Consulting is establishing international cooperation links across the United States, the Asia-Pacific region and Europe, by setting up agents in the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Italy and Russia, with the aim of going global.
Based on four major competitive areas of powerful data channels, industrial resources, intense knowledge and deep understanding of information technology, CCID Consulting provides customers with consulting, research and IT outsourcing services covering strategy planning, IT application, marketing strategy, human resources and information technology outsourcing. Our customers range from industrial users in IT, telecommunications, energy, finance, automobile, to government departments at all levels and diversified industrial parks.
CCID Consulting is committed to becoming the No. 1 brand for strategy consulting, the No. 1 consultant for enterprise management and the No. 1 expert in market research. For more information, please visit our website at http://en.ccidconsulting.com/.
For more information, please contact:
Jia Fan
Coordinating Manager
CCID Consulting Co., Ltd
Tel: +86-10-8855-9012
Email: fanjia@ccidconsulting.com
