CHALLENGE OF TALENT RETENTION

Retaining talented employees has always been a great challenge to organisations across the world. It has always been, particularly in the past couple of decades, a debate as to what would be a better proposition; retaining the existing talent or finding suitable replacements. While this is an unending debate, organisations should focus on the reasons and consequences of a high employee turnover and devise proper strategies to control this. The main causes/consequences of a high employee turnover can be classified as under:

Dissatisfaction factor: This refers to the general discontent of the staff with the salaries/wages, perks and benefits offered by their employer. In some cases the employees may be dissatisfied with their bosses or feel their jobs to be of less importance which ultimately leads to a very low level of job satisfaction. In certain organizations, the cause of dissatisfaction could be lack of career opportunities or even certain unpopular HR policies followed by them. As a result, some employees leave to join other organisations which they feel can fulfill their expectations. With the passage of time, some of these people may go for a second change and land up in a third organisation that offers even better terms. Such people keep on changing their jobs and can be called perpetual job hoppers.

Factor of better alternatives: In this case, an employee leaves the organisation for better prospects. The various options could be starting an own venture, taking up an overseas assignment or joining the family business. Sometimes it could even be opting for the VRS with a view to relax at home living on one’s past savings and investments. Other instances like managers and senior executives opting to become consultants or faculty in reputed management institutions are very common these days. Going abroad for research or higher studies is another trend that can be observed these days. In all these cases, the main drive is the employees' desire to go for better alternatives and the parting is not due to any discontentment. Some organisations still find a way to utilize the services of such employees by keeping them as retainers or consultants. Even this option would be difficult when such old employees are flourishing in their specialised fields.

Personal factor: In this case, the reasons could be anything like poor health, family reasons, spouse's transfer, children's education etc. In the case of women, the post marriage relocation to a new place is a major reason for quitting. Many women opt to quit their jobs after conception or child birth. Since many of these situations apply more to women, many companies have an undeclared policy to restrict placement of women in their offices. No doubt, such highly unfair and discriminatory policies deprive many talented and competent women of their rightful positions in the corporate world. But companies have a different argument when they say that most women fail to stick to their jobs in the post marriage situation. However, it would be highly unfair to generalise these things.

Factors contributed by organisations: These include layoffs, separations due to unsatisfactory performance during probation and reluctance on the part of managements to regularise employees after a temporary appointment. Since the initiative behind this kind of a separation is from the employer's side, this is often very unpleasant. Organisations should ensure that such separations are very smooth and cordial, lest it should send out a wrong signal about the reputation and image of the organisation in the public eye. A disastrous consequence of this type of separation is its adverse impact on the morale of the employees which can lead to a wide-spread feeling of insecurity in the work force.

Today, placement of the right people has become a much specialised area and the entire exercise is very costly as well. The costs involved in the induction of an employee include acquisition costs and training costs. In addition to this, when an employee quits, the organisation has to bear the loss due to the position being vacant and also has to pay the dues and other parting benefits. This is the reason why today's organisations are passionately trying to maintain a low employee turnover. Some of the steps taken in this direction are:

Keeping a highly competitive and dynamic compensation and benefit package

Providing career growth opportunities within the   organisation through better career planning Developing and maintaining a very conducive work culture where transparency, creativity and dedication are respected and valued.

A number of organisations have understood the importance of obtaining a final feedback from the departing employees soliciting their views about their stint in the company. Exit interviews are a positive step in this direction. These interviews are conducted in two phases:

The first phase is initiated immediately on receipt of the resignation letter. In this process, the concerned employee's boss holds a one to one meeting with the employee to ascertain the real reasons behind his decision to quit. In case the employee is really valuable to the organisation, then efforts are made to retain him by redressing the grievances. This is a decision to be taken very cautiously, or else the employee will try to pressurize the organisation through a resignation letter. This phase becomes successful when the employee withdraws his resignation and decides to continue. In case the employee refuses to bend, then we have to move on to the second phase.

Generally the second phase of the exit interview is conducted after the full and final settlement. This enables the employee to give his frank and impartial feedback about the organisation's working, policies and areas where improvement is required. In order to ensure that the employee opens up and participates in the discussions without any fear, this interview should be conducted by a senior functionary of the company other than the boss or departmental head of the concerned employee. It is essential to put all such feedback in black and white and circulated to the top management. The feedback so obtained can be very useful in eliminating many evils prevailing in an organisation provided it is taken seriously and put to use in the best possible way.

Another off-shoot of an exit interview is the possibility of an employee's return to the organisation. If the parting is smooth and the employee has no ill-feeling, he would, in all probability, remain in touch with the organisation and may even consider coming back after sometime. Again, this depends on how an organisation looks at it.

Finally, the success of an organisation depends a lot on its ability to retain talent by creating a healthy working environment that can motivate employees to put in their best to take it to greater heights.

CHALLENGE OF TALENT RETENTION

Retaining talented employees has always been a great challenge to organisations across the world. It has always been, particularly in the past couple of decades, a debate as to what would be a better proposition; retaining the existing talent or finding suitable replacements. While this is an unending debate, organisations should focus on the reasons and consequences of a high employee turnover and devise proper strategies to control this. The main causes/consequences of a high employee turnover can be classified as under:

Dissatisfaction factor: This refers to the general discontent of the staff with the salaries/wages, perks and benefits offered by their employer. In some cases the employees may be dissatisfied with their bosses or feel their jobs to be of less importance which ultimately leads to a very low level of job satisfaction. In certain organisations, the cause of dissatisfaction could be lack of career opportunities or even certain unpopular HR policies followed by them. As a result, some employees leave to join other organisations which they feel can fulfil their expectations. With the passage of time, some of these people may go for a second change and land up in a third organisation that offers even better terms. Such people keep on changing their jobs and can be called perpetual job hoppers.

Factor of better alternatives: In this case, an employee leaves the organisation for better prospects. The various options could be starting an own venture, taking up an overseas assignment or joining the family business. Sometimes it could even be opting for the VRS with a view to relax at home living on one’s past savings and investments. Other instances like managers and senior executives opting to become consultants or faculty in reputed management institutions are very common these days. Going abroad for research or higher studies is another trend that can be observed these days. In all these cases, the main drive is the employees' desire to go for better alternatives and the parting is not due to any discontentment. Some organisations still find a way to utilise the services of such employees by keeping them as retainers or consultants. Even this option would be difficult when such old employees are flourishing in their specialised fields.

Personal factor: In this case, the reasons could be anything like poor health, family reasons, spouse's transfer, children's education etc. In the case of women, the post marriage relocation to a new place is a major reason for quitting. Many women opt to quit their jobs after conception or child birth. Since many of these situations apply more to women, many companies have an undeclared policy to restrict placement of women in their offices. No doubt, such highly unfair and discriminatory policies deprive many talented and competent women of their rightful positions in the corporate world. But companies have a different argument when they say that most women fail to stick to their jobs in the post marriage situation. However, it would be highly unfair to generalise these things.

Factors contributed by organisations. These include layoffs, separations due to unsatisfactory performance

during probation and reluctance on the part of managements to regularise employees after a temporary appointment. Since the initiative behind this kind of a separation is from the employer's side, this is often very unpleasant. Organisations should ensure that such separations are very smooth and cordial, lest it should send out a wrong signal about the reputation and image of the organisation in the public eye. A disastrous consequence of this type of separation is its adverse impact on the morale of the employees which can lead to a wide-spread feeling of insecurity in the work force.

Today, placement of the right people has become a very specialised area and the entire exercise is very costly as well. The costs involved in the induction of an employee include acquisition costs and training costs. In addition to this, when an employee quits, the organisation has to bear the loss due to the position being vacant and also has to pay the dues and other parting benefits. This is the reason why today's organisations are passionately trying to maintain a low employee turnover. Some of the steps taken in this direction are:

Keeping a highly competitive and dynamic compensation and benefit package

Providing career growth opportunities within the   organisation through better career planning Developing and maintaining a very conducive work culture where transparency, creativity and dedication are respected and valued.

A number of organisations have understood the importance of obtaining a final feedback from the departing employees soliciting their views about their stint in the company. Exit interviews are a positive step in this direction. These interviews are conducted in two phases:

The first phase is initiated immediately on receipt of the resignation letter. In this process, the concerned employee's boss holds a one to one meeting with the employee to ascertain the real reasons behind his decision to quit. In case the employee is really valuable to the organisation, then efforts are made to retain him by redressing the grievances. This is a decision to be taken very cautiously, or else the employee will try to pressurise the organisation through a resignation letter. This phase becomes successful when the employee withdraws his resignation and decides to continue. In case the employee refuses to bend, then we have to move on to the second phase.

Generally the second phase of the exit interview is conducted after the full and final settlement. This enables the employee to give his frank and impartial feed back about the organisation's working, policies and areas where improvement is required. In order to ensure that the employee opens up and participates in the discussions without any fear, this interview should be conducted by a senior functionary of the company other than the boss or departmental head of the concerned employee. It is essential to put all such feedback in black and white and circulated to the top management. The feedback so obtained can be very useful in eliminating many evils prevailing in an organisation provided it is taken seriously and put to use in the best possible way.

Another off-shoot of an exit interview is the possibility of an employee's return to the organisation. If the parting is smooth and the employee has no ill-feeling, he would, in all probability, remain in touch with the organisation and may even consider coming back after sometime. Again, this depends on how an organisation looks at it.

Finally, the success of an organisation depends a lot on its ability to retain talent by creating a healthy working environment that can motivate employees to put in their best to take it to greater heights.

SPORTS IN AUSTRALIA

Sports are an integral part of Australian culture. Nearly 23.5% of Australians, over the age of 15, regularly participate in organized sports activities every year. The reason behind this is the natives’ sportsmanship and suitable climatic factors.

At an international level, Australia has particularly strong teams in sports like Cricket, Hockey, Netball, Rugby league etc. The participants from this country also perform quite well in cycling, rowing and swimming. As a result, this country participates in every Summer Olympics and Common Wealth games.

Two Olympic Games have been held in Australia, the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne and 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. It is one of the few countries to have sent athletes to every Summer Olympics. It is the only country of southern hemisphere to have won a gold medal in Winter Olympics.

Australia is one of the nations to have attended every British Empire/ Common Wealth event. In fact, it also hosted the games for four times (1938, 1962, 1982, and 2006). Besides this, the Australian open, the Annual international cricket matches, Australian Grand Prix are also hosted regularly by this country.

University sport plays a major role in promoting sports in Australia, with many competitions for university teams. “Uni Games” is an annual competition in which university teams compete in traditional sports such as track and field, touch football, rugby union etc. The levels of participation and viewership are much higher than in many countries – particularly in water sports and team sports.

Swimming is a very common and popular sport in Australia and is taken as a recreational activity as well as a comparative racing event. This sport is prominently popular because of the abundance of beaches and backwater swimming pools in this country. There are special squads to teach swimming and weekend competitions. The schools also offer “learn to swim” programs at the primary level. Ian Thorpe, Leisel Jones and Libby Lenton are some of the prominent swimmers of Australia.

In Tennis also, one of the four grand slams, the Australian open is held in Melbourne. Like all other grand slam events, it is also contested by top rank players. Pat Rafter, Ken Rose wall and Roy Emerson are some of the famous Australian tennis stars.

Winter sports are also very popular in Australia. This may be so because Australia receives snow in the Australian Alps and a few parts of Tasmania. There are many indoor ice rinks in Australia and the natives are very fond of winter sports like skiing, snowboarding, cross country skiing, and freestyle skiing.