Half your staff are thinking of leaving

A scary statistic, but true! According to Forbes.com (Feb 2007), 62% of the 11,000 employees polled said they are somewhat likely or very likely to leave their jobs in the next 3 months.

These findings match research conducted by succession and transition specialists, Bstar who found 9 out of 10 small to medium enterprise businesses rated staff management as their highest business concern.

With more mobile and fewer qualified staff the situation will only worsen. With differing expectations between owners, managers and staff, effectively managing staff is a key issue for EVERY employer. In particular, Generation Y (Gen Y) expectations and wants.

Gen Y are staff born between 1980 and 1994. They are generation of consumers wanting an instant lifestyle, have high expectations, tire quickly of routine, demand change, don’t see owners as role models and have different lifestyle expectations.

They are the future owners and managers of your business! All is not lost; employers need to develop forwarding thinking strategies to better manage staff. Changing your approach to managing staff is one way of improving staff retention and motivation.

Compare your business to businesses that are passionate about retaining great staff.

Do you have?

• A Life balance charter
• Flexible working conditions
• Performance bonuses
• Training and development programs
• Investment structures and ownership models

The mining boom is making it more difficult to retain staff due to the lure of high salaries. One way of matching market salary rates is to implement performance bonuses where employees can earn bonuses up to 50% of their salary paid from above budget profits. It’s a win win for owners, managers and staff.

Finally, if your business succession plan includes selling part of the business to key staff they can accumulate bonuses to self fund their business investment. This is an attractive option for successors, as most don’t have the personal savings and income to buy into the business.

Where to start? The first step is to find out what your staff are thinking. Bstar have developed a Professional Development Program Staff Survey for employers. With good management and a proactive approach you can learn the secrets to better managing staff.