PEOPLE DON’T QUIT JOBS. They quit managers. This statement could be your wake-up call: Are you doing enough re-recruiting – recruiting employees already on board, rather than outside, recently separated workers?

Re-recruitment is the newest weapon in a company’s retention arsenal. These heightened retention efforts will play an increasingly important role as corporate – and recruitment – budgets tighten. A re-recruitment program carries enormous benefits but is not easy to deploy: It requires that management take a critical look at how and why star employees leave.

1. Blame yourself first. Start with the premise that top performers are leaving because you are an ineffective manager.
2. Make managers accountable. The company must come down hard on managers who consistently drive away good talent or who inadequately prepare new recruits for the job ahead.
3. Re-recruit your best people. Maintain ongoing conversations with employees to determine when, where, and how the company can induce star talent to stay on board.
4. Build interactivity. Leverage the power of the Web by building and fostering a digital gateway where the company can sell the mission. This allows employees to visualize new opportunities for growth, community, and fun.
5. Eliminate Mickey Mouse policies. Seek and destroy toxic policies such as inflexible work schedules and stringent dress codes before they poison the corporate culture and turn away potential candidates.
6. Demand pre-exit interviews. If you can’t avoid losing a desirable employee, try to understand the real issues, which are never what you think they are.
7. Leverage your recruiters. Design recruiter / employee relationship-building events into the re-recruitment program. These must not appear to be company-sponsored; they should instead be genuine opportunities for recruiters to build personal relationships.
8. Reward re-recruitment. Adjust compensation to provide an incentive for in-house recruiters to re-recruit existing top performers.
9. Promote re-recruitment. Publicize re-recruitment activity so top employees call the in-house re-recruiter before they take the call of a recruiter representing another company.
10. Act quickly. If an employee comes in with another offer, he or she needs answers in no more than a day.

Source: John Kador, InfoWorld.com 

You may be a born leader but that doesn’t mean you won’t have a learning curve when you slide into the boss’s chair for the first time. Follow these tips to make a smooth transition to management:

• Be patient. If you’re too quick to start making drastic changes, you’re likely to make foolish mistakes and scare some of your best people into jumping ship. Wait until you have a clear picture before you start retouching.

• Look and listen. Don’t get too comfortable in your new office. Instead spend most of your time observing operations and the people who execute them. Ask questions, make notes, seek input, and establish that your door is always open to those wishing to discuss problems or offer solutions.

• Do your homework. Don’t rely on your staff to tell you what you should already know. Review the available data-from personnel files to management policies to project analyses-to develop a thorough knowledge of your department.

• Find a mentor. Seek advice from your boss or another trusted corporate leader. Like new employees, new managers can benefit from a seasoned veteran who’ll help them learn the ropes.

• Build relationships. Don’t be so intent on establishing your power base that you rob employees of theirs. Emphasize that you’re part of a team, not head of a dictatorship. Establish strong two-way communication, showing employees you value their expertise-and that you’re eager to share what information you can.

• Play fair. If you’ve been promoted from within, you may be tempted to share your success with your department buddies. Don’t. If you play favorites, you’ll undermine your authority with your friends and lose the respect of everyone else. Strive to be evenhanded, giving each employee an equal chance at plum assignments and other perks.

• Take the reins. While it’s important that you emphasize teamwork and seek input, it’s equally important that you demonstrate your ability to make tough calls. Listen to others-but make clear that the final decisions are yours.

-Adapted from CoachVille.com

What does it take to find and keep the best workers? After conducting extensive research, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants recently released its top 10 recommendations:

1. Provide competitive salaries.
2. Offer comp time, performance bonuses, incentive pay, and benefits.
3. Give workers up-to-date tools and technologies so they can work more efficiently.
4. Seek employee feedback-via surveys or roundtable discussions-on work/life balance, benefits, and job satisfaction.
5. Hold regular staff meetings to ensure employees are well informed.
6. Start a mentoring program to develop young talent.
7. Seek employee input on how the company can achieve its goals.
8. Recognize worker efforts with both tangible (gifts and bonuses) and intangible (verbal appreciation) rewards.
9. Empower workers to take ownership of their projects.
10. Provide a comfortable work environment.

-Adapted from "Top 10 ways to hire & retain quality staff," in California CPA