Love 'Em or Lose 'Em

Because finding the ideal person for every workplace position has become an increasingly difficult task, the retention of top employees has become every manager's concern. Love 'Em or Lose 'Em, by organizational-development specialists Beverly L. Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans, proposes that this "race for talent" can be effectively run only by those who adopt programs and policies that truly support their personnel. It then shows how to do so, even in organizations reluctant to participate actively.

Kaye and Jordan-Evans encourage an initial scan of their 26 alphabetically arranged chapters--such as "Information: Share It," "Mentor: Be One," and "Space: Give It"--so attention can be fully focused on the most relevant benefits and responsibilities associated with employee retention. All are bolstered with hands-on exercises and stories of others' failures and successes. The section on family-friendly conduct, for example, suggests uncovering specifics by directly asking employees what would make their lives easier. Resultant needs can be met, it continues, by allowing staffers to bring children to the office on occasion, assisting anyone who must line up care for an aging parent, giving weekday comp time to those who travel on weekends, etc. It also explains how Deloitte & Touche and DuPont addressed these issues. Any manager who dreads losing a top performer would do well to consider this book. --Howard Rothman

It happens time and time again: the brightest and most talented people leave the company for "better opportunities." Their peers wonder how management could let them go. Their managers feel helpless to make them stay. Bigger salaries, loftier titles, and added perks may work for a while, but what employees really want are meaningful work, opportunities for growth, excellent bosses, and a sense of connectedness to the group. The good news is that, unlike monetary compensation, these benefits are well within the reach of most managers.

Beginning with an exit memo written by the composite employee "A.J.," authors Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans explore the truth behind the dissatisfactions of many of today’s workers and offer 26 strategies—from A to Z—that managers can use to address their concerns and keep them on the team. These strategies are neither difficult nor costly and, through research, tips, and corporate tales drawn from dozens of organizations, the authors provide examples of how these strategies work in some of the best companies in America.

With every employee who walks out the door costing the company up to 200 percent of their annual salary to replace, retention is one of the most important issues facing businesses today. This book gives everyone from the CEO to the front-line supervisor solutions for keeping the employees they simply can’t afford to lose.