Employers return to pay and careers as the way to retain talent

Forget trendy human resource strategies such as flexible working and employer branding. If bosses want to hang on to their talented employees they need to offer decent pay, career progression, and a stimulating working environment.

Research into staff retention from the Recruitment Confidence Index (RCI) has found that nearly half of employers think pay and rewards, career opportunities and organisational culture are key to retaining good staff.

But only 26% say flexible working has a high impact on keeping hold of people, while 24% say it has no impact at all.

Nor do managers believe that employer branding, which has been hailed as the solution to talent management problems, has much affect on retaining the best people. Only one in five employers (20%) said it had a high impact, while nearly one in three (30%) said it had no impact on retention.

When it comes to reasons why staff leave, pay and rewards figure highly again. Half of employers (50%) say this prompts staff to move on. But only 18% say staff leave to improve their work/life balance.

The Recruitment Confidence Index is quarterly research produced by Cranfield School of Management and The Daily Telegraph in association with Personnel Today. In addition to producing tracking research, the RCI concentrates each quarter on an issue relevant to UK managers.

Commenting on the results of the retention special report Professor Shaun Tyson from Cranfield School of Management said: In a time of nearly full employment, retaining talented people who have a lot to contribute to the organisation is absolutely vital.

These figures suggest that it is not sophisticated branding or flexible working options that are keeping staff, it is more basic issues - convincing people there is a good future through pay and careers to stop them moving on to competitor organisations.

Steve Playford, Head of Recruitment Advertising at The Daily Telegraph said recruiters should look closely at these results and think more carefully about how they entice talent into their organisations. He said: Employers are missing a trick. It’s clear that careers are still important when it comes to hooking people into an organisation. But recruiters rarely mention career prospects in their advertisements preferring to use valuable space on selling the brand.

Mark Moorton, HR Director with AXA PPP healthcare which sponsored the research, said:
The results provide interesting reading and, perhaps for HR professionals, highlight the need for some rethinking on how to attract and retain high calibre staff. It demonstrates that HR strategic management needs to be constantly reviewed and monitored to ensure that employers are getting the best out of their people spend.

Approximately one in five employers (19%) have problems retaining staff. Retention problems are highest among junior managers, clerical staff and new graduates. However, women and directors tend to stick with an organisation. Only 10% of employers say they have problems retaining female workers. And only 3% of employers cannot keep board directors.