How to engage, attract & retain employees

“Are they engaged?” Without context, that question can be interpreted in many, very different ways. In a marketing environment you might be talking about the intended audience of your latest campaign, trying to determine how well you’re speaking to them and how likely they are to buy; in a social setting, you’re more likely to be talking about a couple going through that very special moment in their relationship. In our world of HR, the meaning lies somewhere in the middle – it’s not quite as detached as how a person responds to promotional materials, and it’s also not nearly as romantic as a life partner getting down on one knee.  But it is about how your people respond to communication and the relationship – albeit professional – you have with them.

The average attrition rate of employees across Australia, the US and the UK is 15% - with Australia at the lowest end of the scale, at 14% - that means two things to me. Firstly, 10% of employees in every organisation are not adding any value, they shouldn’t be there and they should be identified and either heavily performance managed or let go. Secondly, the other 5% of the 15% that are on their way out are great at what they do, they are just disengaged with the organisation and, as a result, prime targets for the opposition. They need to be invested in and rewarded for the work they do, otherwise they will leave.