The Principles of Rethinking RetentionSM are:

  • Point #1: The #1 reason employees quit jobs is because they can
  • Point #2: The #1 reason employees stay is for things they get uniquely from you
  • Point #3: Supervisors build unique relationships that drive retention ... or turnover

These principles direct organizations to focus on retention solutions within their control. For example, knowing employees quit because of better opportunities or pay doesn’t tell us why they looked. And learning from opinion surveys that employees want better communication doesn’t tell us what kind of communication they want, or whether they would leave if they don’t get it. Many organizations respond with better newsletters whereas employees just want a supervisor to tell them what do to, how to do it, and whether they are doing it well.

These Principles are followed by 7 Strategies:

Strategies for supervisors…

  • Point #4. Hold supervisors accountable for achieving retention goals
  • Point #5. Develop supervisors to build trust with their teams

Strategies for people management processes…

  • Point #6. Narrow the front door to close the back door
  • Point #7. Install extra retention efforts during employees’ first 90 days
  • Point #8. Challenge policies to ensure they drive retention

Strategies for top management…

  • Point #9. Calculate turnover’s cost to galvanize retention as a business issue
  • Point #10. Drive retention from the top, as executives have the greatest impact on achieving retention goals

From Strategies come Retention Tactics, unique to organizations based on their turnover issues. For some clients, improving processes during employees’ first 90 days improves retention for this period and beyond. For others, learning and addressing each employee’s unique glues is needed to keep them longer.

Whereas identifying tactics to improve retention is challenging, the hard part is getting them done. HR, Training, and other staff departments are stretched to fill jobs, train new employees, and address ad hoc projects and emergencies.

Finnegan Mackenzie’s services include identifying tactics and implementing them. Working closely with top management, HR, Training, and Operations, Finnegan Mackenzie joins organizations to complete all required activities to cut turnover, and leave behind new processes that improve retention forever.

Employee retention drives productivity and profitability. Finnegan Mackenzie improves retention by building and implementing the right processes according to the Rethinking Retention™ model, in order to help organizations retain their best workers longer and improve all key business metrics as well.



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