Professional support services group, Mouchel Parkman talk about the importance of employee retention as part of our series of HR interviews. Find out what challenges they face.

The Importance of Employee Retention Strategies with Mouchel Parkman

Mouchel Parkman is a professional support services group. It helps clients in the public sector and regulated industry to provide better everyday services to customers and communities. The company employs over 4,500 staff in offices across the UK and Ireland.

Rose Bevan is head of resourcing and is responsible for the group’s recruitment policy and for employee retention. Recruitment itself is handled by line managers working with business partners who then report to her. Talent management is handled separately by the head of learning and development with whom Rose works closely.

“This is a company that is definitely looking at staff retention as well as recruitment.”

Employee Retention as a Specialist Issue

Mouchel Parkman regards staff retention as a critical issue reflected in the fact that it is addressed as a separate issue. Rose Bevan is currently putting together an employee retention strategy to examine the different reasons people leave.

She said, “This is a company that is definitely looking at staff retention as well as recruitment. I want to find out if there are different triggers for different types of people. When do people start thinking about leaving? What is it that makes them leave?

“Employee retention isn’t always given the same level of focus or budget as recruitment. I think that’s because people don’t have such obvious management information as they do on recruitment or other areas concerning employees. It’s much harder to identify than recruitment.”

Although vacancies and business opportunities will be known about across the company, Rose feels, because it is not always pulled together centrally, it is difficult to see the bigger picture. It is also difficult to determine if people are leaving specific areas or roles.

The nature of the business requires employees with specialist skills. These are often in short supply and in demand from competitors. There is always a danger that top talent will be offered more money or a better package elsewhere. Holding onto talent in this environment is a challenge.

Rose added, “It’s not just money that makes people leave. Lack of career progression is often a reason to move on. That’s why we pay a great deal of attention to career development.

“Some people are technical specialists and are always looking for most interesting thing to work on. They might be tempted to join a competitor who has a more interesting project.”

“There is also a slightly disruptive effect on other people: it can make them feel like moving on too. It has a ripple effect on all other areas.”

Find out about great{with}talent’s Exit Process Cost Calculator.

Feeling the Effect of Attrition

The effects of not keeping an eye on employee retention, particularly in such a knowledge based organisation, can be felt across all areas of the business. The impact can be enormous, it’s not just the cost of replacing people.

“It’s the organisational knowledge and memory that is lost when people leave that can be devastating,” says Rose.

“Client relationships are broken and they can feel uncomfortable if a new person comes along onto a project.

“There is also a slightly disruptive effect on other people: it can make them feel like moving on too. It has a ripple effect on all other areas.”

“They need to think beyond their own teams and let staff know there are opportunities within the organisation; that they don’t necessarily need to go elsewhere for career progression.”

Read: Recruitment Strategies and Employee Retention are a Mixed Bag for the NSPCC.

Working Together with Line Managers to Improve Employee Retention

Line managers have a vital role in recruiting, developing and retaining the right people but some take it more seriously than others. This can lead to frustration for HR professionals.

Rose says, “We can work more effectively with managers by making sure that key HR processes, such as the performance management and appraisal systems, are implemented appropriately.

“We need to make sure that line managers understand how to use them to set objectives and give the support needed. Support such as discussing and identifying what the next career steps are, where the career opportunities are – even if this means staff leaving them.

“They need to think beyond their own teams and let staff know there are opportunities within the organisation; that they don’t necessarily need to go elsewhere for career progression.”

“Another important role for HR is to help managers recruit the right people. If the recruitment process isn’t robust they may be tempted to fill a post with someone unsuitable because it’s quick and easy.

“If someone is not right for the position they are likely to leave or possibly fail their probation period. HR should work with line managers at all stages to help them.”

Mouchel Parkman is in the process of improving training for managers on recruitment and other employment processes.

Find out why Employee Integration is the Key to High Staff Retention according to a leading cosmetics brand.

Improving Employee Retention strategies

The company is very proactive in retaining talented staff. It holds development discussions and has a succession programme in place.

A lot of attention is given to finding out why people leave. Exit interviews are currently conducted face to face.

The validity of this method is called into question as some people may be reluctant to discuss issues that have bothered them. The face to face approach may cuse people to edit themselves.

This can happen if they do not wish to offend the person they’re being interviewed by and especially if they’re worried about getting a good reference.

A more in depth information would give a better picture across the organisation. It can also help engage new and current employees to lower staff turnover.

Rose said, “Each finding would have its own challenges as far as the response is concerned but at least we would be aware of it and able to develop methods to tackle it.”

Contact great{with}talent and find out more about their TalentEngage employee engagement surveys.

(Main image from Brandon Hill Communications)