FOCUSING
ON RETENTION:
STOPPING THE REVOLVING DOOR
Reflect on your
experience working in this organization and respond
to the following open-ended statements.
1. What I like
best about working here is …
2. What I like least about working here is
…
3. What keeps me working here is …
4. What prevents me from doing my best here is
…
5. I would consider leaving if …
6. What would lure me away to work for another
organization is …
Suggestions for Using Focusing on Retention:
Stopping the Revolving Door
Objectives:
- To engage
managers in a process about how to increase
retention
- To identify
obstacles to retention at three levels
- To generate
suggested changes to reduce turnover
Intended
Audience:
- Members of
retention task force or diversity council
focusing on retention
- Managers in
an organization desiring to increase
retention
- Staff at all
levels serving as a focus group regarding
retention
Time:
1&endash;2 Hours
Materials:
- Copies of
"Focusing on Retention: Stopping the Revolving
Door" worksheet
- Chart paper
and markers
Processing the
Activity:
- Introduce the
activity by explaining that many of the
“answers” to the retention issue
reside in the organization and that this process
will give them a chance to explore and share
these keys to overcome retention
obstacles.
- Ask
participants to think about the best and worst
work environments they have experienced and to
jot down the aspects that made each
so.
- Have
participants share their lists and chart
responses with the total group or in small
groups.
- Explain that
the next activity will give them a chance to
explore these aspects in greater
depth.
- Ask
participants to respond to the open-ended
statements on the worksheet, then share their
responses in a small group
discussion.
- Lead a large
group discussion of the themes regarding the
good and bad news about the work environment.
(questions 1, 2, 3)
- Explain that
obstacles to retention and actions that can
increase retention occur at three levels in the
organization:
• Individual Attitudes and Behaviors
• Managerial Skills and Practices
• Organizational Values and Policies
- Ask
participants to reflect on their group
discussion and in small groups list the
obstacles to retention surfaced in questions #2,
4, 5, 6 at each of the three levels. Have three
charts each labeled with one of the levels,
prepared for each group as follows:
INDIVIDUAL
ATTITUDES
AND BEHAVIORS
|
Obstacles
to
Retention
|
Suggested
Actions
|
|
MANAGEMENT
SKILLS
AND PRACTICES
|
Obstacles
to
Retention
|
Suggested
Actions
|
|
ORGANIZATIONAL
VALUES
AND POLICIES
|
Obstacles
to
Retention
|
Suggested
Actions
|
|
- Each of three
groups is assigned one chart.
- Then each
group to brainstorm specific actions that could
address these obstacles.
- Lead a large
group discussion with each group reporting its
obstacles and suggestions.
- Explain how
the data will be used, for example, shared with
senior leaders, brought to the diversity council
or passed on to the retention task force for
prioritizing.
- As a closure,
ask participants to select one of the
suggestions they can individually implement and
to share that action step with others in their
small group.
Questions for Discussion:
- What areas of
overlap exist between individual, managerial and
organizational obstacles?
- What are the
best aspects of this work
environment?
- What are your
greatest sources of dissatisfaction?
- What are the
biggest obstacles here?
- What changes
would improve conditions here and make you want
to stay?
- What data was
predictable and what surprised you?
Caveats, Considerations, and Variations:
- This activity
can be combined with others in the Recruitment
and Retention section of the Diversity Tool Kit
such as "Stopping the Brain Drain."
- This process
can be separated into two parts, generating the
data about conditions and obstacles first, then
taking time to generate suggestions for changes
in a second session.
- Each group
can generate data for all three arenas &emdash;
individual, managerial and organizational.
Click
here to download this
activity.
|
