Catch 'em and keep 'em

In the current climate, you might be forgiven for thinking that staff retention is the least of a company's concerns.

After all, the perception is that people are clinging on to their jobs for all they're worth and not moving, because they prefer the devil they know to the devil they don't.

But consider: if a firm does lose any of its top talent, that means it's very hard to replace it. Especially when tight budgets restrict the incentives you can offer potential recruits.

That's why it's vital to know what people are really looking for from their jobs. But it can also help to provide reasons to persuade people to stay on.

In addition, offering the right incentives can encourage staff to be much more productive than they would be if they feel tied to the company for purely practical reasons.

Certainly the urgency of addressing labour turnover is greater in the food business than it is in other industries. The Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) annual report Recruitment, Retention and Turnover 2009 calculated a UK median labour turnover rate of 16%, but a total of 27% in the food, drink and tobacco sector.

HR consultancy Fluid Consulting warns employers to beware of signs that a person is becoming restless and planning to move on. They include unwillingness to adapt to flexible work plans; excuses not to attend internal conferences, meetings or events and becoming less challenging on important issues (ie they give up the fight). The question then becomes: how do you convince someone to stay?

One of the major requirements cited by employers and employees alike is the need to feel listened to. This is often coupled with the desire to feel that you are making a valuable contribution to the company, rather than just being a cog in the machine.

Many larger processors have responded to this by instigating discussion forums, allowing all levels of staff to suggest business ideas. Dairy Crest, for example, has introduced a monthly team talk briefing, a website dubbed 'the gardens' allowing workers to participate in blogs on various subjects, and an annual company survey.

Richard Hamer of Fluid Consulting says engaging more personably with staff is especially vital when it comes to dealing with so-called Generation-Y employees in their 20s. "We regularly hear managers reflecting on the difficulties that surround motivating this group."

Hamer says individual interaction is crucial for these people. "Generation-Y employees want one-on-one feedback about their performance. Although they highly value face-to-face time with their managers.

"Surveys of younger workers indicate they place a premium on management that listens. They are more likely to remain in positions where they feel their opinions are valued."

Of course, you could argue no one likes to feel they are being ignored or overlooked, so the principle applies to a certain extent to all ages. Hamer also argues that part of the process of making someone feel valuable is allowing them to express their own individual work style while keeping to their job spec.

Achieving a balance between hands-on and hands-off management styles is all part of this process too. "Give them some autonomy: effective managers help them establish their goals according to their own individual styles," says Hamer.

While there are big bonuses to working for a large manufacturer, in terms of the prestige factor and the quality of experience and training received, they can often overlook this area of staff involvement. It's one of the core reasons cited by managers at multinational players for 'downsizing' to a much smaller outfit.

Take Andy Shepherdson, operations director at Norfolk-based fruit and vegetable processor Place UK, who joined there having been a factory manager at a top UK-branded manufacturer. When asked why he made the switch, he denies it was anything to do with stereotypical issues of salary and status, saying simply: "Here I have a plan, agree it and do it - it doesn't take long. You can be in your wellies talking to a farmer in the morning and in the afternoon be talking to [a retailer] about launching a new frozen product."

In bigger firms, proposals have to go through several management tiers and then have to await the go-ahead for the necessary funding. They also have to compete for funding approval against a host of other ideas, so one person's voice often gets drowned out.

Equally, the idea of escaping the safety net of a larger enterprise and taking on the challenge of more responsibility is another draw. Having taken up his current role last year, Shepherdson, aged 42, says: "This wasn't a mid-life crisis, but you do reach a point where you need to test yourself and your abilities."

Of course, making a person feel valued does also mean catering for financial reward and bonuses and perks such as gym membership, company cars and gadgets. But it can be harder to devise a reward scheme for a new product development technologist than for a sales manager.

"In simple terms, employee incentives fall into recognition and reward. A hot debate is the cash versus non-cash argument," says Hamer. "While a cash reward is convenient, it lacks memorability, a key component of a successful incentive programme.

"In our experience, high-performing organisations use non-cash awards and incentives to keep employees engaged."

Again, the CIPD 2009 survey found that while 70% of employers operate a cash-based bonus or incentive scheme, just 35% have a recognition-based or non-cash scheme.

Ultimately, though, generic reasons for dissatisfaction should be taken with a pinch of salt. "You just need to understand the prime motivator," says Malcolm Devine, recruitment consultant at Nigel Wright recruitment.

"For some it's money - they're looking for the extra £20,000 - for some it's status - so they want to work for a Coca-Cola or PepsiCo - for some it's the job title. Last month we had a guy who ended up requesting his title be changed so he could get the one he wanted.

"Some may even have got divorced and don't want to live near their ex any more." FM

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=== Apprentice bown makes the grade at jolly's ===

Elizabeth Bown, owner-manager of Jolly's Fish & Farm Produce in Orkney, has completed the Level 3 Modern Apprenticeship in Food Manufacture she began at the start of last year.

Bown, 41, has blazed a trail for the food and drink industry, being one of the first people to capitalise on the relaxation of the upper age limits for apprentices.

Her achievement coincides with another Orkney resident - 23-year-old Graeme Horne, quality controller at Orkney Meat - completing the same apprenticeship qualification.

Bown's and Horne's achievement was made possible by the Scottish government's agreement to fund adult apprenticeships in certain categories.

Bown founded Jolly's with her husband, Tony, in 2006 and decided she needed more formal management training as the business grew.

"I was pretty much at a standing start before I began the Modern Apprenticeship," says Bown. "I have learned a lot and now have the confidence to take a bit of a back seat, which gives me more time to look after our four kids and 1,000 acre farm."

Gordon Gibb, director of Aberdeen-based Polaris Learning, which provided the training for Bown and Horne, said: "The massive range of [apprenticeship] modules now available means that both Graeme and Elizabeth found the subject options they were looking for and the flexibility to complete the course while working.

"There is also no fixed period within which you have to complete the Modern Apprenticeship, which is appealing to those who have demanding jobs or family lives. Elizabeth's success is inspiring to anyone who has considered taking a qualification later in life."

Bown says she would instantly recommend the apprenticeship programme she has followed to other managers and senior personnel. "Most definitely. Particularly if, like me, they have no formal training. I have no doubt that it will be of great value to me, and to the company."