Get staff to stick: wise managers invest in people.

• Author: Dibble, Marcia C.
• Position: Management - Employee training and retention

WITH OUR CURRENT ECONOMY, belts are tight, employee turnover is low, and some employers have let slide their efforts to boost employee morale. Simultaneously, many employees now feel stuck. They are coming to work because they have to, but their minds are elsewhere. It adds up to an employment "bear market" in which employers and workers alike are hunkered down waiting for their metaphorical "stocks" to climb again.

But as the economy improves, more jobs will be created, and workers will begin moving again, leaving vacancies that may be difficult to fill. Is there anything management should be doing to prevent the psychological departure of valued employees now, and to help make sure they retain them when the economy sees an upswing?

"Given the right mindset, employers will think, 'What's something that doesn't cost a lot that we can do that lets employees know we still value them?'" says Deborah Stone, president of the Salt Lake Society for Human Resources Management and an independent HR consultant/contractor through her company, Evolutionary HR. "A lot of employers miss that point."

Stone says there are a number of inexpensive but effective things employers can do to keep employees connected, from picnics in summer ("The cost per person is $10-12 a head, but the benefit will be huge," she notes) to bringing in small groups for input ("You may not like the answers, but it's important to ask the questions -- it lets them know you care about them") to newsletters touching on births and birthdays of employees, as well as company news. "And not just the really great things," emphasizes Stone, "but news like, 'We really fought to get that contract, but lost it to this other organization, and here's why.' It makes employees really feel part of the organization, feel like stakeholders." She also says that company-organized efforts for the community -- blood drives, 10K benefit walk/runs -- can make employees feel a stronger bond with their company and identify it as integral to the larger social fabric. "A nonprofit initiative makes employees feel, 'Here's a company who cares not just about us b ut about the entire community.'"

"If employees feel the...