Retaining skilled, trained workers.

• Author: Tate, Robert
• Position: Private companies - PricewaterhouseCoopers Trendsetter Barometer survey of chief executive officers

The growing shortage of qualified workers is motivating more companies to work harder to get the right people in the right jobs--and keep them there. It's also driving many private companies to take steps to retain their skilled, trained workers.

A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers Trendsetter Barometer survey of more than 300 fast-growth private company CEOs found the majority (52 percent) believe that improved retention of key employees will have a beneficial impact on their company's business performance over the next 12-18 months. The typical company averages four or more programs for fighting turnover, some of which are customized.

However, while these CEOs acknowledge that the workforce is their single largest expense, they don't necessarily have a consistent, systematic approach for ensuring retention of key employees.

The surveyed companies reported that they rarely manage retention of key employees through funded programs, rarely have regular discussions on retention issues during management team meetings and don't particularly understand why key employees leave.

This is even more troubling as the labor force shifts from plentiful Baby Boomers to fewer next-generation workers, and the U.S. employee turnover rate continues to rise. Companies must recognize the importance of workforce management and retention programs, which not only help improve employee satisfaction, but also help with business sustainability, productivity and advancing the organization.

In short, people management is the next frontier for extracting and creating more value from company assets. The real challenges for private companies in particular involve greater needs to:

* Attract, develop and retain the right talent necessary for a productive, fully engaged workforce;

* Develop a way to forecast workforce needs;

* Know how the workforce supports the business goals; and

* Understand workforce agility.

Addressing Issues with Impact

According to the PwC findings and other workforce engagement surveys, compensation and benefits are seldom the main issues driving turnover. More often, issues concerning relationships with immediate supervisors, opportunities for career development and training, as well as personal and professional growth, are the main reasons employees leave a company.

Employee satisfaction is really about developing the individual and having the appropriate pathway for that individual to grow within the organization.

While the president or CEO is...