Employee retention using lessons from motivation theories Essay

Employee retention using lessons from motivation theories - Essay Example The paper tells that as businesses face the challenge of operating in a tough global economy they have been forced to perform painful layoffs while at the same time seek to retain their high-impact performers. One would expect it to be easier to retain staff amidst this period of economic recovery however the paradox is that there is a shortage of people with the requisite talent that companies need to remain competitive in this tough business environment. This means that the few critical employees that each company seeks to retain are also the ones who are attractive to competitors. The challenge therefore remains in retaining these critical staff. The importance of retaining critical staff cannot be gainsaid. When an employee leaves an organisation the organization loses primarily on the knowledge, skill and experience that the individual had developed over time at his/her present occupation. To fully comprehend the importance of maintaining critical employees Ramlall raises three postulations of the human capital theory. To begin with human capital theory posits that people possess skills, experience and knowledge which represent capital to an organization because they enhance productivity. This means that employees are of economic value to organizations. Secondly, the theory posits that not all labour is equal. Some labour is more valuable than others by the mere fact that more resources have been invested in their training. It is therefore important for the organization to ensure that it retains those on whom it has invested more in developing. Thirdly, investment in building skills among employees would be more profitable and more likely to be undertaken the longer the period over which the returns from the investment can accrue (Ramlall, 2004). This implies that an organisation would derive more value out of its staff if it can train them and then retain them for a significant amount of time within which the staff can use their skills, experience and k nowledge to improve the organization’s processes. Employees possess skills, experience and knowledge, and therefore have economic value to organizations. Where employee turnover is high the company fails to realize a full return on its investment in hiring and training staff. This report reviews the classic motivation theories and uses them to explain how organizations could devise techniques that will enable them retain their high-impact employees. 2.0. Work motivation The heart of motivation is to give people what they really want most from work (Mullins, 2010). Motivation can be of