Reap the rewards of retaining your best and brightest

JRA will be running the 2010 JRA Best Workplaces Survey in association with the <i>Herald</i> from June 1 to August 31. Photo / David White

As the green shoots of recovery start appearing organisations will want to be in the best possible position to take advantage of opportunities as they arise.

And retaining and engaging key talent will be fundamental to an organisation's success when the upturn comes.

Around 220 organisations took part in the 2009 JRA Best Workplaces Survey and while those that underwent structure change and/or who faced reduced levels of employee engagement, the majority actually experienced an increase in engagement during recession year 2009 (up from 33 per cent to 35 per cent engaged).

Less surprising perhaps were JRA's findings that reported "intention to stay" showed an increase 2008-09 (up from 77.2 per cent to 79.3 per cent).

Not such good news however was that the biggest increase in "intention to stay" was among the "disengaged" employees - those who are "disconnected" from the organisation's goals and activities, and certainly not the ones who will be "going the extra mile".

So as the economy picks up and job opportunities reappear, organisations will face a new challenge, because it will be the "best and brightest" who move on, and the poor performers who remain.

According to JRA managing director John Robertson, which group you are left with will largely be determined by the quality of your workplace strategies and practices.

"The top 25 per cent of organisations in our 2009 survey showed clear differences in the way they managed their people, and in the levels of engagement they sustained.

"Communication became more important than ever, as did clarity of purpose and the role everyone had in achieving organisation goals and objectives.

"We're all in this together" was the rallying cry for many, and 2009 became a great opportunity to demonstrate what "values" really meant in practice.

"We've heard many stories from organisations who experienced the benefits of an engaged workforce as people responded with performance that went way above the norm."

As the economy moves out of recession the relevance of these same enlightened workplace practices remains, putting those who adopt them in a better position to reap the rewards of recovery.

JRA will be running the 2010 JRA Best Workplaces Survey in association with The New Zealand Herald from June 1 to August 31. Registrations are now being taken.

www.bestworkplaces.co.nz