Customer Reviews

Keeping the People Who Keep You in Business: 24 Ways to Hang On to Your Most Valuable Talent

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If you are fed up with recruiting, training and motivating new employees only to see them ride off into the sunset, you probably need to re-think some of your basic approaches to running your business. You can emerge a winner in the now fully joined war for great talent - the inevitable collision of a low unemployment rate with the corporate world's growing need for skilled workers. Management consultant Leigh Branham has written a lively, thorough guide to keeping great employees. Her book, which is a pleasure to read, is filled with plenty of sound, usable advice and examples from large and small companies. No matter what your industry is or how big your company might be, her guidance is likely to help you keep your best people longer. We [...] recommend this book to executives and managers. Read it before your competition does.

Leigh Branham provides insightful and thought provoking information to everyone in today's workforce. All too often, companies bring new employees onboard and then forget about them, only to end up losing them. Taking employees for granted severely impacts the corporate bottom line, not to mention the damage done to that employer's reputation. With the current low rate of unemployment, employees are finding that if one employer doesn't treat them right, another employer will.

This book is a "must read" for everyone - employers and employees alike - a benefit across the board! It is clearly evident - - Leigh Branham has performed extensive research on the subject of retention and is an expert professional.

This book addresses one of the key strategic concerns for business: keeping their best and brightest employees. Moreover, Branham has done this in a way that combines reasoned concepts with practical examples. Too many business books are long on theory and short on ideas that leaders can easily implement. With the labor shortage only likely to get worse this is an excellent tool for all business leaders, from the CEO to line supervisors.

Keeping the best employees is a goal that is not often met in today's changing and fluid new economy. Leigh Branham introduces four key strategies designed to help an organization keep the employees it wants. These solid practices are designed to have a positive impact on an organization's best workers by increasing motivation, performance and satisfaction. These four key points are organized in parallel with an employee's life cycle in an organization:

Key #1: Be a company people want to work for.
The leadership of the organization must create an environment where three essential elements are put into place: adopt a "give and get back" philosophy, measure what counts and pay for it, inspire commitment to a clear vision and definite objectives.
Key #2: Select the right person in the first place.
Poor recruiting decisions today result in the poor performers of tomorrow. An organization must claim responsibility for recruiting to ensure it not only chooses the right candidate, but also stays connected to the external business community, and thereby having access to the full diversity of the talent pool.
Key #3: Get them off to a great start.
Knowing that between 50 and 60 percent of employees change jobs within the first seven months, it is seasoned experienced manager and leaders that focus on this critical period to the organization keeps its best employees. The keys elements during this period: communicate how their work is vital to success, get commitment to a performance agreement, and give autonomy and reward initiative.
Key #4: Coach and Reward to maintain commitment.
To sustain an employee's commitment to the organization, his relationship with his manager is a critical element. It is said that 50 percent of satisfaction at work is determined by an employee's relationship with his or her manager. Managers should: proactively manage the performance agreement, recognize results, and give employees tools to take charge of his or her career.

Leigh has written a book that should be on the desk of every business person who wants to create a work environment where people do their best because they are valued as the best.

Although change is part of life, a business always wants to keep the talent that makes for success. This book serves as a clear, concise outline as to how to make this happen. It shares down to earth advice that works in the real work world.

What a great addition this would be to the required reading list for MBA students. Many of the problems that are faced daily in today's business world could be prevented if Leigh's findings were put into practice! I highly recommend this book to both small and large business managers.

I WAS LOOKING FOR A PRACTICAL AND COMPREHENSIVE BOOK ON EMPLOYEE RETENTION WITH IDEAS I COULD START USING RIGHT AWAY--THIS IS IT. THE AMOUNT OF RESEARCH THE AUTHOR PUT INTO DOCUMENTING WHAT THE BEST COMPANIES ARE DOING TO ATTRACT AND KEEP GOOD PEOPLE IS IMPRESSIVE. MY COMPANY HAS BEEN STRUGGLING FOR YEARS WITH THE ANSWERS TO EMPLOYEE TURNOVER, AND NOW I FEEL WE HAVE A GUIDE FOR ALL MANAGERS TO USE AS A PRACTICAL DESK REFERENCE. I LIKE THE WAY "KEEPING THE PEOPLE.."IS ORGANIZED INTO THE FOUR KEYS (REPRESENTING THE EMPLOYMENT LIVE CYCLE) AND THE FACT THAT IT DOESN'T OVERLOOK THE IMPORTANCE OF SELECTING THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN THE FIRST PLACE (NINE CHAPTERS ON THAT PHASE ALONE). YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ THE BOOK FROM BEGINNING TO END-YOU CAN DIP INTO THE PRACTICES YOU KNOW YOUR COMPANY NEEDS MOST. I EXPECT TO KEEP REFERRING BACK TO CERTAIN LIST AND SECTIONS- ESPECIALLY THE LIST OF INNOVATIVE BENEFITS, 54 CREATIVE WAYS TO FIND NEW JOB CANDIDATES, AND THE GUIDELINES FOR RETAINING GENERATION X-ERS AND ENTRY-LEVEL WORKERS.

In a competitive job world, employers face special challenges in how to hang on to valuable talent, and Keeping The People Who Keep You In Business tells how to keep the best employees. Employees want more than money; they seek autonomy, challenge, and meaningful work - this tells employers how to identify and meet these needs for lasting results.

If at all possible, this book should be read in combination with Branham's subsequently published book, The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave: How to Recognize the Subtle Signs and Act Before It's Too Late, and preferably read first. That is desirable but not imperative. Either book can firmly stand on its own merits and both are "must reading" as competition for talent becomes increasingly more aggressive. That said, the subtitle of this earlier book correctly indicates what it provides: "24 ways to hang on to your most valuable talent." Branham carefully organizes his material within eleven chapters and focuses on four "Keys," providing with each several "retention practices." Too many business books are bloated with theory but wholly impoverished in terms of practicality. For that reason, I commend Branham on the fact that he devotes most of his attention to explaining HOW to establish and then increase the appeal of an organization that people want to work for, how to hire the right people in the first place, how to get new hires off to a great start, and how to use effective coaching and appropriate rewards to sustain their commitment. Well done!

I read the book as part of an MBA mid-term project and would recommend this to any line manager or human resource practitioner who wants real, proven ideas and thoughts about attracting, retaining and developing quality employees. The book is very well structured and easy to read, yet a no-nonsense approach and in depth look at retaining valuable people.

Finally an employee retention resource from an outstanding consultant that combines practical step by step instructions with theory AND excellent examples from top companies. Keeping outstanding employees should be a top priority for every business, but unfortunately retention often runs a distant second to recruitment. Leigh Branham takes the mystery out of keeping top employees by providing business owners, managers and consultants proven retention tips. After introducing each retention practice, Leigh provides a questionnaire to evaluate your company's effectiveness. Plus the appendix is filled with surveys, checklists and evaluations you can start using today! As a consultant and coach, I am using Leigh's material with companies and individual clients and getting excellent feedback.