Love 'Em or Lose 'Em: Getting Good People to Stay (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

The book's presentation is visually appealing - section headings and key passages are in a complimentary blue font. There are various other eye-catching features that make the book interesting and exciting. Each chapter starts with a short statement from a fictitious employee referred to as A.J some key excerpts follow

Introduction:
I quit.
I'm giving you my notice.
I found another opportunity.
I've accepted another offer.
Can we talk?

Chapter 1 Ask - What Keeps You
They never asked.

Chapter 2 Buck - It Stops Here
I think my manager actually could have kept me. But I don't think he ever saw it as his job.

Chapter 5 Enrich - Energize the Job
The job just became ho-hum. I mean, I was good at it, my customers were pleased, but I was just plain bored.

Chapter 13 Mentor - Be One
I wish I'd had someone to warn me about some of the political ins and outs that were never written in any policy manual.

Chapter 18 Reward - Provide Recognition
It wasn't about the money, really. Oh, sure, a bonus would have been nice when I brought that new client in or when I finished those specs ahead of schedule. But a "thank you-I noticed" would really have been appreciated.

Generously distributed throughout are "Alas" sections - short, as the authors state, "the-fish-that-got-away" stories that actually happened. There are numerous "Business Examples" - things that really worked in large and small organizations. As references to other parts of the book there are "Go To" Icons to augment the information being presented.

If you're wondering how effective your management skills are in retaining employees, go to Chapter 26 - Zenith and take the assessment of your "Retention Probability Index".

At the end of the book is a Quick Start Guide - you might want to go there first and get an overview of the entire book.

Employee retention as well as productivity is not just about the money and the other "hygiene" factors (work space, hours, etc.), it's about listening to and respecting others. In these difficult times, it's more important than ever.

This book is clearly for everyone.

The book down-plays the role of money. This is okay to the extent that too many firms think money is the 'be all and end all' of retention. Money is not, but the danger is that too many firms lull themselves into thinking that since money is not the number one factor driving turnover according to surveys, they can cut corners with compensation ( often, however, with the exception of pay packages at executive levels-consider the implicit contradiction in that). Long-term, firms that pay below competitive rates reap what they sow...marginal organizational performance. In our consulting experience we find reward systems and retention are powerfully linked. The role of compensation can work in strange and mysterious ways-and sometimes not so mysterious. People are complex.

We wished that the authors gave a bit more attention to the economics of retaining people. They do make the point of paying fairly and competitively in chapter18, but the message is muted. But since this book is addressed to managers, and most managers have little-to-no meaningful influence on compensation decision-making (despite all the empowerment talk), the treatment of pay is understandable.

This is a super book that focuses on the many highly important non-cash elements of retaining people. In doing so, it succeeds admirably. In short, this is a neatly organized, clearly written, how-to book. By way of recommendation, we will use it as a resource in our own organization/management development consulting work. This book should be read by anyone who manages people. Reviewed by Gerry Stern, Co-Founding Partner, Stern & Associates, Editor of Stern's Management Review, Stern's SourceFinder: The Master Directory to HR and Business Information and Resources, and Stern's CyberSpace SourceFinder.