Performance Management - National HRD Network

Case Study - Practices to
Retain Talent
Arvind Gupta
Abstract
With opportunities available in abundance,
retaining talent in the IT industry has always
been a big challenge. Good retention
schemes not only help in retaining the talent,
but also acts as catalyst towards attracting
more talent from around the industry.
This case study shares few practices, which
have been implemented in the Integration
& Verification (I&V) team of Nokia Epsilon
project at Aricent, and have been found to
be very effective in keeping most of the team
intact.
These practices can be easily followed by a
line manager, and are over and above the
organization-level retention policies (like
compensation). The project managers are
bound to find visible positive difference in
the working & retention level of their teams
if they practice these listed techniques. The
below pasted 2x2 matrix is an attempt to
make this visualize.
A. Engagement with the team
A. 1 Keeping all plans transparent
1. Periodic visibility to team members on the
plans for the project and for each one of
them is provided. This gives confidence
to each team member that they are being
felt as part of the big picture; in what terms
they are part of the big picture, and what
is expected of them.
2. Before making any major changes in
plans or processes, all the potentially
affected team members are taken in
Retention level
LOW HIGH
Compensation related
policies - which are not in
control of a line manager
Organizational policies, other
than compensation - which are
out-of-control of a line manager
LOW
Manager's effort
confidence. This helps them understand
and appreciate the changes, with
minimum resistance to these changes,
and helps them plan their activities
accordingly.
A. 2 Being in constant touch
1. Formal & informal interaction, with all
team members, is kept on regular basis.
E.g, by having regular one-to-one
sessions with each team member by
visiting him/her seat, discussing issues
and providing solutions fast.
2. An open culture has been promoted,
where any team member can visit any
manager in the hierarchy, any time, and
the managers are open to discussing
issues and accepting feedback & ideas.
3. Well begun is half done. An initial
positive reaction will make them feel that
the problem can be discussed towards
a solution. Managers are always
approachable (an open cabin, positive
reactions & body language, when
people approach them, say a lot on
approachability).
A. 3 Having informal relations
1. Managers participate in team events, as
another team member.
2. People are asked about the well-being
of their family members
A. 4 Providing guidance to new members
-like a mentor
1. Proper & timely (work related, technical
More focus on People
Management - listed practices
being followed
More focus on Project
Management, less on People
Management - Listed practices
being follwed
HIGH
Few practices, which are being followed
& non-technical) guidance is provided
to new members, right from day one.
This makes them feel involved and
needed.
2. If needed, buddies are attached with
them at the earliest.
B. Keeping team motivated and
energized
B. 1 Knowing what motivates each team
member
1. Managers know as to what motivates
different team members and keeps
them happy.
2. It is learnt that many times, same thing
may not motivate every team member
to the same extent.
B. 2 Trusting the team
1. Trust is demonstrated towards the
capabilities of team members.
2. They are not treated like 5-year-old kids,
who need to be tracked very frequently,
unless it is needed badly.
3. Appreciation is shown towards
trustworthy members and more
responsibilities are assigned to them.
4. At the same time, it is important to keep
a watch on some of the team members,
who need more monitoring, tracking &
guidance, than the others.
B. 3 Promoting job rotation
1. Different opportunities, at different
times, keep their interest alive, and also
enhances their knowledge base and
skill-set.
2. Job rotation also includes providing
some challenging tasks, over & above
the mundane & routine tasks, to
deserving team members.
B. 4 Holding team events
1. Team events are held on regular basis.
These keeps the team members
energized, and keeps their other (than
work) side also alive. These have been
based on:
l Creativity & Innovation. E.g, each
member to come up with a possible use
of an all-pin
Arvind Gupta, Engineering Project Manager, Aricent arvind.gupta@aricent.com
| HRD News Letter | March 2007, Vol.22, Issue:12 26|