Philippine university study demonstrates best ways to retain employees

Retaining critical talent is key to survival for organizations. So says the Philippines Ateneo Centre for Organisation, Research and Development (CORD) in its new book: “Leading Philippine Organizations in a Changing World.” Ateneo CORD points out that many companies are mistaken in that they believe that in order to retain employees, they need to keep paying them more and more.

Its study of 1,678 employees from 60 Philippine organizations showed that there are other factors that will keep employees. At the top come the quality of vision/strategy from senior management, opportunities for growth and advancement, the amount of internal politics/bureaucracy, the amount of job stress and the levels of job challenge.

Another essential is to ensure that managers select individuals who fit the requirements of the job and the firm's culture. A better fit reduces turnover rates. Clear vision and strategy seemed more important to the Filipino workers than to workers globally. Having a clear vision and strategy implies a certain of level of stability.

Cooperation and trust, and relationship with the boss were deemed highly relevant. Managers play an important role in retaining employees by first understanding their needs. Keeping lines of communications open is also important in sensing if there are any sources of dissatisfaction or demotivation. People management skills are also important.

The results suggest that compensation is still an important reason for why people stay or leave.

High performers tend to stay in companies that encourage and reward performance excellence. Therefore, performance management is as important as any other system to drive retention. The study says that although the results may guide organisations in developing their own retention programmes, a one-size-fits-all approach may not be effective because of cultural differences in firms.