Recovery tactics

Ginny Too

Vice President, HR, Asia and Australasia, InterContinental Hotels Group

We need to look at retention in a holistic manner – people leave or stay in a job for many reasons... career growth, work environment and relationships, work-life balance, money, etc. Push or pull factors differ based on personal circumstances.

There is no “one size fits all” programme or initiative that can counter attrition. The key to retention is to know and understand what drives each individual. Therefore, the direct manager plays a vital role.

At IHG, we have not allowed the global downturn to take the focus away from our people agenda and we continue to ensure we are “tuned in” to our people, particularly the high potentials and those in critical roles. Yes, the economy is starting to recover and the talent war is back on – the only way to be ahead is to stay the course and not allow our people initiatives to be distracted by external factors.

Retention is not something we can turn on and off – we can’t take our foot off the pedal, not even for a second … there are always more people out there trying to recruit our best talents!

Alice Loh

Director of HR and Administration, Carlson Wagonlit Travel

Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) strives to be the travel management company of choice for employees. Even during the downturn, we made continual investments in training, benefits, incentives, rewards and recognition. Our current retention strategies include:

Appreciation: Employee efforts are recognised through customer feedback, excellent service awards and direct rewards;

Empowerment: We promote open communication throughout the organisation

Development: During the economic downturn, we continued to develop staff skills and abilities, particularly for those in customer service. This year, we have recruited additional trainers

Career Opportunities: Available positions are posted internally for lateral and vertical career moves

Compensation: Our competitive salary structure is performance-based, reviewed annually and pegged to skills, experience and the market

Wellbeing: CWT has various corporate health initiatives including an annual influenza vaccination programme

Work-Life Integration: CWT offers part-time and flexible work arrangements

Geraldine Lee

Chief HR Officer, NTUC First Campus, Co-operative

Since the early childhood education industry doesn’t have high compensation and benefits packages to offer, we believe employee engagement and recognition are the ways to go. We have seen how these two strategies, bring out the passionate and nurturing characteristics of our staff.

Our CEO and senior management “walked this talk” by visiting all 85 centres across Singapore and giving out flowers to each staff member on Teachers’ Day. This gesture went a long way towards recognising staff for the work they do. The day culminated with a special dinner where awards such as “Best Teacher” and “Best Mentor” were given out. Nominations came from staff themselves, showing employee recognition at the peer level.

Our in-house production, “Inspiring Young Lives: Our Stories”, contains 100 inspiring stories by employees, relating to our core values. Some were moved to tears as they read stories written by colleagues about the journeys they had taken together. It reiterates the camaraderie amongst staff, which keeps them engaged and in turn, retains them in the organisation, recession or not.