Do employers really take the time (or care) about employee retention?

[Jimzz]

Any company can make that work short term. Certain management teams can foster morale and a happy workplace as a way to productivity. The problem is that it doesn't usually last. Eventually leadership changes and the new people think that fear is the key to productivity, or the bottom line looks worse so jobs and pay are cut rather than looking for the real source of the problem. Morale drops, employees bitch and management thinks "who needs them?" and doesn't mind turnover as they're just getting rid of malcontents. Once it starts going in that direction it doesn't usually turn back to the positive side, even a management change will not reverse a toxic culture like that once it becomes ingrained. It's corporate entropy, everything moves towards chaos. Costco just has not been around long enough. Give them another 50 years, a couple more CEOs and competition that follows their business model better and starts to squeeze them. Costco will turn into Walmart.

Walmart is less than 15years older than Costco. Walmart was founded in 1962 and Costco in 1976.

If Costco was going to turn into walmart you think another 10years will change that?

 

[steppinthrax]

Employers know that there will be 50 people lined up for the job to replace you, no matter how bad the conditions are. Even if every employee quits after a short time there will always be more to fill in the positions. It's the sad reality we live in. Employers know they can get away with a lot because people need a job to make enough money to live half decently.

This is what I have felt.

Working for the man is more/less modern slavery (without the whip). You have to depend on them, you have to put on a good face to keep your job.

God forbid you trash talk their org when you leave.

The employee has the short end of the stick!!!

 

[purbeast0]

This is what I have felt.

Working for the man is more/less modern slavery (without the whip). You have to depend on them, you have to put on a good face to keep your job.

God forbid you trash talk their org when you leave.

The employee has the short end of the stick!!!

just because people are lined up needing a job doesn't mean any of them are worth a damn.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

You have to be careful with things like counteroffers from a few different perspectives:

1. If you have been really underpaid for awhile and it took you leaving to force your employer to finally raise your pay to the necessary level, what else might they be screwing you over on?
2. At one job I worked, my boss used to tell me that the department head would never issue counteroffers because studies showed that a huge majority of people who took the counteroffers would leave within 2-3 years anyway.
3. If you're "indispensable" and have no real backup, a company may throw money at you to stay and then hire a person to "help you" that you can train "as your backup" and then they could lay you off at the next opportunity.

I personally would never take a counteroffer unless there were some extreme circumstances. Instead, if I thought about leaving but wanted to try to work it out and stay, I'd approach management about a raise. If they couldn't deliver, then I'd go ahead and interview and leave. I did something similar at my last job, but to be honest, I really had no intention of staying but wanted to make the CIO jump through some bureaucratic hoops for awhile.

Also, note I put the word "indispensable" in quotes. We had a thread here within the last 2-3 months and it amazed me how many people thought they were "indispensable." NO ONE is irreplaceable in his/her job and that includes everyone from the CEO to the janitor.

 

[gorcorps]

In my experience, employers take the time to collect the data about retention, and things are discussed about why it's so bad. But it usually turns out to be too hard to fix so they kind of give up.

 

[Exterous]

Some do but it is, IME, very difficult to find a company that cares all the way up the chain and has ability to show it materially (IE money\benefits).

 

[88keys]

Modern corporations are very shortsighted and only concern themselves with the here and now. Potential profits today trump probable disasters tomorrow.

 

[MongGrel]

This days, no.

Laid off atm, was weird I actually got a call from Goldman Sachs yesterday kinda out of the blue.

Haven't done Admin things in years, I used to, have been a Toolmaker for 30 years now.

I never liked it that much...

I might try it out, at least a cal back, but I need to get my head in order again before speaking to them.

 

[core2slow]

I left a pretty scathing remarks on the company during my exit interview. I doubt they care enough to do anything about it, i mean...for a company with a high turnover rate (new employee left within the first 6mos and current employees tend to leave after 2yr), nothing short of firing the CEO or get bought out would fix it.

 

[sourceninja]

...