improving retention

Improving retention is usually framed as reducing the number of people who leave, which quietly assumes every departure is a loss.

They are not. Some departures are neutral and a few are welcome. Treating them all the same drags the organisation toward keeping people it should not, and hides movement in the group that matters.

Splitting departures into regretted and non-regretted is uncomfortable to set up and immediately useful. The rate that matters is the regretted one, and it often moves in the opposite direction to the headline.

Keep the judgement structured. The manager and one other person, working against agreed criteria, recorded at the time it is made. An informal version of this becomes a popularity contest, and it creates a written record you would much rather not have.

The Fair Work Ombudsman covers employee records. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.

See Sentrient’s HR management system and performance management system.