Voluntary attrition is not just valuable as an indicator that the organization’s health is stressed but it can yield substantive benefits too
It’s been a long time since I heard this fable by Aesop (when people didn’t think it was a misspelt Employee Stock Option Plan), so I may have a few details wrong. There was a stag called Techmajor who stood admiring himself in the pool of public perception. He was the proudest of his antlers, one of which he named 'foreign' and the other he named 'postings'. But he was ashamed of his four legs which he derisively called Vo, La, Tree and Shun. He went to Dr. Comp, an orthopedic surgeon, and paid lots of money to get his legs cut shorter. One day a lion called Business Downturn (no more names, I promise) started chasing Techmajor. He ran as fast as his now shortened legs could carry him. Unfortunately, his antlers got caught in a trump tree (well, just one more) and he became lion protein.
The point is not to glorify voluntary attrition and never seek to curb it. But if it is simply suppressed before mature people managing processes are in place, artificially lowered attrition can make the organization’s health worse instead of better. As we shall see, during this phase of immature people systems, letting attrition continue may not be such a bad idea after all.
Attrition is the Symptom – Not the Disease
This story is from the July 2017 edition of People Matters.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July 2017 edition of People Matters.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
How Digital Transformation Can Power The Great Reset
Technology has the potential to serve as the key enabler of change between digitalising administrative tasks and fostering human connections
The Crypto Meltdown Of 2022
FTX implosion: A setback, but not the end for the crypto market
Govern Pre-IPO Unicorns to Create Value; Not Valuation
Billion-dollar startups always make the headlines. But is there true value behind those eye-catching valuations? How can proper governance be implemented for these much-hyped companies?
On change and change management
The best way to end the year, especially such a disrupted one as 2022, is by laying the groundwork for the year to come. Michelle Yong, Head of Resourcing at Shell, offers some insights on change management to bring us forward into 2023
The Great Reconnection: A paradigmatic moment for employers and employees
This year has not been a good one for employee retention. The Great Resignation, originally thought to be a US phenomenon, has emerged in Asia now. But is there a way to turn it into the Great Reconnection?
Lessons Managing in leadership: a global hybrid team
What takeaways can we draw from the pandemic? Fatima Koning, Chief Commercial Officer at IWG, shares what the last five years have taught her about managing a global sales team across 120 markets in the hybrid model
Eight HR trends that we saw throughout 2022
As companies manage their workforces in a dynamic era, HR departments have continually adapted and adjusted, and never more than this year as digital acceleration and workplace evolutions came together
One way to turn the tide of employee retention
There's a surprising link between skill development opportunities and job satisfaction. Here are some ways of boosting skilling and thereby talent retention
A key focus for L&D going into 2023 should be business alignment
Venkat Subramaniam of Degreed believes that learning is core to business success and organisations need to invest in the right processes and technologies to adapt to continuous change
WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP CAN BE GAME GHANGER FOR INCLUSIVE FUTURE OF WORK
BREAKING FREE FROM THE STEREOTYPES IN THE INSURANCE SECTOR, PAMELA THOMSON-HALL SHARES HER JOURNEY OF BEING A CHAMPION FOR WOMEN AND BRINGING ABOUT A CHANGE IN A MALE-DOMINATED INDUSTRY
