Reducing Turnover in your Small Business

A Multi-pronged Approach

The Alberta HR Trends Report put out by the Human Resources Institute of Alberta in March indicates that the cost of turnover has gone up significantly over the past year, from $16,790 to $22,600.   Not surprising given the amount of lay-offs and the inevitable severance pay that employers provide.   But the costs include more than just severance.  Things like legislated notice requirements, the time required to manage the departure, the time and money to recruit Read the full article…

Written by Deanna Hunter

On the category of Talent Retention

Retain Top Talent as the Economy Recovers

Get ready...

There are hints everywhere that the economy is beginning its slow recovery.  I’ve been seeing some business activity that makes me think its true, particularly in the number of recruiting conversations I’ve been having recently.  From an HR perspective getting prepared for a recovery is very smart.  And certainly, thinking about recruiting is exciting.  But thinking about how you are going to retain top talent is perhaps even more important. Over the past year or Read the full article…

Written by Deanna Hunter

On the category of Talent Retention

Revisiting Feedback…Give ‘Feedforward’ a Try.

Nobody likes feedback.  It is almost always associated with judgement, its usually negative and in many cases it creates a feeling of conflict.  It has become a dirty word, not just at work but in many aspects of our lives.  In most cases giving feedback is really code for “I don’t like something you are doing and want you to stop”. So why not take a new approach?  Why not try ‘feedforward’? To improve performance, try Read the full article…

Written by Deanna Hunter

On the category of Performance Management + Talent Retention

Getting Better at Giving Feedback

Practice Makes Perfect

Giving feedback is something that many people struggle with.  We usually fear it because we assume it will create conflict, make someone feel bad, and it is just uncomfortable in general.    At work, not providing feedback can have lots of different effects – pretty much all negative.  Check out my post on this topic at http://ridgegatehr.ca/point-out-what-your-employees-arent-good-at/ for a quick reminder of some of those negative impacts. The thing is, giving feedback is a skill you Read the full article…

Written by Deanna Hunter

On the category of Performance Management + Talent Retention

Case Study: Conducting a Pulse Check Survey

To identify the way forward for a small company

The CEO of a small company I have been working with was interested in what his employees were thinking and whether there were any hot button issues that could be resolved in order to keep his team engaged.  The organization had just doubled in size, from 11 to 24 in less than six months, and was continuing to grow. The CEO knew that retention of his current high performing team was critical to achieve some incredibly top Read the full article…

Written by Deanna Hunter

On the category of Case Study + Human Resources + Talent Retention