Jamaica Public Service Company’s Current Retention Plan
Presently at Jamaica Public Service, there is no formal policy document to deal with the specific issue of employees’ performance and retention. However there are existing documents that will combat some of the issues that may lead to employee dissatisfaction, hence leading to high employee performance and low employee turnover. JPS has in place a grievance procedure that outlines how employees should communicate any problems they might have. It identifies all the avenues to be taken when an employee needs to voice his/her concerns. The grievance procedure plays a vital role in the organizations’ retention management as it harmonizes the relationship between staff and management, providing a motivation for staff to perform.
The Jamaica Public Service Company Limited in pursuit of retaining valuable and high performing employees ensures that the salary rates offered by the organization are among the top five percent paying organization. A periodic review of the market rate is done to ensure that the organization is more than just within the expected pay rates. The existing mobility path at JPS also helps to increase the satisfaction level of employees, hence making them more motivated to work and stay with the organization. The mobility path allows for the lack of stagnation in a particular position and will motivate employees since there are opportunities for movement. Apart from the above average base salary, JPS also offers reasonable compensation packages to employees, along with health benefits which are provided for them and their families. Persons working in the organization that has a long tenure are eligible for an insurance package.
Proposed Retention Plan for the Jamaica Public Service Co. Ltd.
The plan will document the objectives, goals, and approaches for the Retention of staff assigned to the target position and to a wider extent all individuals employed to JPS that will help in the organizations’ continued success.
Objectives
The aim of this plan is to set the foundation for proper organizational management that will promote employee retention and performance. This will be achieved by putting measures in place to ensure proper communication and teamwork among employees leading to a family like structure and resulting in the success of the organization.
Goals
The goals of this Staff Retention plan are to:
- Provide initiatives for a good management employee relationship
- Develop a productive work environment that encourages professional growth
- Provide initiatives to establish and maintain good staff morale
- Facilitate timely recruitment and appropriate selection of staff
Approach to Retain Employees
The approach to be used in order to achieve staff retention and performance are to:
- Ensure that a person/job and person/organization match exist that will lead to professional and career growth.
- Set clear management expectation/evaluation criteria for the employee assigned to the target position (operation manager).
- Define a communication approach to ensure effective dissemination of information.
- Ensure that managers and team leaders are clear on their role in maximizing staff retention.
- Provide rewards for outstanding performances.
Programs used to achieve Organisation Objectives
Selection of Staff
The first step to retention management in an organization is selecting the right persons for the job (appropriate staff). JPS should strive to assemble a team with diversified skills. Every effort should be made to ensure that staff matches their role in the organization. Individuals selected for a particular position should have experience that is relative to their roles, interested in their roles and be able to contribute and grow professionally.
Different methods should be used to make the roles of different positions attractive to staff that would lead to a highly qualified and high performance workforce.
Work Structure
The flexibility that an employee has plays a key role in the level of satisfaction with their job as they are given the opportunity to work hours convenient to them. Due to the nature of the roles of the position of Operations Manager, it would require the employee to work more than the basic 40 hr week. As a result of this, high quality workers must exist in the organization to support the Operations Manager and avoid the overloading of this employee.
When possible the Operations Manager should be allowed to work from home, which will be beneficial to both the organization and the staff, since it provides more balance of work and family life, leading to employee satisfaction.
Managing Employee and Management Relationship
Staff must be able to communicate freely with management. In order for JPS to develop and maintain a good relationship between staff and management, it is recommended that an open door policy be adapted. Open communication helps to avoid the appearance of secrecy between management and staff or a feeling of inferiority to management.
The process of retention should involve setting and discussing performance expectations with staff, coaching them and giving feedback on progress towards meeting expectations, and evaluating their performance based on the standards set. JPS should ensure that the staff understands what is expected of them and how their performance will be measured. Management should meet directly with staff to define each person performance expectation. These expectations/targets must be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-sensitive.
The support of one’s co-workers is an important component to the employee expanding his/her talent/skill to the benefit of the company. Managers should have individual and team/department goal(s) that are, in part, tied to financial compensation. As each manager’s compensation are aligned to these goals, meeting or failure to meet these goals have an impact on one’s financial costs. Since staff retention will be a part of these goals, each manager has a personal responsibility in keeping his own department satisfied and productive.
Building Employee Morale
Encouraging employees to work as a team is an effective way of improving their performance, which results in employees building each others confidence. JPS should build employee relationship by developing activities such as luncheons, team outings and other similar activities. It should also take into consideration facilitating team-building classes.
Resolving Conflicts
All staff members are expected to conduct themselves professionally, but personality conflicts or differences in approach between staff members may still occur. No member of the organization should feel compelled to work in a disrespectful, abusive, or incompetent environment. In the course of resolving conflicts between individuals or any other grouse employees should follow the grievance procedure available on the organizations intranet to find out how to deal with the particular situation.
Techniques used to Deduce Turnover
In order to ascertain why employees decide to leave an organisation, it is necessary that in depth probing of employees are done. Methods that can be used to do such assessments are Exit interviews, Post-exit survey and Employee Satisfaction Survey.
Exit Interviews
JPS must formally plan and conduct interviews with departing employees, especially those considered to be “high value” employees. This should be done to identify the reasons for leaving the organisation.
It is vital to ensure that exit interviews are conducted by trained personnel from the HR department or by external consultants for senior positions such as the Operations Manager. The interview must be structured so that questions about unavoidable and avoidable reasons for leaving are included. The interviewer must seek to ensure that the desirability of leaving, ease of leaving and other job alternatives are all known at the end of the interview. The interview must be held at a private place at least three days before the employee leaves. The purpose of the interview must be known to the interviewee, which is to better help the organisation to understand why employees leave the firm and to identify the possibility of developing new retention initiatives. Finally the information that was obtained from the interviews will be kept confidential.
Employee Satisfaction Survey
This survey must be carried periodically to identify the type of job rewards that are most dissatisfying to employees. The survey must be targeted at all employees, in order to learn from all employees, rather than who are leaving. Results from the survey should be used to increase job satisfaction.
Post Exit Survey
In order to minimize departing employees concerns about exit interviews regarding confidentially and possible employee retaliation, a post exit survey should be used. This type of survey should cover the same issues as the exit interview and should be distributed shortly after the employee’s last day.
Recommendation
Retention Management seeks to control the number and types of employees who leave and who remain with the organisation. At the Jamaica Public Service Company, there was not a detailed plan that stipulates the procedure used in retaining employees, however they have several ideas through which they try to retain ‘high value’ employees, make the organization successful. The loss of employees may occur through voluntary or involuntary turnover.
The Proposed Retention Plan alleviates the problem of voluntary turnover in that it provides some level of satisfaction to employees. This plan provides rewards such as bonuses for employees who have done an excellent performance on their job. The proposed plan seeks to identify the reasons for which employees leave the organisation, and help in developing the system so that the same problem does not lead to other employee turnover.
Jamaica Public Service Company Limited should use this Proposed Performance and Retention plan for the job in question (Operations Manager) to gain all the benefits that may arise from this proposal. As proposed, the organization’s manager should be able to easily communicate with his supervisor and to an extent top management. This will assist the Operations Manager to voice his concerns freely and may lead to the reduction of future problematic issues. The various rewards (both intrinsic and extrinsic) outlined for outstanding performance will motivate the Operations Manager to provide high level performance at all times, hence working assiduously to achieve the organization’s goals and objectives.
Reference List
Dessler G., (2005). Human Resource Management, 10th edition. Prentice Hall.
Heneman H. G. III & Judge T, A., (2007). Staffing Organization, 5th edition. McGraw-Hill Irwin.
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