Talent Management Step 3: A Long-Term Retention Model

This chapter discusses employee retention. Retention, defined by Frank et al. (2004, p. 13) as ‘the effort by an employer to keep desirable workers in order to meet business objectives’, is an inclusive concept that includes both tangible and intangible factors. Many of these factors can negatively affect retention, for instance, weak engagement, low levels of motivation, a high degree of distrust, a lack of communication or transparency, or poorly managed compensation and reward practices, to mention a few. Obviously, the more time and money a company puts into developing talent, the more important it becomes to retain the talent so as to observe a return on this investment. Retention is also important, however, to avoid the hidden costs of turnover, such as loss of knowledge and experience.