Doug Battista Announces Strategic Employee Retention Tactics

Doug Battista

Keeping good employees is more important than ever, reports Doug Battista, President of North America Field Operations of Human Resources at Jenny Craig. Doug Battista offers his invaluable insight on how to find, and keep, the best employees.

CARLSBAD, CA – June 1, 2012 – After 15 years of experience strategically managing employee retention for companies like ARAMARK, Walt Disney, and Nestlé, Doug Battista says that the trick to keeping great employees on the payroll is simple: reward and acknowledge superior performance and communicate on all levels.

Doug Battista offers these tips to help business keep the right employees while the economy recovers:

• Reward positive contributions. If an employee goes above and beyond his or her outlined duties, offer them a token of appreciation and acknowledgement. A simple $25 gift card to a local restaurant or an invitation to take off an hour earlier on Friday will let the employee know that they are valued, says Doug Battista, and where they stand in regards to maintaining their employment. Doug Battista points out that when management is silent, employees get worried and may seek other options.
• Keep an open line of communication. This, explains Doug Battista, is one of the single most important things a company can do to prove their commitment to their employees. Weekly meetings, a company newsletter, or an occasional email about the state of things can ease the fears that an employee may feel about his or her job security.
• Get to know the employees. For large companies, make sure that mid-level management is establishing relationships with workers. Smaller companies can benefit from occasional senior level presence. Doug Battista says that employees who feel like people, as opposed to a payroll line item, are more likely to perform their jobs to their best ability. Additionally, Doug Battista points out that promoting from within is a huge morale boost to employees, and knowing them puts management in a better position to find those who might excel in a more progressive role.

We live in a society, points out Doug Battista, that often views Human Resources primarily as an administrative position that offers very little value to an organization. That simply isn’t the case, states Doug Battista, recently going on record to explain exactly what benefit an effective HR Department can have for a business.

It’s mostly about managing and organizing employees and ensuring that those employees are really the right ones for the job, says Doug Battista. Additionally, Doug Battista notes that when company management is free to focus on the business itself, employees are better trained and better informed on their jobs. He says that keeping key positions filled with the proper talent can even mean the difference between emerging from the recession and becoming another victim of the economic downturn.

Human Resources is a vital operational expense, concludes Doug Battista. Without well-qualified individuals keeping tabs on how employees view their job and their superiors, many businesses have lost the opportunity to ensure they have better employees (and better quality products and services) than their competition.