Retaining quality employees takes work

Amanda Kramer

The human resources manager entered his new workplace and saw hundreds of colleagues walking through the halls wearing gold pins for 30 years of service.

"When I started, I was concerned there wasn't anyone who hadn't been here under 25 years," he laughed.

Today, Seering said, he knows why nearly 400 of the 2,400 people employed at St. Mary's have stayed so long: The hospital values its workers and tries to develop them over time.

Hospital spokeswoman Sarah Carlson said the hospital's employee turnover rate is 10 percent compared to an average rate of 13.2 percent for health-care workers.

St. Mary's is just one example of how organizations are taking more responsibility for employee satisfaction, retention and promotion. In today's tight labor market, there's an increased effort on the part of businesses to hold onto their good workers, said Terry Ludeman, chief labor economist with the state Department of Workforce Development.

"The marketplace is tight, and there's lots of competition for these workers," Ludeman said.

According to Seering and St.

Mary's Human Resource Director Karen Wolfram, the hospital uses a number of programs and ideas to keep workers stable and content.

Key among them, Seering said, is the hospital's mission of "shared accountability." Each employee, from nurses and doctors to housekeepers and food servers, has the opportunity to participate in the hospital's governance.

"Here, you become invested in the place and the process," Seering said.

Wolfram said tuition and loan reimbursement programs have been popular. Online internal education programs called the "Learning Management Service" also help employees work on skills such as conflict resolution and corporate management. Employees can then use the training in their current job, or to advance.

Laura V. Page, an independent business and management consultant based in Madison, said St. Mary's is a good model for companies across the state.

Page, who advises human resources departments and company leaders on quality improvement, customer management, worker retention and leader development, said there's a misconception that money keeps people in jobs over long periods of time.

"The key to retaining employees is to provide as much of what motivates a human being as possible," Page said. "And that's a tall order." Dan Stahl, president of Human Resources Group in Madison, agrees. Stahl is another business consultant who helps companies handle retention and promotion.

Through training seminars and one-on-one consultations with business leaders, Stahl encourages companies not only to compensate well but to promote a healthy work and life balance.

Stahl also emphasizes that it's critical for employees to be invested in the organization and its direction.

"We promote what we call 'leading with openness,'" Stahl said.

"That means employee leaders share information, involve people in decision-making to the point where it's appropriate - remove the veil and the mystery." There's nothing mysterious about the employee-friendly climate and culture at Swiss Colony, the national food and gift distribution company headquartered in Monroe.

Joe Hunter, vice president of human resources, said their full-time employees spend an average of more than 13 years at the company.

"We look at compensation, benefits and we really look at the whole work environment," Hunter said.

He said Swiss Colony works hard to keep its work environment "fun." At the beginning of each year, committees of workers are organized and given a budget to use on anything from potluck lunches to community service activities or local fund-raisers.

He said the company has also found that continued education is important to employee satisfaction.

Similar to St. Mary's training courses, Swiss Colony has a program called "University of Swiss Colony," which offers skill-building programs focused on subjects like business trends and legal issues. "USC" credits, Hunter said, help employees advance within the company.

Retaining and promoting workers is going to be important in Wisconsin's future because of the aging workforce and labor shortages in various occupations, said state Department of Workforce Development Secretary Roberta Gassman.

Companies such as St. Mary's and Swiss Colony are putting their energies in the right place, Gassman said, and it's going to be critical to the state's economic health for companies to continue the trend.

"We want to make sure we're retaining good workers," Gassman said. "We need every available worker in the future."

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