Ultimate Performance: Measuring Human Resources at Work

Approaches to Retention Metrics

The days of spending an entire career within a single organization have long since passed, particularly within large organizations or dynamic dependent industries. This affects both younger and older employees, although older ones are known to be more stable. Thus, any discussion of retention naturally involves a discussion of turnover and measures of turnover.

The retention of human capital is a critical and never ending challenge for organizations everywhere. In the United States there are four common responses to the retention dilemma:

• Obsessing over turnover.

• Limiting internal job mobility.

• No rehires.

• Employee development.

Let’s look at each of these and also review why these responses may or may not have any impact on retaining human capital.