This is a major problem for F500 companies where the finance department turnover is huge.
How can you create loyalty so that the analysts you trained don't leave as soon as they have a better offer?
Here are a few tactics commonly used, please share what works best at your firm!
- Money: your firm tries to buy you with raises and bonuses. It's the obvious thing to do but from my experience it doesn't work very well in the long term because if money is the only reason you get up in the morning you're a mercenary not a loyal employee.
- Expensive gala diners, 1st class travel: This one is a bit old school since 1st class travel for analyst is just a dream now. However if you are the only company doing it that could create some serious loyalty, because travel & living expenses show that you CARE, just like a bonus. It gives your analysts status and make them feel important compared to throwing money at them and making them feel like cheap gigolos.
- Training: I think training is interesting because it shows care but it can easily backfire. If you have the best training programs in the industry (not just initial training but also all year round) people are going to steal your employees like crazy.
- Team building: if you suffer enough with someone (or party enough) he's going to become your best buddy. And no one leaves their best buddy behind. That's a commonly used strategy. BB do it through all nighters + strip club. F500 try to do it with BS social events and caritative activities. I'm curious about hearing what was the best team building event you ever attended!
So what do you think guys? Maybe loyalty is overrated and we should just switch companies every few years? I do think however that there's a serious edge for firms that can create true loyalty and keep their workers happy.
Share your thoughts and experience in the comments!
By making their employees feel worthless and hence scaring them into staying at their firm.
Are strip clubs really that big a part of "business" in general?
Not sure if people would agree with me on this but I always thought companies should just come out and say to their employees that the company's loyalty is to its shareholders first and foremost. In turn, companies could stop preaching this loyalty line and allow employees to look for new jobs and leave as they please. Nothing irritates me more than companies/manager's that preach loyalty yet fire loads of workers at the first sign of a down turn.
Isn't there an interest for companies to have employee that are working with a "long-term" mindset and not spending their time hunting for a new job?
It's a two year programme by design. They want most analyst to leave the moment they become expensive.
The point of having an assembly line/inventory management approach to hiring, training and getting rid of your analysts is to keep average costs down. The moment the employee becomes too well trained / expensive to retain it makes sense for the quarterly accounting minded corporation to let them go for a newer cheeper model to do the grunt/monkey work.
Loyalty (i.e. corporate brainwashing) is only important to the extent the corporation can indoctrinate new / potential employees into wage slavery. At some point the corporation has to recognise that it costs less to retrain a new wage slave, or if economically worthwhile, promote said analyst into an upper form of wage slavery.
The company sponsored career track is a myth... corporate propaganda for white collar labour...
I think the system works because companies do not need loyal, or even highly trained, employees. If your "finance department" is just FP&A, you do not need rocket scientists...you need a ton of reasonably competent grunts. Those grunts might as well be cheap.
If you want companies to care, they need to care. That means leaning out the departments, outsourcing some of the mindless work, and giving employees a chance to do something meaningful.
The pay, lifestyle, and culture of F500s are not bad. Employees leave because it is a massively bloated pyramid, and they are not learning much. They are not moving forward, and they know it. Look at the org chart in a consultancy/bank, then look at a F500.
[quote=West Coast rainmaker.... Look at the org chart in a consultancy/bank, then look at a F500.[/quote]
This!
100% agree
I like the tech model.
Free cafeterias with award-winning chefs.
Free workout facilities, including a competition length lap pool.
Free weekly massages
Pinball machines.
Free beer after 5 PM. CC:Groupon.
Buses to/from work.
IP's idea: discounted housing within walking distance of work.
Make it as easy as possible to work for you. The more convenient work is compared to other companies, the higher the barriers to leave.
The path to ensuring employee loyalty is the same as it is in any other situation involving a (somewhat) free market: provide a better product (or just convince your "consumers" you have a better product). So in this case, be more prestigious, pay better, provide a positive work environment. If working for you is better than working for firm x, your employees will not leave. Yes there are all kinds of other extenuating circumstances but that's generally the bottom line.
No. In the above, you are sacrificing comp in exchange for pinball machines and free cafeteria food. Just pay me more. I don't go to work to play pinball or get a free bus pass. I can create and fund my own diversions, much more efficiently than a corporation can.
here's why i stay in finance at a large software firm:
-decent work/life balance -lots of perks, including the chefs, gym, and other things -flexibility of schedule... i can take time off, show up when i want, as long as i get things done -generally chill, non-verbally abusive environment, nice people -good brand recognition for business school
I actually know of some relatives working in the middle-east who get paid well+not taxed, housing stipend or company villa, transportation allowance or company car+free gas, and best of all paid vacation with 5 airplane tickets included.
This is what I call loyalty.
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