Love 'em or Lose 'em: Getting Good People to Stay

Because finding the ideal person for every workplace position has become an increasingly difficult task, the retention of top employees has become every manager's concern. Love 'Em or Lose 'Em, by organizational-development specialists Beverly L. Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans, proposes that this "race for talent" can be effectively run only by those who adopt programs and policies that truly support their personnel. It then shows how to do so, even in organizations reluctant to participate actively.

Kaye and Jordan-Evans encourage an initial scan of their 26 alphabetically arranged chapters--such as "Information: Share It," "Mentor: Be One," and "Space: Give It"--so attention can be fully focused on the most relevant benefits and responsibilities associated with employee retention. All are bolstered with hands-on exercises and stories of others' failures and successes. The section on family-friendly conduct, for example, suggests uncovering specifics by directly asking employees what would make their lives easier. Resultant needs can be met, it continues, by allowing staffers to bring children to the office on occasion, assisting anyone who must line up care for an aging parent, giving weekday comp time to those who travel on weekends, etc. It also explains how Deloitte & Touche and DuPont addressed these issues. Any manager who dreads losing a top performer would do well to consider this book. --Howard Rothman