12 Ways to Retain ‘Swing’ Talents in Your Organization

In my previous article, I wrote about ‘Customer Loyalty and Retention’ and brought to our attention a group of Customer’s known as the ‘Swing’ group. These are customers who stick around your business only because you happen to be the best alternative at the moment until they find a better alternative. This makes this group if customers valuable yet un-retainable in the long run.

Here, I would like to bring forward also the concept of ‘Swing’ Talents. To begin, there are two groups of Talent who are staying with you now: Loyal and Swing.

Loyal are those Talented employees who stick around your company either due to the job, the boss or the company’s mission/business/image. The moment any of these three does not seem right, they will start leaving.

On the other hand, Swing Employees who are Loyal to you because you happen to be the “Best alternative at the current moment until I find another alternative” situation. In other words, these are key talents who are ready to leave any moment no matter what you do to enrich their jobs or to give them a good boss. You are simply not their permanent choice.

Why then do they stay? Swing Talents are ‘loyal’ because:
1. Individual Relationships with people in the company
2. Convenience (at that point in time)
3. Contractually tied-up
4. Exciting Direct Incentives
5. No better alternatives in the market yet
6. Subordinates whom they love and love them back
7. No known alternatives in the market yet
8. CV friendly

OK then. What can we do? Well, other than pray and hope, I can only think of 12 ways:
1. Over Promote
2. Loans
3. Spot Bonuses
4. Block recruiters
5. The Spouse (and their Children, if possible)
6. Toys (e.g. iPODs, MACs, MP3s, 22” LCD Screens etc.)
7. Glorified Titles
8. Forced Ambassador
9. “Position” the competition
10. Sell the Dream
11. Give them a Best Friend
12. Appoint them as Internal Trainers

In other words, try to do some of these 12 things and hope for the best. At least you can say you have tried.

-TURD-