In a recent Hudson survey of 10,000 US workers titled Why Employees Walk: 2005 Retention Initiatives Report, we found an interesting distinction that we have not seen before.

Most companies and good managers employ good people practices for increased productivity and retention. The traditional factors covered are salary, benefits, relationship with manager, work-life balance, opportunity for advancement, and training.
They ran the traditional gap analysis and the top opportunities to satisfy workers are in order within benefits, salary, and opportunities for advancement.

But like in all surveys, each individual is specific. Every successful manager must know those differences and selectively apply them individually to each employee.

The best first level distinction was the consistent higher expectation from women. Salary was ranked as very important by 87% of women versus 80% of men. Benefits 83% vs. 77%, relationship with manager 70% vs. 59%, work-life balance 77% vs. 68%, and training 57% vs. 49%.

The only exception is the opportunity for advancement. Men were more demanding with 58% vs. 51%.

This study shows the need for a high touch, specific approach to retention. To succeed at retaining your best employees, you need a flexible technology solution so you can tailor any talent management process you put in place. Why? Because we are dealing with a unique individual every time!