Retention rodeo

T&D vibes editor Jennifer Salopek rounded up a herd of tips and tricks for keeping employees down on the farm. These successful approaches come straight out of such leading companies as AlliedSignal, Hallmark, and Steelcase. In particular, one study identifies the best practices of firms dubbed Retention Leaders. Practices such as managing people, not retention; having a culture of caring and excellence; and soliciting and acting on employee feedback. The article contains advice on how to keep technical talent from being rustied-such as giving them management training, investing in state-of-the-art tools and technologies, sharing knowledge across all disciplines, and reinforcing frequent communication. Or, you can apply some of the lessons Mom taught you, from Wear Clean Underwear : Business Wisdom From Mom, by Rhonda Abrams. Parental paradigms such as "Share" are interpreted in a business context and make perfect common sense in either case. Other tips focus on executive retention, the importance of training and work-life balance as retention tools, the role of technology and communication in retention, nontraditional benefits, and retaining valuable older workers. The article is sprinkled liberally with interesting, and sometimes surprising, factota on retention.