Sixteen years ago, my partner, Sally Stetson, and I started a retained executive search firm. The field existed long before our entry into it and the essential service offering has changed very little. Employers retain us to find the best talent available to fill critical roles in their companies.

That’s about the only thing that hasn’t changed. Most of our clients now have substantial internal recruitment functions so that they can fill as many jobs as possible without outside help. As a result, we tend to be tapped for more senior level assignments or to fill positions that are particularly vexing for some reason or another.

Another big change is the internet of course. In 1996, when we opened our doors, we did research using various directories and reference books. We still have a few of them lying around, but I can’t find one dated after 2004.

How about email? When we started, the phone was everything. Of course, it was sometimes tough to get past the secretary who answered it – but that person has gone away, as well, by and large. With email, we can contact people directly and discreetly – and they can respond when and if they wish to.

In 1996, air travel was a lot easier and videoconferencing was just gaining traction. People tended to work in their offices and not their homes. Now, they may or may not even have an office. I run into people every day who work in one city and live in another. I no longer blink an eye when those two locations are three time zones apart.

So, given all of these advances in technology, access, information and flexibility, I guess I should stop being surprised when people expect that we can assemble a slate of top-notch talent for a senior-level position in about a week — at the most.

I think the belief that we should be able to assemble candidate slates at lightning speed is grounded in a few major misconceptions about our business. The biggest of these misconceptions, far and away, is the impact of the internet on executive search.

Most people believe the internet and social networking sites such as LinkedIn make it easy to quickly locate great candidates for search assignments. These tools certainly help, but not as much as you might think.

First of all, we are not just looking for people who are in the job market – we are looking for the absolute best people available for the job. Many of them are not even looking to make a move and may or may not have their profile “out there.”

Second, when we find those people who are exactly what we are looking for (sometimes with the help of the internet), we often have to convince them to speak to us and take some time to consider a potential career opportunity. They are busy, successful, well-paid people. It’s not unusual for us to have to chase them down over several days – or even weeks – to get a few minutes of their time. The idea that “posting” a position online will produce quality candidates is largely a fantasy. We rarely do it.

And once we find someone, another part of the work begins. Our clients don’t pay us to evaluate people based on their resumes and online profiles; they can do that. They pay us to truly and deeply evaluate people. What motivates them? How is their energy? Do they have that intangible skill called leadership? Why are they really interested in making a move? Are they blowing smoke about relocation and compensation? The list goes on and on.

And of course, there is that most elusive of evaluations – will they be a strong cultural fit with our client? Before we can answer that question, we have to really get to know our clients. That doesn’t happen by reading their corporate profile on Hoovers or by visiting their website. It happens by spending time with them – in person – in their offices, plants, loading docks, labs etc.

The internet has made it a lot easier to find those locations (I LOVE Google Maps), but I haven’t yet found an online tool that gives me the full experience of walking into a client’s office and spending the day. And I don’t think I am going to find that tool anytime soon.

In a world obsessed with faster, cheaper, better, I am in a business in which faster and cheaper often leads to disaster.

Finding, recruiting, evaluating and selecting talent doesn’t happen overnight.

What did I learn from my time spent to Paris? Even though it was a brief trip, I discovered several things about life in general.

Smell the Flowers: It was so delightful to experience a new culture that is more relaxed than the one I’m used to. We loved the pace of Paris, particularly the pace of the meals. Of course, we loved the food; who wouldn’t appreciate being served chocolate croissants every morning?! Each meal was savored slowly and lasted between two or three hours. Initially, it was challenging to adjust to not having the waiters and waitresses shoo you away so they could turn the table over to another customer. The wait staff was not focused on rushing to give us the check – what a shock! Each meal was enjoyed and relished. We actually ate more slowly, had longer conversations and just enjoyed each other’s company. We appreciated taking life a bit more slowly, remembering to smell the flowers along the way.

Mind Your Manners: My one observation of the culture is that typically (although there are always exceptions!), Parisians speak softly and very much appreciate politeness. They are proud of their heritage and the beauty of their language. They want others to try to speak French or, at the least, attempt the language. They respond more favorably when you begin your sentence with “Bonjour” or “Bonsoir” rather than just launching into a question or statement. Even though I struggled with the language, I found most people quite accommodating and supportive if I tried, and did so in a soft voice accompanied by a smile. I found the culture very civilized, lovely and one that was welcoming if you remembered your manners; it was a good lesson for any culture.

Learn from the Past: Paris’s history and architecture were fascinating. We visited Notre Dame, the Louvre, Rodin Museum, Paris Opera House, Musee Carnavalet and the Eiffel Tower, just to name a few. The historical facts and stories of each place were so rich and interesting. I particularly loved discovering a patisserie or bistro tucked away in a narrow back street, seeing locals riding their bicycles with loaves of bread under their arms and listening to the diversity and variety of languages. I learned a great deal of history throughout our trip and now plan to read books about the region to help the “history lesson” come alive for years to come.

Respect and Honor Your Family: It was a pleasure traveling with my mother and brother. We had not vacationed together for quite a long time, and traveling together as adults was a delight. We enjoyed each other’s company and caught up on what was going on in each other’s lives, all while experiencing a new culture together. It was a wonderful gift for my mother to visit such a glorious place; she never expected to be able to travel to Paris, especially so late in life. But it also was a gift for me and my brother to spend time together and watch our mother take in all of the sights and beauty of the city.

Hopefully, we all will make the time to enjoy our family members in various stages of our lives. These memories will be ones I treasure for the rest of my life. Take the time to stop and smell the roses (and enjoy a chocolate croissant every now and then).

Regardless, I am still faced with the task of either writing this entry or facing the wrath of the Senior Partner in the firm. So, rather than bore you with a well-thought-out analysis of a critical business challenge, I’ll settle for a more flow-of-consciousness series of info bytes on issues that have come up recently in our business. This approach also has the added bonus of one of these nuggets being picked up more broadly in the 140-character world in which we live.

So, what’s going on in the world of executive employment?

Relocation is becoming more challenging as the market heats up.
In virtually every national search I’ve conducted in the past year, we’ve had to overcome some obstacle around relocation. It simply is the nature of the real estate market that mortgages are underwater and companies refuse to significantly alter their existing relo policies. For candidates, this means understanding the fact that very, very few companies are going to buy your house. For employers, go into a search with a firm idea of what you are willing to do for a candidate who is facing a significant loss on sale. If the answer is “not much,” be prepared to let a few talented candidates go through the course of the search.

Anecdotal evidence suggests there has been a recent decline in openings for senior financial positions.
While the market for senior financial executives held up relatively well through the downturn, it has not rebounded at the pace of hiring in other functional areas. In talking with in-transition CFO types, they tell me they’ve seen a dearth of new opportunities over the past several months. Ironically, the cause of this slowdown might be related to the fact that the function was relatively recession-proof; thus, the pent-up demand for senior sales and marketing, general management and human resources executives we’ve seen over the past year doesn’t translate to the finance function.

Apple is ruling / ruining my life.
I cannot stop checking my iPhone and iPad! It’s become an obsession. Whenever the things buzz, ring or vibrate, I have to check them. It has gotten so bad that I routinely save email drafts for morning distribution to avoid having the recipient look at the timestamp and wonder why I felt the need to send an email at 1:32 am—or why I was even awake to do so. On a related note, I was out to lunch recently with a client who checked his Blackberry about five times during the meal. If I have done the same to any of you at some point, I apologize profusely.

Our clients, by and large, continue to feel good about further strengthening of the economy.
Our clients consistently tell us they are making investments in growth due to continually improving business conditions. And, finally, this improvement appears to be impacting growth in rank and file hiring. Evidence in support comes from the Vice President of Recruitment for one of our global clients who indicated a 500% growth in open job orders at his firm within the past six months. While I feel his pain as a talent acquisition professional, this type of news is great for our economy.

So that’s it:  a few random thoughts from the executive recruiting world. Any suggestions for meatier topics for my next entry are greatly appreciated!

I read the letter, the rebuttal from Goldman Sachs and some of the online commentary.  I have to say, I found it all fascinating and terrifying.

Fascinating, because a single individual was given a global platform to indict one of Wall Street’s most revered brands.  It’s one thing for a person to post such a letter on the web – that happens all the time.  What was it about this person, this letter, this company that led the Times to provide the writer with one of the world’s biggest bullhorns?  I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for that discussion by the Editorial Board – much less the office of the General Counsel.

Terrifying, because in today’s digital world, given the right circumstances, a single person has the power to destroy a brand by writing what is essentially an opinion piece disguised as a letter of resignation.  Or maybe disguised as a job application, as some have suggested.  I have no clue whether Mr. Smith’s accusations have any merit.  How could I?  But reading through the comments associated with the piece, most people believed every word he said.

I found Goldman’s response predictable and weak.  But with accusations like these, what can one say?  Who has a worse job at Goldman’s than the poor soul who had to draft that statement?  What are your choices?  He’s a disgruntled employee.  It’s just a few bad apples.  We’re not as bad as our competitors.

As with all things digital, I wonder about the long-term impact of this kind of thing.  Can one letter really kill the company’s entire campus recruiting effort, as some have suggested?  I read a quote from a young person who said he was so disillusioned by the letter he decided not to apply for a job at Goldman but instead has decided to pursue his passion for the theatre.  Honestly?  Was that guy really going to Goldman Sachs?

The only thing I know for certain is that it is harder and harder for people, corporations, institutions, governments, etc. to cultivate and maintain a benevolent image while behaving in the exact opposite way from their supposed values.  To be sure, they can do it for a while.  In fact, some have raised it to an art form.  But sooner or later, someone with a good internet connection and a flair for writing can bring the whole thing crashing down.

And by and large, I think this is probably a good thing.

• What do they want to do to keep current in their field?
• What additional skill sets or experiences do they want to add to their portfolio?
• What seminars would they be interested in attending?
• Are they interested in becoming more involved in the community to broaden their background and network?

Hopefully, we provide opportunities that will stretch them and expand their thinking.  As my career was just launching, I had a very forward-thinking boss.  She sat me down and asked me what specific organizations I wanted to get involved with in the community.  I truly had never thought about it before and remember being stumped for an answer.  She rightfully thought it was never too early to volunteer, expose myself to different experiences and expand my network.  I don’t know if I appreciated it at the time, but I certainly do now.

Where do you begin when thinking about focusing on your own professional development?  Here are a few thoughts to get started:

• What are you passionate about?  It may be helpful to begin expanding your knowledge in areas where you have the most interest.  If you are interested in the subject or topic, you most likely will be eager to spend the time to learn more and will naturally be good at it.
• Identify specific gaps or areas where you need to improve.  If there is a functional area that is not one of your strengths, partner with a colleague or a person outside of your company who specializes in that function.  Talk to them, volunteer for a project or get involved on a committee that may provide you with some additional perspective or knowledge in this area.
• What specific areas in your business are expanding?  How can you become more involved? Volunteer for a project, task force or to research a new business idea.  You will most likely get to know new colleagues or form stronger relationships with others.  Take initiative.  Learn how your competitors are approaching this business issue.  You will not only expand your knowledge, you may also make yourself more valuable to your organization.
• Who do you admire?  How can you learn from that person?  Most people would be flattered if you told them you admire them.  Take them out for coffee or lunch.  Ask them questions.  Try to learn about how their career has developed over time and determine if there are some examples that may resonate with you.
• Attend a professional workshop or conference.  Is there a conference or workshop that sounds interesting to you?  Network with others to determine if the speakers are well respected and have something worthwhile to share.  You most likely will walk away with a few new pieces of knowledge and newly formed relationships to add to your network.

Hopefully, as managers, we are asking these questions of our staff members and team on an ongoing basis, but are we also asking ourselves the same questions?  How do we continue to expand our knowledge, add to our network and enhance our skill sets?  We often say that we are too busy and lack the time needed to devote to anything new.  However, we also know the answer to that statement – we don’t have the time, but we need to make the time.  It pays off in the long run, and if our team observes us actively pursuing professional development for ourselves, it will become a natural part of their repertoire as well.

As is typical with early career professionals, they gained their first promotions mostly by the superiority of their technical or functional expertise.  They were great engineers, sales people, scientists or compensation and benefits experts.  By and large, their success was predicated on their own competence and labor.  This early achievement usually leads to positions with more responsibility and broader spans of control, where these professionals can no longer obtain objectives solely by their own competence.

As their goals become more strategic and complex, these high performers need to stop doing and start leading in order to be effective.  For some, it is difficult to relinquish control of a project to a group of subordinates; for others, it is impossible.  They tend to micromanage, frustrate their direct reports and end up doing a great job on some – but not all – of their responsibilities.   Those who can’t lead most often derail at this point in their careers, either topping out in their organizations or moving to a specialized track where their companies can take advantage of their functional/technical excellence while minimizing the impact of their lack of leadership competency.

Is there a way to improve the percentage of executives who can successfully make the leap from doer to leader?  Based on the anecdotal data I’ve gathered from my own experience interviewing senior executives, there certainly is.  While many of these professionals credit their companies’ internal or external management development programs to their growth as leaders, the most effective resource in career development they identify is a strong and interested mentor or role model.  Among a majority of successful senior business leaders, you will find that at some point in the early stages of their career, they engaged a more senior executive as a mentor.

In general, I’m a big supporter of having a mentor; having a credible, experienced professional in your corner who has invested a personal stake in your development is never a bad thing.  As it pertains to making the transition from doer to leader, there are two benefits in particular to be gained from getting a mentor’s input.

First, a mentor, as much as anything else, is a truth-teller.  To use my own experience as an example, while complaining to an “early career” mentor about the fact that a project team I was leading wasn’t performing to my expectations, he made the astute observation that I was a pretty lousy communicator.  He correctly identified that I was an intuitive thinker and, while that had served me well as an individual contributor, it had the potential to derail my career as a people manager.  As an intuitive, I often left out steps in a process and expected my team members to magically understand what was going on inside my head.  This mentor added that I often exacerbated the situation with a communication style that could make people feel stupid when they asked me questions.  These insights were quite blunt and that second piece of feedback in particular was not easy to hear.  However, on self-reflection, it was abundantly clear that he was right.

Second, a mentor serves as a role model.  When handed pieces of feedback like those described above, it’s often difficult to find corrective behaviors on your own.  By observing a mentor who models desired behaviors, professionals with less experience can at least have an idea of what to shoot for.  If the relationship is strong and trusting, the mentor can give insight as to what is working and what is not as the mentee makes adjustments to his or her leadership style.

Whether it’s working with a mentor, executive coach or just through a painful and painstaking series of trial-and-error experiences, moving from a doer to a leader mentality is essential to a professional making the leap into the senior executive ranks.  If you ask most senior executives to what they attribute their success, invariably, they will mention the name of an interested, more senior professional who helped shape their careers.  If it worked for so many of them, chances are it will work for you, too.

• “The company seemed so positive about my candidacy, but now, they have stopped returning my phone calls.”
• “When I arrived at the company for my initial interview, not only was the receptionist unfriendly, but I waited more than 30 minutes for my interview.”
• “Upon arriving for my interviews, I learned that the company cancelled several meetings and I had an hour in between meetings.  They didn’t even appear to be concerned that I had downtime in my schedule.”
• “The recruiter rescheduled my interview three times before we met.  When we finally interviewed, he only spent 30 minutes with me and even took another call in the middle of our meeting.”

CareerXroads publishes an annual survey about how a “mystery candidate” is treated by the 100 Best Companies to Work For, as listed by Fortune.  According to this year’s report, 79% of candidates who apply for a position expect to receive some feedback, but only 19% of the top 100 companies inform candidates if they are not being considered.

As more companies begin to accelerate their hiring needs, it is so important for both internal and external recruiters to focus on improving the candidate experience.  The best candidates are quite difficult to find and are in demand, even in slower economic times.  As the market continues to heat up, these star candidates will become even more difficult to recruit.  So, to ensure you put your best foot forward when assessing talent, follow the below tips.  You’d be surprised how often these simple steps are not put into regular practice.

1. Warm and friendly welcome

Ensure all of your organization’s front-line personnel – including receptionists, security guards, parking attendants and assistants – are friendly, extend themselves and make candidates feel welcome.  For security purposes, it is important to “process” people, but please drop the robotic manner.  First impressions are important – smile, chat about the weather, ask them if they encountered traffic – say something to make them feel good.

2. Structure the schedule with humanity in mind

Evaluate the interview schedule, making sure candidate meetings contain a mixture of relevant business executives as well as human resources professionals.  Have you provided spaces in the schedule for a brief break or lunch?  Are all of the interviewers on board with how to approach the interviews?  Do you have a plan in advance to determine who is focusing on which topics?  If the candidate is traveling from out of town, make the experience worth his or her time.  Be sure interviewers don’t ask the same questions and organize meetings with several important people within your organization.

3. Communicate, communicate, communicate

Once candidates have completed interviews, let them know an approximate time when they can expect to hear from you.  One of the complaints I hear most frequently is that candidates don’t hear back from companies following an interview.  If you expect there to be a lag in communication or you don’t yet have an answer, just tell them.  People simply want to know something.  In this case, always use the tried and true rule: treat others the way you would want to be treated.

4. Show the love

Sometimes a search process extends longer than anyone wants.  Pick up the phone – especially if you are the hiring manager – and show candidates some love.  Let them know what is going on, why you remain interested in their candidacy and continue to woo them.  Tell them the status of the search or share with them news of exciting projects you recently started working on that may increase their interest in the company.  Bottom line – candidates want to know that you remember them.  Those periodic check-ins will mean a great deal in keeping them engaged throughout the process, even during a prolonged one.

5. Bring closure to the process

For the candidates who are not selected for the position, the company absolutely should tell them.  No one enjoys delivering bad news, but it is worse to leave applicants wondering if they remain candidates.  Make a personal call.  Just do it.  Most candidates simply want to know where they stand.  Leaving candidates in the dark can be a public relations nightmare – if candidates talk, news will spread that the company lacks responsiveness.

As the job market continues to improve, the importance of positive candidate experiences only increases.  Communicating in a consistent and authentic way will make a world of difference in attracting the right candidates and increasing your reputation as the employer of choice.

I always have felt that the professional services sector is a particularly challenging one.  Our stock in trade is knowledge, gained through both education and experience.  But knowledge and experience in no way guarantee success in professional services.  One must also master the “services” side of the equation.  Specifically, how does one deliver that knowledge through services that are efficient and appeal to the consumers of those services?  Clients, patients, investors, customers at a spa – all are looking for highly specialized knowledge and assistance, but if it is delivered poorly, they will certainly devalue it and go elsewhere in the future.

I am particularly interested in how the “front line” delivers professional services.  In an organization, employees on the front line have the most customer contact, thus affecting the organization’s reputation most significantly.  Also, because those on the front line often make up a large portion of the organization, they are the most challenging group in which to build a consistent, positive service orientation.  I always look for excuses to talk to the front line whenever possible.

I recently spent an unexpected few weeks as a guest in a large hospital, part of an integrated health system in a major metropolitan area.  When I was conscious, and not staring at the ceiling wondering if my [fill in body part here] would ever function again, I had time to speak with the staff, especially the nurses and technicians.  I observed how they went about their work, how serious they were about following protocols around safety and quality and how they interacted with patients, and me in particular.  I asked some of them how they liked their work and why they worked at this particular hospital.

These are the things I saw most consistently during my stay:

• There was a culture of patient safety that was fully embraced by all staff and integrated into everything they did.  Double-checking names and birthdates, scanning medications, clearing IV lines – the list went on and on.  Equally remarkable was the consistency with which each person carried out these duties.  Several times, I asked who was in charge of quality and safety in the hospital only to find that no one could tell me the name of the executive with this task.  I took this to mean that the only people they considered responsible were themselves.
• Much of the work done around me was enhanced and enabled by technology.  I saw many more computer screens than thermometers.  What struck me was that the technology did not get in the way of these people establishing a personal relationship with me, understanding how I was feeling and knowing what I needed.  It added value rather than creating a barrier.
• There was a clear hiring bias at work in the organization.  It favored people who were positive in nature, exuded high energy, were extroverted, smart and compassionate.

One of the things I always have found to be true about fostering and maintaining excellence in professional services is this – if you want your people to treat your clients well, you have to treat your people like clients.  I asked many of the people I met why they worked at this particular hospital and, again, heard very consistent messages:  Good pay.  Excellent benefits for continuing education.  Flexibility in hours and shifts.  Exceptional colleagues.  Clear commitment to patient care and quality in the organization.  Clear guidelines on how to grow professionally in the organization and advance.  Support of employee-initiated programs to enhance care.

I’m sure that mystery executive out there who is in charge of quality could give me a list of several ways things could improve, but after spending some time with the front line, I’d have to say things are well in hand.

We are happy to report that all of Mr. Salveson’s body parts are now working adequately and he has returned to work.

As an executive search consultant, I receive a sizeable number of calls at the beginning of the year from candidates expressing interest in changing jobs.  Finding a new position becomes their New Year’s resolution.  Some individuals are blocked from a promotion, interested in a new challenge or just feeling unappreciated.  My colleagues and I try to make the time to spend a few minutes listening.  Typically, job seekers describe the kind of role and industry sector that interests them.   Conducting a job search can be loaded with several emotions that may sometimes cloud a person’s thoughts about how to start a search as well as how to manage one.

So if one of your New Year’s resolutions is to find a new job but you are not sure how to get started, these suggestions may help guide you:

• Have you exhausted all options within your current company?  Have you made your career interests known to your boss and other colleagues so they may have you in mind as new opportunities emerge?
• In addition to updating your resume, put together a list of target companies.  This list is a helpful document to share with others to facilitate conversation and get them thinking about different options for you.
• Ensure you can succinctly describe what you have done and what you want to do.  Your description should be clear and crisp.
• Do you have an updated LinkedIn profile?  If you don’t, potential employers and search firms may not find you.  An incomplete or outdated profile sometimes sends the message that you are too traditional or haven’t kept up with changes in technology.
• Network. Network. Network.  You should be spending at least 80% of the time devoted to your search networking with others vs. applying to positions online.
• This may not be politically correct, but have you updated your image?  Ensure your wardrobe is in good shape and your hair style is up-to-date.  You don’t want a company representative distracted or turned off by your appearance.  Instead, you want them to concentrate on your credentials and the substance of your conversation.
• How are you keeping track of all the people you are speaking with throughout your job search?  Follow-up is extremely important and, at times, luck plays a role in getting your next job.  Be in front of others at the right time and place to hear about that new opportunity.  If you haven’t reached out a second time to networking contacts, they may not remember you at a critical time when they could be recommending you for an opening.

If your New Year’s resolution is to identify your next career move, keep your mind open to possibilities.  Network and remain connected in the marketplace.  Always remain positive and focused.  No one wants to hear negative comments about your boss or company.   People want to be around others who are positive, energetic and upbeat.  That’s what the New Year is all about, and with a little bit of hard work, 2012 may be the year you keep that resolution.

Which of these is more challenging in your business?

• Finding great talent
• Keeping great talent

By a margin of 2:1, survey respondents said they had more trouble keeping talent.  One respondent took the time to point out the heart of the problem in his company:

“We keep investing in our employees and the competition keeps giving them much better offers.  It’s not only about the money, but also the job titles.  If we start offering the same to any of them, we will end up with ten managers in each department.”

This comment highlights a few of the frustrations faced by employers who know the value of their employees, invest in them and sometimes end up losing them to the competition.

As with most things related to people and organizations, there can be several variables at play when you are not retaining the talent you most need in your company.  Some of these issues are under your control and others are not.  But if you want to begin to understand what might be going on in your company, I suggest you ask yourself these three questions:

1. What do employees think of your culture?  Sometimes it’s hard to understand what employees really think about your company.  How can you find out what’s on their minds?  For starters, employee survey tools can help.  Some leaders take time to meet with cross-sections of employees over donuts and coffee to listen to their concerns on a regular basis.  Even more informally, spending some time with front line employees can be quite revealing.  No matter how you do it, find a way to listen to what your employees think about your company.
2. Why do people leave your company?  This is a simple question that can be difficult to answer.  It is easy for managers to pin employee departures on compensation and promotions.  Certainly, that can be part of the answer; but more often than not, there are other factors in play.  Sometimes it involves the style of the supervisor someone is working for.  Maybe it’s a perception that a person’s contributions are not valued.  Maybe you have a problem with sexual harassment or discrimination that you don’t know about.  Rather than guessing or assuming you have the right information, exit interviews with departing employees should always be conducted.  If you think you are not getting the real story from departing employees in these interviews, find a third party to help conduct them confidentially.  You might be surprised by what you find.
3. Are your rewards programs in line with your industry and region?  Although compensation is seldom the primary reason for employee departures, it still is an important factor.  You should have a clear, accurate picture of how your rewards programs stack up against other companies in your business sector as well as other employers vying for the same talent.  Base pay is important, of course, but don’t forget to evaluate health benefits, 401(k) plans, paid time off, flexible work schedules, education reimbursement benefits and everything else.  And be sure your rewards calibrate to the demographics of your workforce.  Twenty-something’s are probably not as interested in the 401(k) plan as they are in flexible hours and paid time off.  Pay attention to the different needs in your organization and it will help you design more attractive rewards programs.

If you spend some time on just these three items, you will definitely begin to better understand the forces behind employee turnover – and that will be the first step to doing something about it.