Here we go again…

Let’s Make A Deal!
Wachovia Securities, in a move to hang on to as many brokers as possible in its merger with A.G. Edwards & Sons, is attempting to woo independent recruiters with a lucrative offer to encourage them to stop picking off Edwards’ reps and moving them to rival broker-dealers.

For certain recruiters, Richmond, Virginia-based Wachovia wants to increase the commission it pays to 10 percent of brokers’ previous years’ fees and commissions, almost doubling the industry norm of a 6 percent commission.

Of course, there’s a catch to get that extra commission. Recruiters have to sign a contract that prohibits them from moving St. Louis-based A.G. Edwards’ reps to other firms. The 10 percent commission would be for future recruiter business with Wachovia and would max out at $75,000.

Excellent! Here’s a company being pro-active in how it manages the retention of their best employees… Sneaky maybe. Unethical, no. They are doing what they can to keep their most important asset, their people. Their customers benefit as does Wachovia’s bottom line.

Let’s Make A Deal 2!
A recent study conducted by a large national h.r. consulting firm determined that better compensation and benefits are top methods of employee retention. OMG, REALLY??

So, you give employees a higher wage and benefit package then they can get anywhere else and they’ll stay? WHEW, THAT’S SOME GOOD QUALITY INSIGHTFUL RESEARCH RIGHT THERE. WHAT DO THEY CALL THAT? OH YEA, GOLDEN HANDCUFFS.

OK, I’ll back off a little. They did offer six other methods that will keep employees from leaving, two that fell into the trapping mentality (stock options and profit sharing), and four that fell more in line with good workforce engagement strategies (careful hiring, tuition reimbursement, casual dress codes, improved training, and flexible hours).

Employees stay because they are engaged, they aren’t engaged because they stay.

Let’s Make A Deal 3!
Another recent study conducted by a large national search firm asked employees why they “stayed” with their company. Although that gets closer to the real question, the #1 answer showed why asking employees only about retention doesn’t work… “a raise” was #1. ANOTHER “DUH” SURVEY RESULT.

I love my job…