A Case Study of Tasty Retention

— by taylor (2 min read)

Retention of your top talent can taste oh-so-sweet…but it requires determination.

This was the point of an article, “Keep Your Top Talent: The Return of Retention,” published recently on SHRM’s website. It offers employers this piece of sage advice: “When it comes to sustaining star talent, think like a good coach: Once you land top performers, you must motivate them to stay—and continually raise their game.” The article then goes on to offer suggestions for doing so.

But the true gem of the piece was buried at its conclusion—a mini case study about a catering company that’s achieving record retention levels. It opens with these words: “The 200 employees at Chicago’s Tasty Catering meet quarterly with managers to answer two questions: What do you want to do differently, and what are your personal desires?”

There’s a mountain of wisdom packed into that single sentence.

Let’s start with the fact that Tasty’s managers and employees meet quarterly to talk. They don’t wait for annual performance reviews to roll around to talk turkey. They do it every three months. Next, look at the issues they’re discussing: what to do differently, and what employees personally desire. These issues cut right to the heart of keeping employees engaged and retained for the long term. (Side note: These are also perfect performance review topics, although too many managers would never dream of broaching them.) Basically, Tasty Catering is holding five performance reviews a year with its employees, assuming it also holds separate formal annual reviews as well.

As we’ve long counseled our clients, holding multiple performance reviews, at regular intervals throughout the year, is an essential part of building and maximizing employee engagement. This approach is also invaluable in deploying and promoting employees into roles where they can excel.

Tasty Catering is an example of great performance management—and its results show it. Turnover at the company is less than one percent.

It doesn’t get any sweeter than that.