You will hear a conversation between two Human Resources managers, Maria and David, about how to reduce staff turnover in their

Woman: David, this issue of staff turnover has been brewing for a while. I assume you’ve had time to read the report from the consultants we called in to look at the problem? And I was horrified to see that turnover of staff is now up to forty-five per cent a year. Can we put our heads together and see what we can come up with?
Man: Yes, I’ve read the report and I agree we need to deal with this fairly urgently.
Woman: Now, I’m aware that our pay rates have not been competitive for a while, but we still seem to be able to recruit, so we need to look at what happens when people actually start here. They seem to become unhappy when they realise how much we require of them - and in fairly difficult circumstances as well. I think most staff are conscious of how essential they are to our success, but that’s clearly not enough . . . what’s your view?
Man: Well, reading through the consultants’ report, it seems there are serious issues affecting all grades of staff - for example, they mentioned the fact that, although new recruits are well catered for, there’s no real ongoing training. Then it noted that, once sales staff reach a certain level, there’s nowhere for them to go. And also it found that the higher levels of management would like a more clearly defined role in the organisation. It seems there are a range of problems.
Woman: Yes, and it’s not been helped by that newspaper article about our expansion. It was so critical that I think it will start affecting our ability to attract new staff. We’ve already got too many skilled staff leaving, and having a shortage in other areas will just compound the problem. Certainly the article didn’t present a very confident view of our future - but people on the inside have more faith in us, thank goodness.
Man: Well, we’ve got a range of options, haven’t we? I think we’ve got a good communication system in place now - most of the managers feel that’s working fairly well. But we need to make sure we’re all working towards the same recognisable end. We need a system in place so everyone knows what they’re doing and why. Other alternatives, like offering rewards for achieving performance targets, don’t really address the underlying problem.
Woman: Hmmm - I know that our closest competitor, Harston’s, had a similar problem a few years ago, and they seem to have addressed it successfully by deciding to get all the staff together every year, somewhere different like a hotel, and getting them to talk about what’s bothering them. But I think you get the same result by using an appraisal system. I think Harston’s also tried to prevent problems arising in the first place by setting up a system where all new staff were assigned a mentor, but, er, I’m not sure how effective it’s been.
Man: Umm . . . and what about this issue of training that the consultants raised?
Woman: Well, I think we’ll have to consider a bigger programme, but to save costs, perhaps we should only send our more motivated staff on courses? That may work better.
Man: I’m not sure that we do need more. And I actually think it’s the courses that need careful planning rather than focusing on who attends. If the programme is appropriately directed at particular topics, then it will be relevant to all the staff involved in that area.
Woman: Mmm - suppose so.
Man: We’ve also got to look at how we can compensate people better when we’re not in a position to raise our basic salaries.
Woman: Yes - well, for the moment, we could perhaps increase staff loyalty by offering stock options as a carrot - say when people have been here for a year. If we go down the route of offering bonus payments, then it looks attractive initially, but I’m not sure it’s effective in the long run, because it depends on reaching targets. You know, considering what those consultants charged, they haven’t really come up with any useful solutions, have they?
Man: No, you’re right. Look, let’s go away and get this down on paper and then we can draw up a detailed proposal of what we think should be done in the next year. We’ll give that to the MD and, if he agrees, he can take it to the Board next month.
Woman: OK, I’ll email you something, and we can meet next week . . .
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Now listen to the recording again.
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That is the end of Part Three. You now have ten minutes to transfer your answers to your Answer Sheet.
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Note: Teacher, stop the recordings here and time ten minutes. Remind students when there is one minute remaining.
That is the end of the test.