Talent Pressure Test: Employee Retention on a Macro and Micro Scale

“I was most impacted by the statement of working in a collaborative fashion, working through solutions in a ‘with us’ and ‘for you’ lens,” said session attendee James Lewis, chief of community engagement and belonging at Cole Schotz, a law firm. 

To focus on retention, the law firm focuses on building up its employees. “We have a mentorship program so people can take ownership of their own careers but also be thoughtful around what skills they want to accumulate over the course of their careers as well,” Lewis said.

For talent leaders at design firm LPA, the big takeaway from the session was the importance of agility — specifically being open to pivoting your business model to adapt to what’s happening in the world.

“Specifically hearing about how people were impacted by immigration laws or consumer cost and how they had to totally change the model of their company and the impact they had,” said Beth Russell, talent development manager for LPA in Dallas. “Really thinking differently about the impact we as HR have on a business and on the organization was a key moment for me.”

When it comes to employee retention, LPA focuses on creating moments of impact early on.

According to Russell, the company does a one-day session with interns and new grads in California where they have a chance to meet their c-suite and connect with employees five years into their career. 

Additionally, the firm focuses on making career development paths clear in writing.

Bill Cook, talent development specialist at LPA shared that annual performance reviews are a big part of employee retention. “There are career conversations that take place so we can understand where people want to go and set goals along the way.” 

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