Came across a topic. Just wanted to share this with you all. Text has not been changed. Only, it has been shortened to save reading time.

============================================================

Employee retention through TLC
(Packaging Technologists)
Published in Packaging World Magazine, November 1998 , p. 86
Written by Pat Reynolds, Features Editor

Want to keep packaging professionals from seeking opportunities elsewhere? Demonstrate clearly how much you want them in your 'career tent.'

Kraft Foods

Because of its size, Kraft has another employee-retention strategy pretty much built in: It can offer its people a variety of locations and a number of businesses. "If we've got people here in the East who would prefer to move to the Midwest, we have a wonderful opportunity to place them in Glenview, Illinois; Madison, Wisconsin; or Battle Creek, Michigan," says O'Connor. "We also have opportunities to get people into different businesses, where they not only learn new technologies in packaging, but also have an opportunity to interact with other professionals in their field, to expand their own personal networks and to become involved in businesses that display different dynamics.

P&G

Every bit as committed to training and career path development as a means of retaining talented people in the packaging R&D department is Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble. Whether new hires come fresh from a college campus or have experience at another firm, they're hired with the idea that they'll stay with P&G for an entire career. The 'career tent' "We take very seriously the concept of planning for one's career and personal development," says George Vernon, director of packaging R&D at P&G. The company's Work and Development Program is based on the view that managing one's career doesn't cease when one is hired, says Vernon. "So we have a very strong program to help people assess their own personal aptitudes and interest areas." In the packaging area specifically, P&G has created a program called Packaging College. Consisting of 25 courses that usually take 21/2 years to complete, the program goes into polymer fundamentals, processing of polymeric materials, plastic part and mold design, blow molding, film extrusion and more. "The name 'Packaging College' is appropriate," says Vernon, "because I personally think people who make it through that college have the equivalent of a master's degree in the critical skills necessary to design and develop new-to-the-company-if not new-to-the-world-packages. That kind of technical training is very appealing. We find that engineers seem to have a real appetite for learning, so if we can create an environment that has challenging projects and has both in-house and out-of-house technical training on an ongoing basis, then we can meet a lot of those curiosity needs." Vernon also points out that when it comes to retaining people, P&G, like Kraft and other large firms, has size as a significant ally. "We're a large, multi-national company," says Vernon. "We offer people significant lateral moves into different parts of the company, including international assignments. So if a person is interested in packaging, we have some good fits. If they develop an interest in how to develop products with mechanical processes, we have assignments like those. And of course we have assignments in all major geographic locations around the world. So when you come to P&G, it's a pretty large tent, and we try our best to make it a career tent. Not everybody will stay in the same place in the tent as when they joined the company, but we really work hard to make this a career-oriented company, and I'm gratified by the number of people we have who've made 30- and 35-year commitments to this company."

Torpharm

This month we look at another tactic our sources tell us they've used successfully. For lack of a better phrase, it might be called the Tender Loving Care tactic. In other words, demonstrate to employees that you have their career interests in mind, and communicate clearly at all times, if you expect them to stick around. And don't wait to begin doing it, either. "Here, retention starts right with the offer letter in terms of communication with and commitment to the new hire," says Janice Rooney, director of human resources and financial services at Torpharm, a Toronto-based pharmaceuticals company. "We believe in defining peoples' roles from the bottom of the company to the top, so that everybody has clear direction.

Dr. McDougall's Right Foods

It gets right down to the profit-and-loss statement. It's kind of an open books concept." Management at Dr. McDougall's Right Foods, marketer of nutritious foods in South San Francisco, CA, takes a similar approach, says part-owner Jim Ahrens. "At weekly meetings, our packaging people get in on sales strategy and new product development, for example," says Ahrens. "It helps them feel they're not just pushing buttons out there but helping to make the whole thing happen.

Triarc Beverage Group

It's also important that packaging professionals effectively communicate with the outside world, too, says Mary Ellen Reis, director of packaging at Triarc Beverage Group, the White Plains, NY, owner of the well-known Snapple brand. "One of the biggest things I do with my folks is I empower them to learn as much as they can by sending them out to seminars and by bringing suppliers in here to have them talk to us," says Reis. This establishes a constant flow of information between Triarc and its vendors, says Reis. But it doesn't stop there. Triarc pakaging people also reach out to new vendors and new technologies to ensure they are up on the latest innovations.

===========================================

Hope you have enjoyed reading.

Rgds
Debasish Mandal
16th Batch