Ninth House Inc launches retaining talent solution suite

Ninth House, Inc., the leadership and management development company, today announced the immediate availability of Retaining Talent, the blended learning solution suite designed for organizations and managers needing to proactively retain key talent and reduce employee attrition. Based on the methodologies of talent retention expert Dr. B. Lynn Ware, Retaining Talent assists managers in the ever-increasing challenge of employee engagement and retention, and provides the skills and techniques needed to maintain efficient workgroups, reduce turnover, and increase employee commitment and loyalty.

According to a recent study issued by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), ì83% of employees polled said it was somewhat or extremely likely they would seek new employment once the job market and economy improves.î Additionally, a recent Accenture study on job satisfaction states that ì48% of US middle managers surveyed said they were either looking for different job or planned to do so when the economy recoveredî.

ìEmployee retention and engagement are growing concerns for organizations of all sizes,î said Josh Bersin, Principal and Founder, Bersin and Associates. ìAs the job market strengthens, employees continue to have employment choices previously unavailable to them just a few short years ago. These market forces, coupled with the inevitable talent ëbrain-drainí as the Baby Boomers retire, is making it critically important for all managers to learn how to engage and retain their employees. It is now imperative for organizations to invest in programs that identify retention risks and train managers how to coach, develop, and motivate their key employees.î

Retaining Talent from Ninth House makes it easy for managers to engage their teams and gain the commitment and productivity to make the entire organization successful. Based on over a decade of statistical research gathered from more than 65,000 managers and their direct reports, Retaining Talent combines the successful approach of Dr. Wareís model of employee retention with Ninth Houseís award-winning, interactive blended learning methods. The result is a world-class blended training solution that provides a systematic approach to employee retention and engagement.

ìMarket research indicates that when companies tackle retention itís most often a reactive measure ñ resulting from a highly visible defection. Furthermore, they address it as an organizational issue, instead of an individual issue,î said Dr. B. Lynn Ware, Ninth House faculty member, founder and CEO of Integral Talent Systems, Inc. ìStatistics show that managers have the most direct influence in an employeeís decision to stay or leave. Compensation, benefits, and other institutional programs are important to employees, but most quit their manager, not the company. This new solution from Ninth House is a breakthrough approach to reaching individual managers and assisting them in development of their personal retention practices.î

Designed for managers at all levels, Retaining Talent is a fully blended solution that guides the learner through developing key engagement and retention skills ó both online and offline. First, an online assessment collects and measures feedback from each managerís direct reports, identifying ìflight risksî and gaps in the managerís motivational skills. Learners then participate in a parable-based course that contains an engaging storyline, online quizzes, and interactive tools that enable the course content to be applied directly to the learnerís business environment. Upon completion of the online course, classroom workbooks and facilitation guides enable learners to engage in real-world manager or instructor-led application discussions.

Two additional features of Retaining Talent include the ability to practice and reinforce the new skills over time. First, Ninth Houseís unique approach to intelligent first-person, interactive video simulations provides managers with a safe environment to practice their newfound skill set in a life-like business scenario. Upon course completion, a series of short online reinforcement modules based on the course content are emailed to managers each week, keeping their new skills top of mind long after the course itself is complete. This high quality blended learning solution leads to greater retention and behavioral impact than traditional training.

ìNinth House is committed to delivering leading edge leadership and management development solutions based on only the highest quality content,î said Jeff Snipes, founder and CEO, Ninth House, Inc. ìBy listening to and anticipating our customers needs, weíve successfully turned their talented employees into a competitive advantage. Iím extremely proud of our latest solution, and Iím confident that Retaining Talent will continue to provide an advantage for organizations who invest in engaging and retaining their most critical assets.î

To learn more about Retaining Talent from Ninth House, please visit www.ninthhouse.com/curriculum/rt.html.