Managing Organizational Behavior 2nd Edition by Timothy Baldwin,Bill Bommer,Robert Rubin

Exercise 3

Retaining a Talented Employee
It's Monday morning and you're swamped. It's three days before "Black Friday" and your 45 store employees are frantically preparing for the 4 a.m. opening. As you finish getting through the morning's e-mails, someone knocks on your door; it's Jessica, your star marketing associate. Despite being busy, you always make time for her as Jessica has personally been responsible for some of the store's most successful marketing campaigns. "Hi Jessica. Getting excited for the end of the week?" you say with energy. "Well, to tell you the truth, I've been feeling a bit unappreciated of late, particularly around the busy season," she remarks.
As you lean back in your chair, she describes in detail her dissatisfaction with her pay relative to others, the amount of time she works, and the lack of respect of her own direct reports. She ends by remarking, "I've always been honest with you and so I feel compelled to let you know I'm on the market and had an interview last week." You think to yourself, "How could this be? I've never heard any complaints from her and she's such a great employee." What can you do to keep Jessica? How might you ensure that you retain your other talented employees? What traps should you avoid in putting together a retention strategy?