Tackling the workforce retention issue.

Gilles Lebeau likes the Boy Scout motto of always being prepared.

If a company's senior manager jumps ship to the competition or a valued clerk suddenly wins the lottery, is there someone already groomed from within who can be slotted into that role?

For Lebeau, Vice-President of Finance and Operation for Sudbury's Mansour Group of Companies, succession planning isn't necessarily about handing the torch from a retiring company president to a trusted manager. It's about the contingency plans to replace key people.

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It's also about identifying the best people on staff as your future leaders and managers, and gradually expanding their opportunities and responsibilities.

"I see succession as who's going to take over key positions."

His experience as a former Sudbury president of Sandvik Mining and Construction provided invaluable insight on how the global international mining supplier invests in retaining quality people.

The analogy he uses is about growing your own garden in helping your own people, who are familiar with your corporate culture, grow by investing in training, mentoring and gradually expanding their roles.

In today's ultra-competitive world, sourcing skilled labour and finding a suitable and qualified replacements in a rather shallow pool can be challenging.

"Business is a very dynamic and much more fluid market than it was years ago," says Lebeau.

"The newest generation of workers think differently. They have shorter attention spans and philosophies. They need constant input all the time."

Unlike their parents who might have worked for one employer for an entire career, "You have a generation that's not scared about changing employers on a regular basis.

"They have more options, they're better educated and want more out of life (to do) exciting things."

Lebeau says it's not always about salary. Sometimes people just want change.

With 15 companies under their mining and manufacturing umbrella, the Mansour Group strives to have a flexible workforce that is cross-trained to perform many tasks. That means a company commitment to invest in skills development and educational opportunities to upgrade their employees' abilities.

"It keeps things exciting for them and provides us with succession opportunities," says Lebeau. "As a manager I have to be prepared to take the time to be patient and work with individuals to provide those opportunities."

Besides supporting apprenticeship programs and student work placements, Lebeau believes all employers will eventually be required -- "out of necessity, not legislation" -- to develop their future workforce by sponsoring them at the post-secondary level.

"It's a competition for the best and brightest at the end of the day."

But employers have to be ready for the heart ache of losing key people when other companies poach your best talent.

Lebeau says if an outgoing employee has been treated well, they may become a future customer, business partner or return with more experience and skill to fill a senior position.

While some employers strive for zero turnover, Lebeau says he looks at change "as sometimes good because it provides opportunities for others with itchy feet."

If there's a good succession plan, companies should be able to withstand those hits.

Communication is key, says Lebeau. People "crave" feedback. Let people know they are valuable.

"If they're your best employees, you need to tell them that."

For a major Sudbury employer like CVRD-Inco, the sudden loss of so-called 'institutional knowledge' especially in critical roles, can potentially bring mining operations to a halt.

With a new owner and big growth plans in the Sudbury basin, Inco doesn't want to be caught short-staffed.

Only a few short years ago, in a mining down cycle, an aging workforce and the implications of a possible mass exodus had human resources officials concerned about the future.

"We've been predicting this mass exodus but it hasn't materialized," says Jennifer Witty, Inco's Human Resources group leader, because of the impact of earnings-based compensation and staff profit-sharing.

"Our forecast for two years ago would've suggested a lot more retirements than we've (actually) seen."

Even before last year's takeover of Inco by CVRD, the Sudbury miner is a workforce in transition in the midst of a booming global nickel market.

Approximately 20 per cent of their 4,400-strong Sudbury workforce can retire immediately. On average from the year 2000 to present, 276 retire each year with an average of 230 over the last five years.

At the same time, about one-third of their ranks have been hired in the past five years, averaging about 300 new employees annually for all positions.

Thankfully, Inco boasts a retention rate--99.61 per cent in 2006--much lower than industry average, says Witty.

"There's a lot of opportunity for an employee to grow and develop with one employer over a career as opposed to other industries."

In Sudbury, landing an Inco job is worthy of celebration, since the company enjoys a good reputation for offering excellent wages with better job security, mobility options and opportunity for advancement into supervisory roles through programs like leadership training.

Inco uses sophisticated workforce planning models based on their history of past retirement patterns. For example, says Witty, electricians inexplicably are more likely to retire once they reach 30 years of service, more than any other trade.

"We have that level of data and we can forecast and predict what the retirements are going to look like." Workforce planning is even linked to their budgetary process.

"If we're forecasting a mass exodus or liability in the trades area, we can hire in advance."

To keep the next generation of employees in the queue, Inco pre-screens and pre-qualifies potential candidates as well as performs community outreach in secondary and primary schools to promote the industry.

www.mansourgroup.com

www.inco.com

By IAN ROSS 

Northern Ontario Business