With the corporate landscape changing almost daily and a liquid labour market allowing workers to move from job to job more easily, retention incentives have provided a great way for companies to keep valuable employees. Many believe that such methods add value to the business as well, as they reflect well on company's management and promote loyalty on both sides.

According to a survey by the human resource consultant Mercer, when companies are looking at amalgamation of any kind, adopting a retention programme for top talent is extremely beneficial. The survey reveals that executives critical to long-term success are eligible for retention incentives in 70% of the programmes, compared with employees for the short-term success of the integration, who are eligible in just 53% of the programmes. Further, retention programmes focus on retaining executive and senior management critical to the integration process. Almost two-thirds (62%) of the deals completed by participating organizations over the past three years used retention programmes. Another insight is that the type of retention incentives used depends primarily on the type of deal.

Source: Mint