"The findings of Trank and colleagues (2002) were that individual pay-for-performance schemes

were potentially most effective amongst high achievers. As these high achievers are likely to also
be the most desirable employees which a company would wish to retain this then would suggest
financial incentives to be an effective tool for retention. Rynes and colleagues (2003) suggest that
this is related to the concept that financial incentives may function as a motivator due to an
individual being driven by the desire to have a salary which is larger than that of their peers.
Rynes suggests that it is the differentiation of pay which is actually the largest motivator for this
reason. This then would suggest that high salary alone is not sufficient for retention of desirable
staff, but that differentiation according to achievement is crucial. Rynes argues that high
achievers would not wish to work in a company in which achievement is not recognized through
reward. This would then imply that any company which does not engage in pay-for-performance
schemes is likely to lose desirable employees to a company which does operate with financial
incentives."
In particular there are employees with certain desirable characteristics which companies are
particularly interested in retaining. The paper presents a research proposal to assess whether the
use of financial incentives is effective as a tool for retaining these desirable employees. The
paper explains that the study will be comprised of a self-reporting questionnaire which will consist
of two sections. The first section will collect data which will allow for the segregation of
respondents into two groups based on possession of highly desirable or less desirable employee
characteristics. The second section will collect data relating to the importance of financial
incentives to the employee when considering remaining with the company. The writer concludes
that it is anticipated that the study will demonstrate that financial incentives are a useful tool in
retaining high performing and desirable employees. "One of the most foundational issues facing
businesses of any size in the modern economic world is employee retention. Gone are the days
where one individual keeps the same job for their entire working career retiring with 30 years of
service and a gold watch. The current business climate in both small, medium and large
companies includes one of transitional employees, both intentional and unintentional. On the
whole much more funds are spent on the job and external training than has been spent in the
past as a result of the fact that most people now work one job or career for no more than about
ten years and then either move forward in the company to a completely different position or more
commonly move on to another company or even to a completely different career."
"McQuarrie argues that market research is relevant to business strategic planning because it
results in focused, company specific information. (1996). Rossi et. al. provide a detailed and
complete guide to the effective use of surveys in market research. (1983). This work covers not
only the use of closed versus open ended questions for obtaining desired information, but also
explains various methods in analysis. Finally, Edmunds (1996) and Edwards, et al. (1997) give a
step-by-step guides to choosing the proper research method, appropriate use of various question
forms in surveys and choosing the appropriate degree of analysis to fit within relevant time and
budget constraints."