The relationship of monetary incentive on retention: An analysis of Special Forces noncommissioned officers

This study considered factors affecting retention of highly trained and specialized personnel in the military service. The need to retain highly qualified leaders in low density military skill sets is required in the uncertain security environment of the 21st Century. All organizations struggle with the challenge of retaining highly skilled individuals. The cost of training and experience of seasoned professionals increases their value to other organizations. The replacement of these personnel requires significant organizational assets and time to develop the experience and maturity required for specialized, low density skill sets. Low density skill sets are identified by the organizations and defined as smaller populations with in the organization that require specialized training. Comparison of the data between the control group and the test groups provided indicators as to what factors influenced an individual to stay or depart the service. The control group consists of the personnel, who were retention eligible between the completion of the earlier studies in 1998 and 11 September, 2001. The test groups consist of the data post 9/11/01 and are sorted into groups based on changes in personnel policies. Frequencies and ratio comparisons provided insight into which measures most affected the decision to stay or leave the service. This data provided information on the effectiveness of monetary incentives in retaining individuals in the test group.