Employee retention relates directly to how we reward them. Replacing employees in a company can be an arduous and an expensive exercise. Even in more secure industries such as the public sector, performance needs to be managed and staff motivated as in the private sector. Retention of experienced staff in both these industries is important to create competitive advantage and organisational success is restricted by the economic climate, retaining high performers with rewards has to be achieved while making all staff feel valued. As more and more organisations cross international boundaries to conduct business, rewards that are relevant in one country may not be as important in another. Organisations need to accurately measure and evaluate the performance of their employees and reward them accordingly. There should therefore be a direct link between a performance appraisal system and rewards emanating from that system. Many a time, performance management systems do not show any connection with the rewards that the employer gives to its employees thus rendering the performance approval system irrelevant.