Today, switching jobs is the new normal with organizations recognizing employees who have worked for more than 5 years for their long service. The truth is, millennial workers are always on the lookout to switch for the next best thing. The changing work culture and a tight talent market have made businesses realize the importance of retaining their top talents.
There Was A Time When People Worked For Their Entire Career In One Organization.
Why Is It Important To Retain Your Top Talent?
In a survey done by McKinsey titled as a ‘war of talent 2000’, it is mentioned that retaining top talent can give competitive advantages to organizations – it can be eight times more productive when you have top talents working for you.
Further, it was revealed that high performers can be as much as 800 percent more productive than their average-performing peers when the job is highly complex. This survey only establishes the fact why retaining top-performing employees should be a top priority for organizations.
But how do you retain your best employees? An attractive pay package or a bundle of perks and benefits does not always suffice. Here are 7 tips that can help you retain your top talent.
Focus On The Managers To Retain Your Top Talents
It is often said that employees who leave jobs voluntarily, don’t leave companies but leave their managers. Managers should be reminded that they are not meant to monitor an employee’s constant movement, but to provide constant guidance, constructive feedback, support, and encouragement to help the employee grow and perform better.
A manager needs to represent the values and culture that the company stands for. A biased manager who indulges in favoritism can result in discontent employees and companies need to put in place structures and processes that do not allow this kind of behavior to thrive.
Communicate The Vision And Mission And Where The Employee Fits In
75 percent of GenZ want to do meaningful work and prefer to work for an employer that engages regularly in social issues. Hence it is important for an organization to speak clearly and communicate effectively its vision, mission, and where the employee fits in.
Once an employee has clarity regarding the bigger picture, he/she feels energized to contribute positively to achieving the larger organizational goal. Consequently, a motivated and engaged employee doesn’t feel the burnout and stays around for a longer time.
Understand Your Employees And Their Needs
To retain your top talent, it is important to understand them. Organizations need to bear in mind that one size doesn’t fit all. Similarly, the same benefits and perks may not motivate all employees in the same manner.
While some top-performing employees may find motivation in deep job satisfaction, some others may find solving challenging problems while some may see decision making as their motivating factor. Again, some employees may have an eternal quest for learning.
To help retain your employees, you need to understand your employee’s needs and what is that one factor that motivates him to stay in the job. A psychometric test is a great tool to start understating your employees’ needs before you start addressing them.
Empower Your Employees
Data says that on average, an employee spends four hours per week on finding the right data or information. This is not only frustrating but wasteful too, with top performers end up spending their time in an unproductive way.
Eliminate such unnecessary hindrances at the workplace by empowering your employees with easy access to information. Invest in industry-standard tools and technologies. Offer proactive information to decision-makers and top performers to help them ease their work.
Provide Learning Opportunities
Quench the never-ending thirst for learning of your top performers by providing learning and developing opportunities regularly. Invest to keep your employees informed and up-to-date with the latest industry know-how.
Encourage your employees to take up new coursework by reimbursing their tuition fees or giving time off to complete their coursework. By providing consistent learning opportunities to your employees, you not only help your employees to grow but you also foster a learning culture that is valued.
Recognize And Reward
Recognition for a job done well, helps you and your employees go a long way. While monetary prizes are always nice to have, but a little bit of appreciation and acknowledging how the performance of an employee has helped the business to grow will motivate your employees to outperform themselves.
Nurture A Two-Way Communication
A progressive workplace always nurtures two-way communication instead of a one-way monologue. While it is important you offer positive feedback to your employees, it is also important to lend an ear and listen to them. Employees who are valued and listened to, are usually satisfied with their workplace and tend to stay longer.
While an effective hiring process sets the foundation of your employee base, practicing all the above tips would help you to retain your top talents.
