Keys to Retaining Top Talent

Many organizations struggle retaining top talent, and the costs are high. Costs in productivity, quality, morale, and your ability to compete are rarely measured. The root cause may be due to leadership issues impacting employee engagement. Gallup found in 2022 that only 36% of employees were engaged, and for those that were not engaged, 55% were actively looking for another job. Employees are experiencing burnout from unsustainable work expectations and are not connecting with their organization’s purpose. Moreover, uncaring leaders, lack of developmental opportunities, lack of empathy, and a lack of genuine appreciation from their leaders are the top reasons employees leave their workplace to seek better opportunities. Adequacy of total compensation also scored in the top five. These items directly contribute to low employee engagement and high risk for talent retention. Let’s explore some key ways you can retain your top talent.

Keys to Retaining Top Talent

1. Understand And Act On Your Employees’ Needs

Every individual working for a company has unique and personal needs, which contribute to their happiness and improve their performance. It is rarely the case that organizations understand employees’ personal goals, motivations, fears, and dreams. Genuinely caring and being intentional about connecting personally with your employees address many areas of employee engagement and satisfaction and ultimately lead to higher employee retention. Collaborating with your employees to help them fulfill their developmental needs within your organization is very effective. Unfortunately, employees today seek to gain experience from multiple organizations as they pursue their career goals.  When companies are intentional about employee collaboration, their employees feel respected and engaged, and their flight risk dramatically decreases. Connecting, caring, and showing empathy are strong drivers of employee engagement, happiness, and well-being. Managers must strive to communicate with employees on a more personal level. Additionally, opening individual communication channels creates a sense of teamwork, and employees will feel much more than a “cog in the corporate wheel.”  This comradery leads to a sense of belonging with higher engagement, productivity, company loyalty, and retention.

2. Incentivize And Develop Your Employees

Total compensation is important, but it’s not always the key driver in incentivizing and retaining top talent. Gallup research shows that it takes more than a 20% pay raise to lure an employee away from a manager who engages with them and almost nothing to lure away a poorly engaged employee. Some organizations are guilty of not incentivizing and stretching their top talent beyond their perceived capabilities. This becomes an employee’s frustration the longer they stay with a company that lacks growth and developmental opportunities. Providing growth and developmental opportunities provides a strategic benefit through improved bench strength and is an intrinsic motivator as they develop and seek promotions. Many employees feel under-appreciated and feel overqualified for their roles. In the employee’s minds, they feel valued as an individual and not just as a company asset. Companies should provide new training and workshops to develop their employee’s talents. Targeted leadership development, executive coaching, and stretch assignments are critical tools for high potential leaders and executives. These tools inspire employees to expand past their everyday tasks, become innovative and help the company grow. From a talent retention perspective, these employees are much less likely to leave your organization even for a higher-paying position.

3. Have An Effective Strategy For Receiving Employee Feedback

Employee circumstances are constantly changing, and disgruntlement may initially go unnoticed without solid connections. They may begin to feel unsatisfied and discontent, which can quickly manifest in negative feelings that lead to a lack of engagement, happiness, and, eventually, resignation. Identifying the key issues contributing to a lack of morale within the workplace can allow company leaders and executives to take the right course of action to mitigate any problems ahead of time. One-on-one interviews and meetings between employees, managers, and senior executives can develop genuine connections, garner feedback, and gain credibility. One way to lose credibility, however, is to elicit feedback but fail to act on employee suggestions. Taking action but not communicating this to your employees can be equally harmful. Slow changes may not be observable, so don’t assume your employees will recognize that you are acting on their feedback.

4. Celebrate Employee Success While Holding All Employees Accountable

Many workers do not feel appreciated for their work. Furthermore, leaders may not be aware of the unique way each employee wants to feel appreciated. Some employees may like handwritten notes, while others prefer recognition in front of their peers. Failure to celebrate success and show genuine appreciation will lead to a sense of detachment, lower engagement, and productivity. Part of celebrating success also involves encouraging team connections. Team connection helps workers stay engaged in an organization, promotes teamwork and collaboration, and retains top talent. Although celebrating successes is important, issues arise if poor performers are not held accountable. Adverse impacts from lack of accountability are not visible initially but will manifest in severe problems in the future. Disengaged employees may feel like “they are getting away with it,” but high-performing employees will see a double standard resulting in eventual disillusionment that causes them to resign. Recognizing employees’ talents and contributions, celebrating successes, and maintaining a high level of accountability are areas of focus that will allow organizations to retain top talent.

Final Verdict

Most strategies that retain top talent are synonymous with strategies that develop a high-performing organization. These strategies must be intentional and executed by every leader in the organization. Organizations need strong leaders who can engage with their employees on many levels. Caring and empathetic leaders who align employees with company purpose, provide developmental opportunities, show genuine appreciation and maintain accountability will have an edge in keeping their most valued employees. Most leaders know that employees often leave the workplace due to unpleasant relationships with their managers, which can be related to poor leadership. Employees can also see poor leadership as uncaring, lack of empathy, incompetent, and incapable of providing insight and direction. Talent retention will always be critical for the success of any organization. Leaders must constantly create a healthy work culture rooted in purpose and led by strong, positive, and caring leadership. To determine your company’s employee engagement level, please get in touch with Crocker Leadership Coaching at CrockerLeadershipCoaching.com

Vance Crocker Author Bio PhotoVance Crocker

Certified Executive Coach • Leadership Development

Vance is the Founder and CEO of Crocker Leadership Coaching, an executive coaching company specializing in developing leaders who can navigate change, lead through disruption, and become a catalyst for outstanding business performance and growth. He is a certified executive coach and retired energy executive with over 32 years of leadership experience in the private industry and as a military officer. Vance has navigated the immense pressures and complex nature of today’s ever-evolving business environment and can personally connect with and intimately understand his client’s challenges. He has a proven track record of developing leaders and has led teams through nearly every dimension of the business space.

VIEW VANCE’S BIO

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