4 Ways to Retain Your Company’s Best Talent

The greatest cost to companies in 2018 is related to retention and employee productivity. With so many workplaces becoming increasingly reliant on technology and systems, we have figured out how to eliminate waste in our DNA. But what happens when our employees think about our organization in the same way.

What if they perceive that the value that they are providing isn’t in line with the value that they are receiving (in compensation and appreciation). When we start to think about these ideas and subjects we come across our own insecurities of how we were ill treated as employees and chose to go ahead with entrepreneurship.

This is important because we might fall into the trap of being “politically correct” or “managerial”. We need to remain human in the situation so that we can think clearly and create solutions for problems that pertain to employee motivation.

Ask yourself – how much have you grown in the last 3 years? Have your employees grown in proportion? If the answer is no – then you might be facing a potential problem at hand. Because companies like to talk about their success metrics in boardrooms and in the media, employees have complete access to that picture.

They also talk behind your back and discuss key areas of enhancement or detriment. This is also an interesting point to note as it cuts through the heart of the problem. Inequality and inequity. If you can promise a better future but you deliver peanuts in return, then that’s an inequitable environment to work in. If you praise someone openly but don’t promote someone else, then that’s a problem of inequality.

That’s where most companies fail and consider the law of competition among employees to reign supreme. Entrepreneurs start to divest most of their energy onto HR departments who become nothing more than figure heads for employees to wrangle. It's important to shift your energy towards employee benefits so that you can create an open and transparent environment for quality talent to retain well in an organization.

#1 Creating corporate culture

Corporate culture isn’t just about remaining consistent with your messaging. It's more so about creating the right habits and formations that allow employees to feel engaged. E.g. if your corporate environment resembles a stock brokers office, then you should make that clear to your employees early on.

It should be made clear that you value profits over long-term investments. Vice-versa, if you’re more concerned with long-term customer vision and service, like Zappos, then your corporate culture should reflect that.

When your employees feel connected to the vibe of the organization, they feel more connected and better equipped to face challenges. A corporate culture speaks volumes about itself even if nobody openly discusses it. Everyone knows the general vibe of the place looking at the faces of other employees, and a lot of the time it’s something that investors and customers are actively looking for.

#2 Learning opportunities and growth

Are most of your employees exactly where they are when they started a few years ago? If that’s the case, then either they’re not working to full capacity or they’re stalling for time until they can get their bonuses and leave. That’s the most important part of an employee’s DNA – whether to make it on their own or to keep learning along the way.

When you can share more responsibilities and hand over the keys to them, they can take more autonomy over the work that they’re doing and create more value. The value generated helps them grow further and they build up their resume in the process. If they see that they’re performing well enough, they may want to continue working on the projects that you provide them. On the other hand, if your employees aren’t able to see growth in the company or in their role, they may want to move out.

#3 Leadership avenues

Are your employees becoming leaders? If that’s the case, then good. Good leaders often inspire others to become just like them when they go up the ranks. If your leadership team is completely comprised of people who aren’t in touch with the employee base, then that’s a bad move. You need to make sure that you are providing ample leadership opportunities to deserving candidates on the basis of merit and what they can accomplish. If otherwise, it can lead to problems with retaining quality talent.

Talented people don’t need a lot of direction to get things done, and this can become a problem when leadership creates barriers for them to flourish. A tough manager can be the number reason why quality talent leaves, and projects get hampered. When hiring managers, don’t just go by their resume or what they are on paper, go by what they bring to the table in terms of people-skills.

#4 Supportive environment

Providing a supportive environment to talented people is the key to retaining them. Often people who are highly skilled in their domain, have a problem of overthinking about making things perfect. This is the best place to be in as an organization, because someone is giving you so much of their attention. All you need to do is to nurture their talent and create opportunities for them to flourish in. This is also helpful when you are trying to create a positive working experience for someone who doesn’t feel connected to the workplace.

Providing support is also important from a point of view of the message you’re sending the rest of the employees. They’ll feel even more appreciated, knowing that hard work will get you to the top of the chain when it comes to promotions, leadership and opportunities. Keeping them motivated allows you to get the most out of them, as well as gives them a chance to do innovative things for you.

Conclusion

Keeping employees motivated and happy is the key to retaining them for long-term projects. When you’re in a position of power over an employee base you must make sure that you’re equitable, caring and nurturing of their talent.