Best Strategies For Employers To Retain Top Talent

Did you know that every month, approximately 5 million working people change employment in search of a better opportunity? According to Talent500’s latest survey of over 10,000 active tech professionals, 57% of job seekers continue to look for opportunities even after accepting a job offer. 

That is an unsatisfactory figure for employers. For one thing, replacing an employee who quits can cost a business nearly double its compensation despite many companies trying different strategies to attract and retain employees.

An employee leaving to join another organization, which they believe is a better fit for them is not a good situation for an employer. It can be challenging for a company when highly skilled employees, who are crucial to the company’s operations, choose to leave. These situations nullify retention efforts. Let’s look at some of the secrets to retaining top talent.

How To Retain Top Performers And Stay Competitive by Adopting a Talent Management Strategy

Talent management strategies, like any other organizational strategy, are carefully crafted to optimize leadership effectiveness and business success. Coaching, development, workforce planning, and organizational talent retention programs cultivate, infuse, and weave the human aspect into critical roles and responsibilities that provide value, growth, and opportunity for each leader across the business.

Individuals want to work for firms that provide them with opportunities for ongoing learning, empowerment, and more purposeful and collaborative experiences. Creating talent management programs that promote and grow leadership and workforce talent while also supporting and enhancing the culture of this futuristic business necessitates essential competencies from the current leadership.

Develop your leaders to retain top talent

A leader is more than just passing through the office. They are a constant presence, eager to offer advice when it is required.

While it is their responsibility to ensure that a firm works well, they are not necessarily required to be strict or overly demanding in order to achieve this.

Employees want to feel respected and not manipulated by their managers.

If you want these individuals to regard you as a leader, you must demonstrate that you are more than just a corporate poster child. While achieving your current position is no small feat, making a big deal out of it will not help you or your staff advance any further. This is one of the secret retention strategies for high-potential employees.

It’s easy to abuse your authority, but keep in mind that you rely on these employees just as much as they do on you. After all, you are their superior, but it does not automatically make you their idol. You must diligently work to gain this title.

Offer training and education opportunities

It is common for employees to want a job that provides opportunities for learning and development, as well as having a boss who is good at communicating, a positive work environment, and challenging work.

Given that it costs a corporation 2.5 times the employee’s annual wage to replace a skilled employee, it makes economic sense to invest heavily in their continuing education to retain staff strategies. According to the 2018 LinkedIn learning report, 94% of employees are inclined to stay with a company for a longer time if the company provides training and development opportunities.

Training increases worker productivity, broadens the company’s knowledge base, and develops employee loyalty.

 By increasing employee retention, greater loyalty can offset the expense of training initiatives. Turnover is costly: the expense of recruiting, HR, and administrative charges for processing the departing employee out and the replacement employee in; the cost of lost production while a position is empty; and the cost of training and appraising a new and untried employee.

Focus on maintaining a great culture and family-friendly work environment

It is unfortunately a common trend for companies to prioritize their bottom line over the well-being and satisfaction of their employees. Policies such as flexible workdays, remote work options, and a ban on end-of-day meetings, which are designed to enhance the work culture and create a more family-friendly environment, are often seen as luxuries rather than necessities. For instance, new parents, single mothers, and fathers often require more flexible work arrangements than those without children. They are more hesitant to switch their inflexible jobs. In situations like these, having an open discussion with the manager about parents’ schedules can ease the burden from the parent’s shoulders. Most people are concerned with performing well in their current position. Working parents have less time to investigate and hunt for other opportunities than those without family obligations. 

Ultimately, investing in initiatives that promote a positive work culture and support families can pay off in terms of increased employee loyalty and commitment.

Keep track of unconscious bias at the workplace, and minimize its effects. Organizations need to be aware of unconscious bias and take steps to mitigate its impact to create a fair and inclusive work environment.  

By providing opportunities for learning and development, promoting work-life balance, and fostering a positive and collaborative culture, companies can attract and retain top talent, increase productivity, and drive business success. Organizations need to prioritize these initiatives to create a thriving and sustainable work environment.

How To Keep Your Best Employees By Promoting Flexibility With Work Schedules

A flexible work schedule gives employees the freedom to choose their schedules and strike a work-life balance that works for them. A flexible schedule, as opposed to the standard, nine-to-five work week, allows employees to modify the times they begin and conclude their work day.

It’s critical to understand that working flex hours does not imply working fewer hours. Employees clock in more hours working from home. Furthermore, there is still discipline to this type of routine: employees must work a particular number of hours or reach an arrangement with their employer regarding office hours versus remote time.

Flexibility is the answer for many workers. This sort of schedule allows you to work when you’re most productive and provides you the liberty you need to achieve a perfect work-life balance, whatever you define it.

Communicate frequently and clearly with your team

Effective and clear communication between managers and employees is critical to the success of a team and one of the most effective skill retention strategies. According to Pumble.com, effective team communication is a key factor in retaining top talent. In fact, businesses that have effective communication in the workplace are 4.5 times more likely to retain employees compared to those that lack effective communication. 

Employee engagement and productivity are likely to be higher when employees understand their department’s goals and feel that their management values their input. As a manager, the way you communicate with your employees can influence both your own and their performance.

Effective employee communication is critical for ensuring that a team knows your expectations and fulfills common goals. The advantages of effective communication include

• Strong team dynamics
• Avoiding misconceptions and ambiguity
• Accurate and timely project completion 
• Keeping team members engaged and motivated
• Assisting employees in reaching their full potential

Takeaway: Employees want more than good pay, they want workplace that invests in them and offers opportunities for growth, development, and recognition for their contributions.

People desire meaning in their life, which includes their employment. The more a company restricts certain things, the more likely an employee will leave. Employees are thinking about this balance in their work and life more than ever before. Work-life balance is a powerful motivator and leads to increased job satisfaction and retention. 

Companies that are too rigid or restrictive in their policies and culture, may turn off potential employees or cause current employees to seek opportunities elsewhere. 

We at Talent500 have long advocated for making work a win-win situation for both people and employers, but we are witnessing a fundamental shift in the value equation and we are here to help you how to retain the best employees for your company.