How do we retain the most talented people?

Retaining your very best people is critical to the long term success of your business, directly impacting customer satisfaction, productivity, morale, succession planning and organisational knowledge and skill levels. The cost involved in losing such people is also significant, more so as you go further up the managerial ladder.

So what can YOU, as a manager, do to ensure that you minimise the risk of losing your most talented people?

So often it is good general practice that will best aid retention. If you are creating an environment in which your best people can grow, contribute and shine, your chances of keeping them will increase dramatically. Here are just a few things to consider…

Be clear in your expectations

Many management thinkers agree that a satisfied employee knows clearly what’s expected from them every day at work. Changing expectations keeps people on edge and creates unhealthy stress. Such a move will rob the employee of internal security and make the employee feel unsuccessful. However, change is often necessary within business, and so in these cases it is good practice to have a specific framework in place, within which people clearly know what is expected from them.

Ensure employees do not feel under-valued by providing quality supervision

People leave managers and supervisors more often than they leave companies or jobs. It is not enough that the supervisor is well-liked or a nice person, they have a critical role to play in staff retention and need to avoid making employees feel under-valued. In order to minimise staff turnover, supervisors need to:

Be clear about expectations.

Be clear about earning potential.

Give regular feedback regarding performance.

Provide a framework within which employees perceive they can succeed.

Encourage a culture of openness and welcome input

Does your organisation solicit ideas and provide an environment in which people are comfortable providing feedback? If it does, you will find employees offer ideas and will feel free to criticise and commit to continuous improvement. If not, employees bite their tongues and often find themselves constantly "in trouble" until they leave.

Utilise their skills and talents

An employee who’s motivated will want to contribute to work areas outside of their specific job description, and there are probably several people in your organisation who could contribute far more than they currently do. You just need to know their skills, talent and experience, and take the time to tap into it. Provide opportunities to grow Without the chance to try new opportunities within the company, employees feel they will stagnate. A career-oriented, valued employee needs to experience growth opportunities within their organisation.

Provide exposure to senior management

A common point made during exit interviews is that employees never felt senior managers knew they existed. By senior managers, we mean the managing director of a small company, or a department or division head in a larger company.

Take time to meet with new employees to learn about their talents, abilities and skills. Meet with each employee periodically. You'll have more useful information and keep your fingers on the pulse of your organisation. It's a critical tool to help employees feel welcomed, acknowledged and loyal.

Reward and Recognition

Your staff members need to feel rewarded, recognised and appreciated, and one of the simplest ways of doing this is just to say ‘thank you’. Frequently saying thank you goes a long way, and monetary rewards, bonuses and gifts make the thank you even more appreciated. Understandable raises that are tied to accomplishments and achievements will also help to retain staff. Commissions and bonuses that are easily calculated on a daily basis, and easily understood, raise motivation and help retain staff.

The following courses could help you improve staff retention:

Essential skills to get the most from your staff

Team management and leadership skills for supervisors and team leaders

Managing & motivating people