Only the best businesses consistently attract and retain top talent. Finding the best people can take time, however it’s an investment that can save you time and money over the long haul. The more effort you put into finding the right people, the less likely they will move on when another opportunity arises.
Here are some strategies to help you attract and retain top talent:
Give Yourself Time
A senior manager has quit, leaving a gaping hole in your team and business operations. It’s a hole that you desperately want and need to fill. In this scenario you may feel that you need to make every effort to fill that position as soon as possible. Hiring under trying circumstances can be stressful but you really can’t afford to take any shortcuts. Otherwise, you risk hiring someone who isn’t a good fit for the position.
It’s important you follow your regular hiring procedures when replacing a key individual. That means carefully reviewing applications, seeking advice and comments from other managers or team members, setting up interviews and going through the entire screening process. References must be double-checked, background checks must be performed and a salary package must be carefully put together.
Rush the process and you may have a wrong hire in your hands.
Offer Competitive Remuneration
You’re more likely to keep an employee around if you offer them a competitive package from the start. It’s nearly impossible to make up for a salary deficiency down the road. Risk this and you may find that key employees leaving for greener pastures.
If you need to understand what a competitive salary represents for the position, government data and other online reports can provide details about thousands of jobs in every industry.
Beyond salary, there are also a number of other benefits you can offer to attract and retain top talent. Consider offering health and dental benefits among other perks.
Skills and Profiling
It simply isn’t enough to interview potential employees. You need to have your managers meet them too, they can help in assessing their skills and determine whether or not they have what it takes to perform their duties. You may need to work with a third-party agency to help you manage this properly.
Another area of concern is their personal temperament. Skill set isn’t the only factor in determining whether a person is right for your company and job, you also need to consider personality and how this fits with your business and company culture. The individual may be smart and able to get the job done but impossible for some people to work with.
Elicit Feedback
Once a new hire has been put into position it can be easy to overlook how they’re doing apart from their work performance. It’s important to maintain an open-door policy with your best employees to ensure that they feel comfortable in bringing whatever troubles or concerns they have directly to you.
If an employee feels overworked or otherwise overburdened, he or she won’t hesitate to start looking for work elsewhere. The cost of losing top talent can be large and difficult to make up for. That’s why it’s worthwhile to hire a temporary individual or a part time person to provide some relief.
Feedback is a two-way street. You may commonly provide annual reviews, but with top talent you might need to offer your feedback much more frequently. To ensure that your top talent consistently works for your business to succeed and grow, you need to show them you’re helping them succeed and grow as well. Make it a point to stay involved to encourage them to be most effective.
Top Talent Considerations
When your employees feel that they contribute to your business, they are more likely to stay put. Even so, top employees can still leave regardless of what you do for them.
It is important to perform exit interviews whenever a team member leaves. You want to uncover the reasons why they’re leaving, including problems that weren’t addressed earlier. From there, you can make the right changes to reduce your staff turnover rate going forward.
