Ways to Retain Your Top Talent

As all HR managers should know, hiring and firing isn’t all there is to the human resource department. You’ve got key employees working hard and performing at their best, great. However, you can’t call your job “well done” simply after the recruitment and training steps.

What about the other Big R: Retention?

There is no arguing the fact that losing your top performing employees is simply unaffordable. They have the required knowledge, training, and talent needed to move forward in the organization which not only fulfills organizational needs, but also customers’ needs for a quality service.

Here are 6 ways to retain your top-performers and keep them in the boat:

1) Don’t Take Too Long to Offer a Raise: One of the main reasons why some employees don’t afraid to jump the ship is because of a higher compensation elsewhere. Just because your employee doesn’t tell you he needs a higher pay doesn’t mean that he doesn’t want it. Use the monetary benefits as a means to retain your employees. Don’t wait till they have already been offered, because by then, it would be too late.

2) Map Out a Growth Path: Don’t expect the brightest and best to stay if you haven’t mapped out a growth path for them. They won’t always be concerned about a higher pay. If they are good enough, they would also want more discretion, more responsibility, and a higher status. The best ones want to learn, do new things, and grow. They don’t stick to one position for too long. Make sure you have realistic development opportunities outlined for your employees and allow them to move up the ladder as soon as they are ready.

3) Contribute Elsewhere: Top performers are often motivated by working outside their own job description. Try to vary their work and find out where else they are willing to contribute besides their own work. You might be able to tap into a hidden talent or skill that was previously undiscovered. If they do an adequate job and are enthusiastic about it, ask them if they want to continue contributing to that area.

4) Involvement and Autonomy: It is crucial to make your workers feel like they actually contribute to the company’s success in some way or the other. This gives their work meaning and value. The best way to achieve this is by giving the workers some autonomy and allowing them to change or improve the way things are done. Get them involved, allow them to innovate, encourage ideas, and include them in decision making.

5) Watch Out for the Signs: If an employee is leaving work during office timing all suited up, seemingly disengaged for no reason, or using up their leaves, it could be a sign that they are about to leave. Notice the signs of “job-seeking” elsewhere, because that could be your last shot at changing their mind. Confront your employee and have counter offers prepared. Even if your assumptions were wrong, at least your star employee will know that you care.

6) Just talk to them: It is also important to ask your employee directly what they think about their work and current progress. Chances are that your views are very different from theirs. If there are any concerns or grievances, you will have something to work with them on before they even consider an alternative opportunity.

This works best when you have a blunt, friendly, and honest attitude towards your employees and encourage them to do the same. Also, be mindful of the fact that they wouldn’t want to share anything you don’t guarantee.

Author Bio:
Sadie loves to help students with their essay writing at Essay Corp. She also writes articles and publish them on different sites. She is fond of reading comics especially DC. Catch her on G+.