How To Retain Top Talent? -10 Secrets From Successful Leaders

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Today’s employment market is candidate-driven. There are a growing number of open roles and a clear imbalance between demand and supply.

The pandemic has triggered a shift in work culture. There is an increased focus on work-life balance, flexibility, and growth opportunities.

This could be one of the reasons why only 8% of workers in New York City are back in the office full-time. And nearly 80% of workers anticipate working in a hybrid model in the future.

Employees are holding companies and leadership accountable. The nature of their demands is changing. Thus if you want to retain top talent, the organization and leadership at all levels need to grow and adapt to this change.

10 Secrets From Successful Leaders to Retain Top Talent

1. Leadership Credibility

You may have a great vision, value system, and processes in place. But if your actions do not reflect the company’s work culture, it can create distrust among employees.

In such cases, top-performing employees may look for opportunities elsewhere. So, it is essential for leaders across all levels to be living examples of the company’s values. This will help you build credibility and trust.

2. Deliver Clear, Consistent Communication

When employees are working in a hybrid or remote model, they can feel isolated. It is a problem if they hear about changes like company policies, project terms, or in-person get-togethers from other employees and not their supervisors.

Onsite or remote, ensure all communication is delivered from a single source. This can help keep employees in the loop and help tackle any misinformation.

3. Handle Compensation for New and Existing Employees

It is often seen that companies will raise their budget to hire a new employee, especially in today’s competitive market. But if you do not evaluate the compensation for your existing employees, they can feel cheated.

If you want to retain top talent, you will have to reassess their compensation against industry standards and adjust according to their skills and experience.

4. Consider Remote Working

Remote working is the new reality organizations have to deal with. For employees, ‘where’ they are working from is no longer the focus, as most continued to deliver tasks over the pandemic.

A recent survey found that 1 in 3 employees will quit if companies do not offer the flexibility of WFH. If going fully remote is not a possibility, then you must consider a hybrid working model. Forcing employees to work from the office full-time may not be the best decision as we advance.

Companies like PwC are already on track to create a more flexible work environment. In addition, other big companies like Adobe and Twitter are exploring the possibility of going fully remote or including remote-first work culture.

5. Create Healthy Boundaries

A majority of workers around the globe have sighted mental health issues as one of the reasons for leaving their jobs. As a leader, you must be compassionate and open to listening to your employees.

Deliverables must have realistic deadlines. Work communications should be limited to official channels. With remote working, the lines between personal and professional lives tend to get blurred.

You need to create healthy boundaries and honor them in practice. This can help prevent employee burnout. You should also start investing in mental health tools and consider adding policies supporting mental wellness.

6. Include Employees in the Big Picture

Buck Rogers is the Vice President of Keystone Partners’ North Carolina office. He has over 25 years of organizational leadership experience. According to him, companies that are seeing a high employee turnover must include employees in the plan for the future.

Leaders must line out clear growth paths and what roles employees will be playing in them. The work now becomes meaningful. Everyone in the company has a shared vision to work towards.

This can help foster a sense of belonging and not make workers feel as if they are a small cog in a big machine.

7. Listen to Employee Demands

According to Rebecca Givan, an associate professor of labor studies at Rutgers, the days of traditional leadership arising from authority are gone. Today, workers will hold their leaders accountable and will expect them to do more.

Start a conversation with your employees. Understand how you can help them help you. Communicate to them what demands you will prioritize and how exactly you will achieve them.

8. Appreciation and Recognition

This is an age-old practice that is still relevant when it comes to employee satisfaction. Employees want their contributions to be acknowledged, praised, and rewarded.

Appreciation and recognition make the employee feel valued. It boosts their morale and confidence. This, in turn, helps you because the employee will be motivated to perform well on the next project you assign.

9. Offer Growth Opportunities

According to a Pew Research Center survey, lack of growth opportunities was one of the primary reasons Americans quit their jobs in the last couple of years.

If you aim to retain top talent, you must groom them with new challenges and responsibilities. First, understand what objectives the employees want to achieve. Then accordingly, draw a plan on how the company can help the employee grow.

10. Consider Working with an MSP

An MSP is a third-party IT provider that offers outsource IT help desk services, after-hours customer service, and application management, among others. Outsourcing can free up your employees’ time and help them focus on crucial business deliverables.

For example, a skilled MSP service team can handle routine technical issues and queries. This can lessen the burden on your internal IT team and let them focus on significant objectives like cybersecurity.

Summary

The change must start at the leadership level if you want to retain top talent. Employees are looking for credible leaders who stand by the organization’s culture.

Practices like delivering consistent communication, listening to employee demands, investing in mental wellness and appreciation, and offering growth opportunities can contribute to positive work culture and improve employee satisfaction.

Consider outsourcing services so your employees can invest time in what is really important for your business.



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