Address these 4 areas in order to help retain top talent

The thought of losing their best employees wakes up managers in a cold sweat. These are the top performers, the ones who are the most productive and reliable and serve as the foundation for a top-notch organization. On the other hand, because these stalwarts are so steady in their positions, they are often taken for granted, which can lead to them taking their productivity and skills to the competition. The hiring process can be expensive, and the easiest way to keep costs down is to retain top performers.

Losing an employee is an expensive proposition. It can cost more than twice that employee’s salary, and not just during the hiring process. The costs to replace that employee also include lost productivity as the position remains empty, on-boarding and training a new employee, and errors that may occur in the transitional period as the new employee adjusts to her new role.

But employees do leave, and they give two main reasons for jumping ship: management and feeling like they are not empowered. When employees feel like their management doesn’t listen or is inflexible, they start looking for more positive environments. And when they feel as if they cannot solve problems or influence decisions and are just window dressing to make their bosses look good, employees leave.

There is a third reason why the best employees leave: organizational politics. When employees feel as if they can’t advance or take advantage of opportunities because of politics, they are disheartened and will look for the opportunity at another company so they’re able to climb the corporate ladder.

Surprisingly, compensation is not the final reason for employees to leave. Employees can make excellent salaries, but it does not make up for the fact that they are not recognized for their hard work. That can mean anything from a simple, “Great job, Joe!” to a team lunch to boost morale. Employees are only human, and giving them credit shows them that they are respected by management. It’s important for management to take the time to praise employees for a job well done; it’s something that doesn’t take a lot of time but yields fantastic results.

Acknowledging these weaknesses is the first step for companies who want to retain their top talent. Once organizations start addressing these issues and input a talent management system to keep employees happy, they find that their hiring costs decrease as employee satisfaction increases.

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