When it comes to high-potential employees, or hi-pos, Harvard Business Review tells us that 1 in 4 believes he or she will be working for another employer within a year. It seems finding talented people is hard work but keeping them is even harder. Some components to be aware of if you are putting effort towards retaining your top employees are explained below.
Flexibility – Remote working options, flexible hours, and PTO policies are replacing the traditional strict 9-to-5 workday. It’s no secret that flexible workers are happier and more productive, meaning not only a more positive impact on your business, but also a reason for them to stick around.
Engagement – Employee engagement is a topic in itself, but we’re just going to focus on some aspects that’ll easily improve overall engagement without getting too detailed. A comfortable, inviting workplace culture is a necessity for engagement. Also, it is imperative that your organization invests in the proper consumer-grade tools and technology needed for the job—nothing discourages an employee more than a task with no resources or tools to complete it.
Communication – Feedback, constructive criticism, and praise all need to be shared with your team in routine doses. Don’t be afraid to get creative and provide quarterly progress reports as a means of constant performance communication. It is also important that those lines of communication go both ways; make sure employees aren’t hesitant to remain communicative with each other and management.
These components are pretty straightforward and seem to have positive effects on retention strategies. But before you get started with just a list of DO’s, make sure you’re also aware of the issues on the following list of DON’Ts.
Don’t assume hi-pos are always highly engaged. Good performance does not always indicate an employee plan on staying and continuing to provide that performance; hi-pos need to feel those retention efforts just as much as the average employee.
Don’t equate current high performance with future potential. A lot can change, affecting even the best employee’s performance. Even top performers need to be nurtured to ensure they continue to provide the quality performance they displayed initially.
Talented individuals are what’s needed to maintain a successful organization. Do what you can to keep them once you’ve found them.
