An amazing candidate has accepted your offer and set a start date. When the candidate begins work, you know you have secured a team player. While this is certainly a great situation, it’s important to remember that only part of the task has been completed.
At BIC Recruiting, we work diligently to secure the best of the best for our clients. The last thing an employer wants is to fill a vacancy with a wonderful employee and then lose them within a matter of weeks or months. Even in difficult economic times, top level talent will have more options than the lackluster “quiet quit” types. The last thing you want is to lose someone amazing because you didn’t have an appropriate strategy for employee retention. What are the important factors to consider magnetizing that top talent?
Perform active listening: It’s crucial to listen to your top talent and ensure they feel heard, represented and understood by management. Do your employees feel that they can offer new ideas and positive changes? If someone challenges “the way it’s always been done,” do you welcome the dialogue or do you bristle at the idea of a maverick suggesting a change? There’s an old cliché about listening more than you speak, and it’s especially true for managers who wish to keep the best employees happy and engaged.
Offer challenges: Team players welcome a challenge; they don’t run from it! Do you observe your team often enough to really understand their strengths, or do you sit in an office with the door closed? By understanding that Sally is amazing with data analytics and Tom is great with sales calls, you are able to offer them appropriate challenges to make work more interesting and personalized. Your employees can see they stand out in a positive way, and they are offered engaging tasks to better themselves and the workplace.
Be honest: Stellar employees are smart. They can see through the nonsense and the filler. If you’ve gotten comfortable making excuses — “now’s not a good time,” “we lack money in the budget,” “come back next quarter and ask again” — you must instead communicate with honesty and integrity.
Embrace diversity: Initiatives for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging are important in today’s marketplace. Beyond the basics, it’s also wise to bring in diversity of thought. Cultivating a department that runs on fear, intimidation and groupthink is a terrible environment. Outstanding employees know this and they will look for the nearest exit if you do not offer breathing room for differences of opinion and personality styles.
Coach and mentor: Does your company offer opportunities for professional development? If an employee makes a mistake, how do you respond? Do you manage with an attitude of shaming and humiliating, or do you use an attitude of compassion and grace? Have you given your team all the tools they need to understand the company’s culture, expectations, plans, etc.?
Pay well: Money is not everything in life, but it is a necessary tool we all must use. Even the most dedicated and devoted employee can be lured away by your competitors if you underpay them. Too many companies believe that so-called perks (like a pizza party, for example) will be enough to retain talent. When we are talking about the best employees, it is not good enough to offer them an ice cream social every other Friday and assume that’s a reasonable substitute for pay. Loosen the purse strings and be sure you are compensating your team appropriately.
Provide recognition: Does your company gleefully leap on employee infractions yet ignore someone going above and beyond? Excellent workers see the hypocrisy in this and will not stick around in a punitive workplace. Employee awards, an extra floating holiday or a bonus can provide a tangible pat on the back for a job well done. These elements can also inspire the B and C players on the team to step things up a notch and inspire healthy, beneficial competition inside the organization.
When your company has an open requisition and you wish to find — and then keep — the best candidates for the role, BIC Recruiting is here and ready for the job.
For more information, visit BICRecruiting.com, email Toni Rosario at trosario@BICRecruiting.com or call (281) 538-9996.