Top 10 ways of retaining talent for the New Year

Having attended the Dynamic Enterprise Summit with a variety of business leaders recently, Mike Daniell has seen that companies have started thinking about budgets and how they should invest for their business going forward. However, a key challenge and topic was also talent retention. Here are his top 10 ways of retaining top talent for the New Year:

1. New challenges – whatever level an employee is at in a business, it is always important to provide them with new challenges and variety. This kind of professional variety will ensure that you gain their interest and loyalty
2. Continuous Professional Development – linked to the above is that, in today’s workplace environment, employees want to feel as though they have a career path. Room for learning and development of new skills and experiences, training opportunities and courses are all key.
3. Culture – an often overlooked element of a business can be its cultural environment. Having a healthy and happy workplace is also a large contributor to talent retention.
4. Relationships – although strong co-worker relations are important, the relationship an employee has with their direct line manager is central. Trust, honesty and confidence all must be instilled in order to ensure performance.
5. Work/life balance – a phrase that is often used by both employers and employees alike, but it is essential to get this balance right. Have structure yes, but show flexibility and understanding when appropriate and you will gain more loyalty and trust.
6. Reward/remuneration – this is always a difficult subject, but one that should not be swept under the carpet or ignored. Ensuring your employee feels like they are being paid the right amount for the job they do, is crucial, as is increasing this amount when necessary.
7. Bonus – a linked element, especially at senior levels is bonus payment. This can be a real deal breaker is some situations and can be comprised of several elements including a straightforward percentage payout or perhaps additional share options. The balance of the bonus must be right and proportionate with performance and achievements.
8. Benefits – in the sphere of work life balance, employees want to feel supported by their employer and this can extend to family too. Whether it is healthcare, pensions, travel or flexi-working for example, having the right set of benefits will help retain (and attract) talent in your business.
9. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) – this element is becoming increasingly important. Whether you position yourself as an employer of choice, working with credible partners in the marketplace, giving employees access to charitable initiatives through volunteering or are showing your environmental credentials, using CSR as a key differentiator to make you a “better business” is an excellent way of keeping top performers in your organisation.
10. Recognition – although financial reward is key, direct recognition from an employer is also highly valuable. Successful completion of projects, professional academic achievement, going above and beyond etc. – these all need to be recognised officially and regularly by an employer.

About the author

Mike Daniell is Managing Consultant for General Management at Alium Partners. He is a recruitment specialist with over 10 years’ experience in predominantly Interim Management, complimented with exposure to contingent and retained Executive Search assignments, both in the UK and around the world.