Retaining Top Talent in 2022

Retaining Top Talent

The world is entering a talent migration bigger than anything we’ve seen before. It’s called the Great Reshuffle, an unprecedented moment in the history of work where collectively we are rethinking not just how we work, but where we work and, maybe even more importantly, what we want from work. In the end, more people will be doing work they love at companies they feel aligned with, leading to greater success for organizations that invest in their employees with curiosity and trust.

It’s no secret that recruiting and retaining talent is critical to an organization’s success. After all, an organization is only as strong as the best people who work there. So, how do you recruit and retain great talent?

Attracting and Retaining Talent is a Top Priority

Studies have found that one of the most common reasons a person leaves an organization is the same reason someone joins an organization: career opportunities, or lack thereof. This translates as career development. As a result, a crucial part of recruiting and retaining great people is providing relevant learning opportunities for them, which facilitates their career growth.

In fact, according to a LinkedIn survey, employees who “don’t believe they can achieve their career goals with a current employer are 12x more likely to consider leaving. With new employees, the number skyrockets to about 30x more likely.”

Give employees the opportunities they seek, accelerate their growth, and skyrocket their careers. Millennials are particularly eager in this regard, so create a workplace where they can accomplish that. Give them opportunities to grow skills and become the professionals they want to be.

Stay Interviews

What is a stay interview? “Stay interviews are conducted to help managers understand why employees stay and what might cause them to leave.” In an effective stay interview, managers ask standard, structured questions casually and conversationally for no more than around 30 minutes.

To uncover employee skill gaps, a key question was, “what skills would help you perform your job better?” Responses helped the company build training sessions on leading teams, communication, hiring best practices, managing conflict, and more. Developing internal talent to be able to fill leadership/management roles.

The data reinforces how when organizations promote from within, employees feel crucial to success. In many organizations, employee retention is top of mind while promotions are a low priority, but why not see them as two sides of the same coin? Win retention by prioritizing internal hiring. Emphasize learning while recruiting internally. Clearly state the skills needed to succeed in a new role and empower candidates to learn and grow.

So what do the facts say?

• 64% of talent professionals say employee retention is a top priority.
• $3,400 for every $10,000 is the salary cost of disengaged employees.
• 56% of organizations struggle to keep high-potential and top-performing employees.
• 23% of employees voluntarily leave their jobs due to a lack of development and training.

Here are a few examples:

Lunch & Learn sessions

Organize 30- to 45-minute sessions that explore a range of subjects, including embracing change, working in teams, and managing people. Hearing coworkers’ thoughts on these subjects brings a social element to learning.

Internal marketing

Send emails, company newsletters, and presentations explaining how employees can engage with your learning program to generate excitement and increase engagement. It also fosters a sense of choice in what the employee wants to learn.

Schedule 1-on-1’s

Set aside a 30-minute window in your calendar to allow employees to ask questions on how to set and manage learning goals. This creates an open-door policy to be approachable and invested in being their coach.

Reminders

Keep learning top of mind by rewarding employee efforts, sharing content on your internal or LinkedIn groups, and providing a means to track new opportunities such as with calendar invites or team-focused initiatives with partner clients.

Executive sponsors

Speaking of partner clients, reach out to different CRM or design programs your company uses and ask if they provide training on their products or services as an easy way to foster skills learning without any additional planning.

Think of learning this way: training is transactional, but learning is transformational. Use your learning initiatives as a competitive advantage when attracting, engaging, and retaining talent and inspire employees to achieve their career dreams.

Differences between training and learning:

Training

• Company benefit centric
• Checking a box
• Required for all employees
• Done begrudgingly

Learning

• Learner benefit centric
• Engaged and put into practice
• Elected by each employee
• Done enthusiastically

Coaching Top Talent

As we’ve been demonstrating, organizations wanting to win over talent must put learning front and center. How can you expedite the process to retain and attract top performers and increase productivity?

One option is to implement The Leadership Advantage Program: THE LAP program provides interactive workshops to develop skills and tools that your emerging leaders can implement in their day-to-day operations.

In this hands-on program, your people will experience increased performance and productivity by practicing critical thinking techniques, improved communication, and innovative ways of effectively resolving conflict. This is an extensively tested curriculum that is curated for your company.

Reach out today for a 15-minute consultation with me and invest in your own learning and career development or the LAP program for your company.

Georganne Goldblum,
CEO of Coach4Execs