Why Companies Lose Their Top Talent
Talent acquisition is more important than ever before and companies of all sizes and ages are investing heavily in their talent acquisition teams and strategy. But far too often the process stops at acquisition, and the talent development and retention aspect are alarmingly absent. With the US unemployment rate falling to its lowest since 2007, employers are having to invest more in their recruitment capabilities to remain competitive.
According to a LinkedIn report, only 32% of global talent leaders view retention as a top priority over the next 12 months. When you think about the top talent in your team and the business, how much focus do you feel is being put on the retention of them and how many of the aspects detailed below are being covered?
Career development – When looking at the widely covered Millennial generation in the workplace, engagement and continued growth are two of the key aspects of retaining talent in this bracket. For example, an outstanding feature of PepsiCo’s Career Architecture is “Critical Experiences” – these are key growth opportunities that allow people to develop new skills and knowledge, but may not represent traditional upward progression. More businesses should be promoting assignments that create continuous learning for employees by allowing them to solve important problems for the company. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 18-35-year-olds had an average tenure of 1.6 years per job in Jan 2016. We’re not far off having a majority generation in our workforce that expects to work with you for less than 2 years.
Management listening to individuals – We are in the middle of a large shift in the workforce and there are countless examples of management teams being too resistant to change and improvements brought forward by their talent. First and foremost, companies will be missing out on opportunities to progress and streamline their processes by taking on board the fresh and innovative ideas of their best people. And following on from this, if a bright individual doesn’t feel they’re truly being allowed to have a voice in the business and their contributions are being undervalued, it won’t be long until they receive an opportunity from an employer who will embrace their ideas.
Having effective leadership – One of the most desirable attributes in recent times is being a self-starter. With the growing numbers of young start-ups and companies entering brand new areas, acquiring an individual who is a self-starter and can get the job done with little guidance is a huge bonus. Despite this, a strong and effective form of leadership is absolutely essential to ensure that the entire team has an understanding of the direction the company is heading. The vision and ambition of the company should be communicated fully and effectively to ensure you have a workforce that is behind what you do and believes in what you are trying to achieve.
Spotting conflict at an early stage – Even the most well-oiled operations will run into conflicts, disagreements, and friction between team members. The key is to ensure that these are superficial and one-offs as a result of a particular situation, and not an ongoing problem from one person or between two people. A troublemaker in the team can turn the atmosphere toxic very quickly, especially if occupying a senior position. Dealing with conflicts is not something every Manager is good at, but it’s something every leader should be able to handle efficiently. Communicating with your talent regularly will ensure you have the opportunity to deal with situations of this nature as early as possible, and before the problem becomes terminal. Many talented individuals will find greener grass if they spend too long dealing with unnecessary conflict at work.
