The Future of Work: How to Attract—and Retain Your Top Talent

A senior manager has quit, leaving a gaping hole in your business. It is a hole that you desperately want to fill, and you will make every effort to fill that position as soon as possible.

Hiring anyone under trying circumstances can be stressful. You cannot afford to take shortcuts. Otherwise, you risk hiring someone who is not a good fit for the position.

Even when filling an urgent hire, you need to conduct due diligence and opt for a contingency plan in the interim. That means carefully drafting an updated (and compelling) description. Additionally, it's wise to establish a thorough screening process that elicits input from other stakeholders. If you risk rushing the process, you may end up with the wrong hire.

Offer Unique Benefits

You are more likely to keep an employee around if you offer them a competitive package and take the initiative to stay aligned with the current market rate. Employees in a recent survey indicated a raise or bonus (48%) would encourage them to remain in their current employment. 

It is rarely adequate to make up a salary deficiency down the road. With the increasing trend of recruitment marketing and social outreach, your top performer will likely be seeking greener pastures. It is also vital to understand what a competitive salary represents for the updated description laid out. This means not just referring to the title, but rather the level of responsibilities you're seeking. Payscale can provide details about thousands of positions. Generating localized reports will also give you a good target range to keep in mind for open positions or incentivizing top performers.

Beyond salary, programs supporting professional growth and personal wellness have demonstrated the ability to make a difference for employees. According to the American Psychological Association, 89% of employees at organizations that provide well-being initiatives are more likely to recommend their company as an excellent place to work. Consider integrating wellness experiences or flexible hours, especially during challenging business quarters.

Promote Transparency & Ongoing Feedback

When employees or recent new hires are settled into your company, it can be easy to overlook how they are doing apart from their workplace performance. You must maintain an open-door policy with your best employees to ensure that they feel comfortable in bringing whatever troubles or concerns that they have directly to you.

If an employee feels overworked or otherwise overburdened, he may begin to look for work elsewhere. The cost of losing top talent can be significantly more than merely adding a budget for freelance support or part-time help. However, deferring to your employees to do all the work in building a case for a budget is not ideal in a tight labor market.

Feedback is also a two-way street. You may commonly provide annual reviews, but with top talent, you should offer your feedback much more frequently. Gone are the days when employers are holding off for 365 reviews to provide feedback—which can foster a more organic way to nurture relationships with your team. You want to help these individuals grow and succeed - make a point to stay involved to help them be most effective.

Employees who feel that they contribute to a company are much more likely to remain committed to your company's vision past the trending two to three-year tenure. At most, if you present professionals with a balanced combination of compensation, career development, and culture beyond the traditional scope, you'll be well-positioned to receive their best work—and reduce the odds of replacing them.