The war for talent doesn't know when to stop. Less than 30% of European companies are confident about the quality and quantity of talent in their funnel for the future. That is, more than 70% have no confidence in it. And did you know that, for many organizations, attracting talent is even harder than finding new customers? And have you finally found the right employee? Then the trick is to retain them. After all, competitors are also looking for your best people. And more than half of employees leave the company again within five years. But how do you make sure that you keep your high potentials in, and away from your competitors?
The difference between potential and performance
First, in retaining your high potentials it is important to distinguish the difference between potential and performance. In fact, many people sometimes confuse these. Performance is what you do, potential is what you could do. In this article we talk about potential. So: when you deliver a top performance, it does not mean that you are a high potential are. What you do look for is the difference between an employee who knows what work to do and accomplishes it nicely, versus an employee who wants to develop and grow as much as possible within the organization. These are the employees who are not only happy with the company, but are also engaged, see opportunities and take advantage of them, thereby growing the organization.
Salary has long since ceased to be enough
Many companies still think employees can be "bribed" with salary. However, according to research by Gallup that 87% of millennials would rather trade salary for growth and development opportunities. So salary has long since ceased to be the most important thing for people to choose an organization. But what is?
1. Offer a clear development path
To retain high-potential employees, it is important to invest in them. You need to offer them enough challenge and give them the opportunity to develop themselves. These high potentials are not looking for a 9 to 5 job where they have to solve other people's shit. They are looking for organizations where they are given clear direction on how to add value to the organization. They want to make a difference.
Therefore, in the strongest organizations, learning and development is the core focus. In these organizations, learning is integrated into every project or task. And that is something that goes hand in hand with the needs and demands of high potentials . One of the characteristics of high potentials is that they want to grow and develop continuously. Make sure they can seize opportunities, try out new things, take on challenging tasks and give them the right handles and tools they need. This way they can realize their potential.
2. Provide good leadership
Did you know that employees are more likely to leave an organization because of their manager or supervisor than because of the work they have to do? Research shows that employees are often dissatisfied with expectations, the amount of feedback they receive (too little) and not having a clear development perspective. Therefore, it is extremely important to invest in good leadership.
Tip
Did you know that Treams gives you insight into which managers are top performers and which managers need a little more attention? This allows you to identify and solve/prevent problems early. You can see how this works in our clickable demo.
(H)recognition 3.
One of the most common complaints during exit interviews is that employees don't feel seen/heard by senior management. And as difficult as it sometimes is as a director to pay attention to all your employees, it is hugely important. Make sure you see and talk to your employees regularly, in groups or otherwise. This makes employees feel recognized which ultimately makes for loyal, dedicated and engaged employees.
In addition, openness and transparency is hugely important. Creating open communication between employees and management will create more
4. Leverage technology and data
With the help of smart technology you can easily automate repetitive tasks. For example, it is very easy to send a highly targeted question to employees on a weekly basis that allows HR to identify and resolve problems early. In addition, it makes employees feel more heard. Win-win situation, in other words.
Organizations have incredible amounts of workforce data available. With a tooling like Treams it is very easy to turn this data into predictions. After all, why not use that data to determine who is most likely to leave and why? From all this data you can easily discover patterns and only then can you take steps to prevent it.
Finally, it is important to be prepared for attrition. After all, sometimes losing your greatest talent is inevitable.