My Blueprint for Retaining Top Talent in Business

Talent is the greatest asset of any organisation. Right now, many companies in the UK are facing a significant and unpredictable challenge in the form of Brexit. To me, the best way to steer any company through challenging times is by recruiting – and retaining – the best possible workforce.

Having worked in business for over 30 years, I’m privileged to say that I’ve had a lot of experience developing successful workforces. These experiences have given me a firm belief that the most valuable asset in any organisation is people. Many people understand the importance of this, but few actually commit to making sure their company is a great place to work for top talent. In this article, I’ll share my thoughts on why this matters and how you can help the talent in your company thrive. 

Why do so many leaders get it wrong?

I often see leaders taking their top talent for granted. In general, because our top employees perform so consistently, it’s easy to neglect them at the expense of others who are not performing so well. You think this employee is doing fine, so they go off your radar.

However, by spending most of our time and focus on employees who are not performing, we risk disregarding the high achievers in the company. That puts the business at risk because, when a competitor comes along and offers that employee a new opportunity, it’s much more likely to grab their attention. Business leaders make themselves vulnerable to losing their best employees if they don’t have a strategy for talent retention.

What strategies are best for retaining talent?

I believe there are three core pillars of talent retention: training, incentivisation, and remuneration.

First, I believe job fulfilment comes from a sense of progression. If you provide your employees with high-quality training, they’re likely to see improvements in their skills and their future prospects, which makes it more worthwhile for them to stick around. Investing in events to challenge and inspire your workforce is a great place to start.

Second, it’s hardwired into our brains to enjoy working somewhere that we feel rewards us for our efforts. These rewards can take numerous forms, but ultimately they are an acknowledgement that you appreciate an employee’s contributions. Even a simple ‘thank you’ can go a long way. Reward your employees and they’ll reward you.

Third, you should provide compensation to your employees in line with their market rate. Ultimately, as much as we might hope our employees are aligned with the broader mission of our company, a paycheck is a big part of why they’re here. If you can afford to pay employees at a rate they deem fair – or even generous – then your workforce is far more likely to stay.

Does the size of the company matter?

My second recruitment company, Humana International, grew to over 140 offices in 30 countries. That experience taught me a huge amount, but one particularly valuable lesson I learnt is that the best ways to retain talent – whether you’re in a tiny startup or a huge international organisation – remain the same.

Of course, roles can differ considerably depending on the size of the company. In a smaller environment, employees are required to be much more flexible, adaptable and open to multi-tasking, because there simply aren’t enough people to specialise in every different area necessary for the business to run. In a larger company, by contrast, it is more often the case that an employee is given responsibility for one very particular function. The type of people you’re prone to hiring changes, as the more narrow focus of the work means you are often better-off hiring specialists in niche areas.

But when it comes to retaining talent, every employee benefits from the same kind of approach, regardless of the scale of the company. The nuts and bolts might differ, but ultimately the strategies you use should be very similar.

What can employees do to set themselves up to be leaders in the future?

While the responsibility of maintaining and nurturing top talent falls to the employer, there are many ways in which an employee can increase their opportunities for progress within a company, and even identify themselves as a future leader.

It goes without saying that anyone with leadership ambitions must demonstrate that they have the ability to go above and beyond what is expected of them in their current role. You can’t get around the need to be very good at what you do.

However, some great employees make a mistake by failing to communicate their ambitions to the people more senior than them. Let your line manager know about your ambitions and aspirations, and ask for opportunities where you can demonstrate the leadership skills that you have. It’s only if you are open and communicative about your personal goals that you are likely to see the kind of opportunities that will set you up for success. These will allow you to demonstrate what you can achieve in a context that pushes you beyond the requirements of your current position.

Conclusion

Overall, I would strongly urge employers not to become complacent with regards to their top talent. It is a mistake to spend too little time or money on employee retention. Ultimately, the cost of losing top talent is much greater than the cost of investment in keeping your best talent.

As for employees, remember to be open with your managers about your goals and ambitions. You might be surprised how happy they’ll be to help you grow and develop.

James Caan CBE

www.james-caan.com