How to Keep Talent?
In the age of the Great Resignation, figuring out how to retain talent in an organisation has never been more important.
According to the PwC “Global workforce Hopes and Fears survey”, a fifth of workers are planning on leaving their jobs in 2022. The survey was conducted amongst 52,000 workers across 44 countries and territories, highlighting its wide span of reach. Therefore, it is crucial for employers to find ways to enable engagement and growth for their employees, in order to be able to sustain them.
For many people, salary is the key driving factor in regard to their employment. This is supported by the PwC survey mentioned above, with 71% of people considering it the most important when thinking about a job change. However, job fulfilment was a close second at 69%, highlighting that pay may not be everything in terms of retaining and motivating workers.
A Harvard Business Review article by Roger L. Martin explores this issue, suggesting that the elite of the professional world are not usually heavily motivated by salaries. He proposes that placing emphasis on less materialistic forms of reward such as praising workers’ merits and celebrating their successes can have a more beneficial impact, as it enables them to feel valued. This recognition then leads to them feeling appreciated by the organisation, providing a psychological boost. Furthermore, it is recommended to acknowledge your biggest talents’ ideas, even though you as an employer may not agree with them.This is because having a say in the decision making process can lead employees to feel respected and important, enhancing the chances that they will want to stay with the organisation.
Another writer’s take on this from the Harvard Business Review is by Margaret Rogers, who focuses talent development and retention on providing enough engagement for your employees. This can be achieved by arranging regular opportunities for communication, asking questions and gaining insight into their needs and wants. It is important to identify what skills employees are comfortable and uncomfortable with, as well as which ones they are personally curious about developing.
“All of us are talented in our unique way. We just need to recognize our capacity and develop our talents to their full potential.”
This then cascades into another piece of advice, which is giving your workers adequately varied learning opportunities. An individualised approach is essential, as people can be different types of learners, and feel more comfortable in different scenarios. For example, two workers are interested in developing their leadership skills. However, they have varying degrees of expertise in the field. The worker with less experience may benefit from a smaller delegation task from a senior employee, whereas the one with more experience can be given a larger leadership role in an upcoming project. As a result, this individualised approach ensures that no one’s progression is inhibited, whilst allowing everyone to develop their talent and skills at their own pace.
As your employees continue to grow throughout their careers, it is necessary to give them consistent feedback in terms of both successes and failures.
“We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve.”
– Bill Gates
However, in order for this feedback to be absorbed in the most beneficial and efficient way, a trusting relationship between the superior and subordinate needs to be built. This provides reassurance for the worker, highlighting how the feedback is actually “a kind of support because it’s offered in the spirit of helping us improve.” This can then boost employee morale, productivity and general motivation, which all contribute towards enhancing talent development and retainment.
Point of view.
Last week we published an article talking about Generation Gap: reality or stereotype. During our client meetings with HR and Managers we often have this question: “how can I keep the new generation talent?”. To answer this question, we have decided to ask Anna Belcikova, who is part of the GenZ, to comment on our article from her perspective.
“Talent development and retainment don’t come down to one factor. I do believe that salary and economic incentives have value in terms of keeping talent within companies, as sources of income are directly linked towards our ability to support ourselves and give us a certain freedom. For example, higher salaries can give an employee a sense of security, whilst also allowing them to indulge in hobbies or other unrelated work activities without worry. However, I do not believe that pay is everything, and in order to be happy as an employee, the work also needs to be fulfilling. This can stem from varied learning opportunities and providing regular feedback loops as explored in the two HBR articles. Additionally, I believe that in order for the work to be fulfilling, a comfortable environment needs to be established between co-workers, as well as managers in order to build a sense of community. This is because it creates support systems within the workplace itself, and prevents employees from feeling isolated or lost. Due to this, a balance between the more materialistic and more social rewards and opportunities needs to be achieved in order to successfully keep, but also develop talent.” Anna Belcikova
