How to Retain Your Best Talent by Being a Great Role Model

When it comes to write the success story of a company, its employees should be given a significant credit, if not the lion’s share. Ideas do matter for a business to get a head start, so are powerful strategies that need to be highly effective left, right and center. But what if there is no structure to implement these strategies? Can any company sustain if talented individuals are hard to come by or difficult to sustain?
 

Part of the answer of these cardinal issues lies in a great leadership. If a leader projects himself/herself as a great role model, then a legacy is created that breeds quality, motivation, innovation, and inspiration. These are the fundamental pillars for an organizational success. Outstanding leadership is like a guiding light for everyone to follow, especially for top performing employees, who believe in personal as well as organizational success in equal measures. This brings us to the outstanding utility of such employees and their value for a company.
 

So how are you going to retain your best performing employees? Here are some valuable tips that will help you in this regard:
 

One of the top qualities of a great leadership is to create an atmosphere where people enjoy working and interacting. A productive work environment is critical to the overall success of your company. It allows your employees to feel secure in their job, and in turn they will do their best work with fullest potential. A great workplace environment is one where individual differences are duly respected; information is not suppressed or spun; the organization stands for something meaningful; the work itself is intrinsically rewarding; and there are no unnecessary rules to follow.
According to a study by Hay Group, a global management consulting firm based in Philadelphia, there are two ‘E’s of successful employee retention – environment and engagement. The study shows that companies with high levels of engagement show turnover rates at 40 percent lower than companies with low levels of engagement. In addition to that you need to proactively improve workforce management, which makes sure that your employees are properly taken care of.
 

Providing your employees with a regular feedback on their performance and career progress can go a long way in keeping them working for your organization. On the contrary, when they don’t have feedback, especially in their first two years, they kind of keep guessing at what their goals should be. If you encourage a two-way feedback system, it will be even better because it opens up a healthy interaction and engagement.
Providing a continual feedback throughout the year is a low-cost way for you to retain the best talent, whereas annual reviews can use that information to illuminate the bigger picture and plan for the future. Furthermore, no person or process is ever perfect to begin with, which is why giving and getting feedback becomes so vital.
 

Walk the talk! Leaders should step up when things don’t go as planned. As a leader, you need to be able to deliver on your promises. Your employees often watch every move that you make just know whatever you say and whatever you do are the same. Being a leader is all about gaining the trust and confidence of your team. You should be able to send right messages to your employees. If at any workplace, a leader is giving his or her maximum efforts and good performance, employees follow the suit. They like to work with a person who walks the talk in order to learn as much as they can. As a good leader, you need to have attentive ears, so listen to them and understand their issues.
 

When you recognize the efforts put by your employees and appreciate their dedication, you’re much more likely to inspire and motivate them to do their best. By creating a culture of recognition, you will be able to produce a sense of well-being, trust, optimism, and confidence among your employees – a crucial factor for their retention. It is a natural tendency that people want to be respected by their managers and colleagues, and also want to feel valued regarding their work. To appreciate their work, you need to make them happy by throwing occasional office parties. You can celebrate their success by having a toast with each other, or by giving hot cocoa party favors to make them feel really special. That way, your employees would definitely hang on to your company.
 

Talented workers invariably want to make it big as well as advancement in their careers. One of the main reasons why employees leave is limited growth opportunities because everyone needs a better career and handsome pay package. In a study by Quantum Workplace, employees listed professional growth opportunity as one of their highest drivers of engagement. Furthermore, the potential for growth opportunities is a huge motivational factor for your employees. When you want top performing individuals to drive your business growth, you need to create growth opportunities for them in the first place.
 

Workplace communication is vital to an organization's ability to be productive and operate smoothly. Therefore top-down and bottom-up communication process should be your starting point. According to some business experts, an emphasis on communication equips employees to “feel valued, satisfied and motivated” which enhances their morale and increases their output. It enables colleagues to build a more trustworthy relationship with one another, helps get motivated by each other’s success, and points out mistakes their colleagues are making in a constructive way. Thus, good communication increases employee loyalty and hence, retention.
 

A healthy company with great leadership and transparency will foster an environment where employees want to stay. According to a 2015 Employee Retention Study, employees are more engaged and happier at companies whose cultures support transparency. Many experts feel that transparency is a great deal for employees because they have a right to know what changes are occurring that can impact their jobs. So when we talk about transparency, all it comes down to is trust.