Unemployment is low, and employers are scrambling to find the right person to fill their open positions. Turnover is expensive, costing an estimated 6 to 9 months’ salary to replace a full time salaried employee. And finding top talent can really pay off for an employer. In fact, the productivity gap between average performers and high performers is significant.
Image source: McKinsey&Company
This chart by McKinsey & Company demonstrates the value of top performing employees and drives home the importance of finding great people. It’s clear the stakes of finding quality talent and a great fit for your position is at an all-time high. When you do find the right one, you want to keep them. Follow these tips to attract and retain top talent.
Outline Exact Qualifications and Expectations
Employees leave when their expectations don’t align with the reality of their job. Also, leaving details out of the job posting can lead to a large number of unqualified or mismatched applications. Save time and trouble for yourself and applicants and list exact qualifications, expectations, and needs in the job posting. Also, during interviews and follow up, give more details about what the job entails. Ensure your prospects meet each mark.
“Also, be up-front about the aspects of the job that might not appeal to everyone. It’s tempting — but a huge mistake — to downplay or withhold that information,” states Peter Capelli, the George W. Taylor Professor of Management, for Harvard Business Review. He suggests the goal is quality over quantity. Using the forethought to lay all expectations on the table at the beginning will set your potential employee up with realistic and honest expectations.
Focus on Company Culture
Who do you consider to be top talent for your organization, and specific job opening? What do these prospective employees value? What motivates them? Money isn’t the only driving force of employee satisfaction. A recent study provided by LaSalle Networkfound that 61% of respondents valued company culture as the second most important factor when searching for a job.
To bring in top talent – and keep them, consider if you have a top company culture. Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist at Glassdoor notes that a great culture means, “making a commitment to positive culture and values, improving the quality of senior management, and creating career pathways that elevate workers through a career arc in the organization.”
Offer work-life balance
More than just a phrase, work-life balance is increasingly valued among employees. Unlike the golden age of boomers who valued work, loyalty, and clocking hours, today’s shift of millennial workers and now gen z, means showing flexibility and valuing of family and work balance.
You need to do more than simply state that you value work-life balance. To prove this, you need to offer flexible work schedules and environments with generous paid time off. Top talent requires top benefits. A growing number of employers are offering telecommute and flexible work options. When a family member is sick, or an outside area requires the employee to be out of the office, providing the flexibility for that employee will go a long way toward work satisfaction.
Purpose
“Studies of actual job satisfaction demonstrate that purpose ranks top, and is twice as important to an employee as simply having a good boss,” states Carl Towns with Goalcast.Quoting research performed by The Happiness Research Institute in Denmark, Towns points out that the top source of happiness is having a sense of purpose. It makes sense then that this would carry over to our professional lives.
How do you instill a sense of purpose? From Inc.,the first step in giving employees purpose is to help them see the big picture. “When a person is focused on the day-to-day execution of his or her job, however, it can be easy to have tunnel vision and lose sight of the bigger picture.” To prevent this tunnel vision, show your employees how their individual work is contributing to the wider goals and progress of the company.
Find the Right One
When you need a team to help you find top talent, Charles Foster is here for you. We understand the importance of finding great people and keeping them. Make the best choice from the start by teaming up with Charles Foster. How are you working to attract and retain top talent? We want to know!