Attracting talent is one thing, but how do you retain and develop your talent, so they stay at your company for the long run? Talent management is more than just finding the right talent for your organisation, it also involves employee expectation, communication, and company culture!
Organisations often underestimate the time and effort they have to put into their current team members, in order to live up to the expectations that were promised during the recruitment process. Instead, they put all their focus on the recruitment and onboarding of new employees. Resulting in their already existing personnel feeling a bit lost and forgotten. All those promises that made their employees consider the job in the first place suddenly feel far away - and that job offer they got on LinkedIn the other day is becoming more and more tempting. It is important for you as an organisation to be aware of this behaviour and make sure that your current employees feel equally important as new hires. Let’s have a look at what you can do as an organisation to manage this employee expectation gap.
Do regular check-ins, this can be done on a bi-weekly basis or why not have an ‘informal’ appraisal every six months? This is a great opportunity for you to see if you are living up to your employee’s expectations but also identify room for growth. Why not work with different feedback sheets to see where you can improve and what your employee feel is missing? Arrange the meeting in a neutral environment, so your employee feel comfortable in their own skin and dare to communicate what is on their minds.
Feedback, open conversations and managing expectations can be difficult to handle without some guidance. Luckily for you, we have some courses that can steer you in the right direction!
You now have the feedback on what is going well and what could be improved, the second step in how to make your employees stay longer is to ask what their plans are. It might feel slightly odd to ask such a straightforward question, but with straightforward questions it is more likely that you will get an honest answer. This type of conversation can lead to a mutually beneficial discussion about opportunities within your organisation. Plus, it might also help to manage employee expectations. As an example, some staff members might expect to be promoted more frequently than others. Here you have your chance to openly discuss how long they must stay in their current position before advancing, what type of skills they need to develop to take on more responsibilities and you also have the chance to draft a plan on how they can reach their goals and that promotion.
Talking about planning on how to reach goals; identifying the next step your employee wants to take in their career growth is equally important. What type of skills do they want to master and what can you offer to stimulate this growth? This could be formal trainings, on-the-job mentoring, or anything you can think of. It is also important to look at the bigger picture, how can the growth of this specific individual benefit the company as a whole? How can he or she pass on their knowledge to other staff members?
Offering personal development courses for your employees is important. Did you know that only 27% of the UK workforce have access to online training courses, and only 6% have access to offline training courses? Out of these, 70% would be happier in their current role if they had further opportunities to develop themselves. The preference of your employees might vary depending on their role and the industry of your business, but we have listed some courses on how you can get the conversation started!
Besides managing expectations and communicating employees wishes and needs, it is important to understand the power of a strong company culture. Many organisations with a strong workplace culture do not necessary offer the biggest salaries or the most exciting benefits. They do, however, show that they care about their staff by showing support, communication, appreciation and encourage them to enjoy their work week. By having a strong company culture, expectations are met and communicated which later leads to minimised misunderstandings and confusion. Creating a sense of belonging and being part of a team with shared values and goals will increase the retention rate of your top employees. Having a strong company culture is not only beneficial for your employee turnover, but also for your entire organisation. Instead of constantly being on the lookout for new talent you can invest in your existing employees and make them stay in the long run. As a nice bonus, a strong company culture might also attract new people – making recruitment even easier!
Curious on how to stimulate the company culture at your organisation? Do our course ‘Building Company Culture’ to get started!
In our latest research report, we deep-dive into the topic of talent management and what it means for your organisation. Click here to download it to ensure that you’re on the top of your game!
Check the status of Talent Management in the UK.
Discover how personal development can affect your talent management strategy.
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