What can you do to retain the talent who are most critical to the success of your firm?
Latest research from Insync Surveys’, Why people stay: how to keep your best employees, suggests it comes down to implementing five key themes.
Nicholas Barnett, CEO of Insync Surveys, explains that these are “fulfilling jobs, inspiring leadership, a performance focus, values driven culture, and to feel proud”.
Here are five tips to consider:
1. Job fulfilment and growth: Offer meaningful work via mechanisms such as job fit, mission alignment, role clarity, job enrichment, personal development and career progression.
“Employees are more likely to stay when they enjoy their work, are satisfied with their jobs, are able to fully use their skills and talents and perceive that their organisation has effective plans for developing and retaining its people,” said Barnett.
2. Inspiring leadership: Employees are more likely to stay when the senior leadership team has an inspiring vision, encourage innovation, are good role models, act with integrity, and get the maximum from people’s individual talents and knowledge. Senior leaders set the tone for the whole organization, and this influences employees’ views about whether the organization is right for them in the long term.
3. Performance focus: Employees are more likely to stay when they consider their organization to be high performing and well run, according to the research. Items highly related to retention include the perception that their organisation is committed to best practice; being able to link everyday actions and performance to the organization’s goals; and the belief that the organization is committed to high standards of performance.
4. Values driven: Organisations that have clear values that are demonstrated in practice are more likely to retain their staff. Items highly correlated with retention include equity in resource allocation, being advised about organisational changes that will impact the employee, belief that the organisation cares about and is committed to the employee, and seeing the organisation’s values and behaviors being demonstrated every day in the employee’s work group.
5. Pride and advocacy: Employees who can envisage a future for themselves in the organization have a strong sense of connection with, and pride in, their organization, according to the survey. Items highly correlated with retention include being willing to recommend the organization as a workplace to others, being proud of working for the organisation, and having a strong sense of belonging. These items emphasise the reciprocity inherent in the employer-employee relationship.
“When the employer provides the employee with a fulfilling job within a positive organisational context, the employee typically reciprocates by performing to the best of their ability and being an advocate for the organisation to others,” Barnett explained.
