5 Ways to Engage and Retain Talent

How well are you doing retaining your top talent?

Talent retention is essential to any business – regardless of the size of the business. However, retaining top talent isn’t always easy – you need to understand what drives employees. What is important to them? What makes them excited about the job and their role within the business?

Here are five ways to engage and retain talent within your business:

1. Acknowledge their contributions to the business. Too often business owners forget that what gets done in the business is frequently due to the hard work of their employees. Acknowledge the work your employees due to help meet both short-term and long-term business goals. A simple “thank you” goes a long way.
2. Have a culture committed to employees. When your employees are engaged and happy, your customers are happy. Create a culture that cares about the employees. One where they are respected, their work is acknowledged and appreciated, and they are provided the tools and support they need to be successful carrying out their responsibilities.
3. Provide employees opportunities to develop their skills and increase their knowledge.  This may be through challenging assignments and offering the opportunity to take workshops or attend conferences. Provide them opportunities to participate in strategic planning sessions and work across a variety of departments to learn how the business functions as a whole.
4. Communicate, share information and ask questions. Regularly “check in” with your employees. Ask them how things are going. Learn about what they might need to better perform their responsibilities or suggestions they may have about how to improve processes and procedures within the business. Communicate regularly about what is going on in the business and share information about strategy. Get them involved.
5. Support participation and membership in external groups. Provide your employees with the opportunity to join a local industry group, professional group or networking group. Do your employees manage projects? Support their participation and membership in the Project Management Institute.  Are they involved in human resource functions? Support their participation and membership in the Society of Human Resource Management.

There are a number of ways to engage and retain talent in your organization. Get started today by finding out what is valuable to your employees and providing them the support to enhance their skills, build their knowledge and get more involved in the business.

What are your ideas? Please share with others in the Comments field below. Thanks!