How to Identify, Engage and Retain your Talent….

Can you identify talent???

In an increasingly competitive world, employee retention poses a significant challenge for organisations. A report from Glassdoor showed that 55% of businesses find retaining employees more difficult than pre-pandemic.???

All too often – and particularly in times of economic difficulty – companies focus on operational activities, client servicing and profitability. Amidst this, they forget that people are their biggest and most important asset.??

Losing talent can be hugely costly, not just financially but reputationally and motivationally. It is estimated that the cost of replacing an employee can range from one half to two times the employee’s annual salary. It can also have a damaging effect on employee morale, an aspect that is often overlooked but can have its own long-term consequences. According to Wiley Edge , nearly two-thirds (63%) of UK businesses have seen their company culture suffer as a result of high staff turnover.??

In challenging times, a well-designed and well-executed talent retention strategy is vital in helping businesses create a more meaningful employee experience, boost employee motivation and ultimately, retain talent.??

Identifying star performers????

Identifying key talent and nurturing their growth is crucial to running a successful team but how can leaders work out who has, or has the potential to develop, the right skills and strengths to drive the business forward? Faced with such a question, many leaders pick who they think are strong candidates. But for businesses to really succeed, they need to create a robust framework that ensures they are making informed, effective decisions.??

This is where talent mapping comes into play. Talent mapping is a strategic, analytical process that allows business leaders to assess the readiness and ability of their current workforce, documenting skills and competencies of individual employees to futureproof the business. To stay ahead of the curve, leaders need to ensure that their workforce is aligned with the long-term goals of the business.???

Identifying key talent also allows the business to be more agile. It is inevitable that at some point people may decide to move on or be promoted so a succession plan is vital. Identifying high-potential talent will ensure that the business has the right candidates to step into critical roles when the time comes with minimum disruption to the team.??

There are lots of ways for businesses to gather this data. This includes examining past performance, how well people are tracking against their objectives as well as holding regular catch-ups and gathering feedback from managers and peers. But leaders must be careful not to look at performance alone; it’s equally important to consider potential. Who has the potential to develop the right skills? Who has the ability to improve performance? Who shows the drive, passion and determination to progress through the business???

Engaging talent??

When business leaders think about how to motivate and retain talent, it’s easy to jump to ‘wage increases’. Money is of course a key attraction and with the ongoing cost of living crisis, offering competitive pay has never been so important. But money isn’t a silver bullet and may take its toll on the company’s bottom line without having much impact on the wider company culture or employee satisfaction levels.?

Instead of throwing money at the situation as a short-term fix, business leaders need to think about how they can retain talent over the long term and investing in learning and development will be critical. Employees need to feel a sense of purpose and worth and when they believe the business recognises and values their contribution, they will feel much more motivated and engaged. Without a clear path for progression and growth, employees risk becoming disengaged, often leading to lower productivity and higher turnover.??

Learning and development can take lots of different forms, from formal training and courses to setting up mentoring and coaching schemes, shadowing senior members as well as creating cross-functional projects that allow employees to learn new skills.??

Business leaders should foster a culture of curiosity and set interesting objectives that appeal to employee’s individual skills, strengths and interests.??

Providing clear learning pathways, support and the opportunity to gain new skills is not only important for employee morale, with research showing that 70% of the nation’s workforce are interested in upskilling, but it will help businesses plug the widening skills gap which threatens to undermine business productivity and profitability in the future.??

Talent retention is also about understanding the way employee needs are changing. The events of the past few years have demonstrated the importance of employee wellbeing and have, understandably, led to a sharp shift in employee priorities. A report by Edelman revealed that 67% of employees are reevaluating how they spend their time and 72% believe employers need to rethink what works means to employees.??

Actively listening to employees and providing them the space to communicate what they need is key. If people feel psychologically safe and listened to they are much more likely to want to stay.? A win-win for all.??

At JourneyHR, we are passionate about helping our clients recruit, engage and retain the best talent to build thriving businesses. You can find out more about us here .?