Thousands of books have been written about how people are the main capital and key to business success. Yet companies chase talent and then lose it. Owners are too focused on the business and HR professionals are too focused on analyzing employee engagement. Below is one story of one colleague’s journey. Business owners and human resources representatives will benefit from advice on how to retain a talented and loyal professional.
A colleague’s true life story
A candidate who wanted to develop within his company approached the company for help. He understood where he wanted to go and needed a step-by-step career plan.
After conducting a competency assessment, it was clear that he was a highly motivated professional. He is focused on results, strives for excellence, and has well-developed project management skills. He wants to move into a new field using the experience he already has.
So, having put together a career plan, the person took action.
- He asked the HR department for the company’s organizational chart and a list of open positions in the area of interest to him. Most of the positions were not posted on the official website and corporate portal. The HR specialist could not explain why this was being made a secret.
- He communicated his desire to develop to the managers of the departments where the openings were posted.
- He made appointments with HR and managers to get detailed information about the role and tasks of the candidates and the requirements for them. Unfortunately he did not receive any intelligible answer, nor any position descriptions.
- He analyzed the labor market (requirements for similar positions and the level of income offered).
- Arranged an interview. By meetings, I have prepared my vision of the product/direction development and presentation of my achievements in the current position.
- Went through the interviews. In the first case, he was rejected because of his lack of experience in the new field, but his competence was highly appreciated. In the second, he got an offer without an increase in income. The candidate had already worked at the company for a year and a half, there was no change in income level, the salary in the new position was 30-40% higher in the market.
- Negotiated the terms of the offer, justified the need to increase income by 30%.
- Received a refusal to review the offer by the current employer.
- Found a new job.
As a result, the company lost a talented specialist and the company is now trying to find employees for two positions.
How to stop losing valueable employees
The first thing you need to do to retain talent within your company is to implement basic tools.
- Don’t forget to review salaries. Let employees know when and by what criteria you will be reviewing their salaries. If you don’t meet basic needs, talent will leave in about 1.5 years for other companies. It’s better to reward an employee with paycheck stub template free download, than to lose someone valuable to the company forever.
- Form an employee development environment: post open positions, evaluate staff annually, identify talent, and help shape career plans.
- Include the most successful employees in the company’s strategic sessions. Allow them to implement internal projects.
- Recognize and reward employees. Thank them for their excellent work.
- Provide positive feedback to employees. Make feedback a key development tool.
- Organize recruitment of both external and internal candidates.
Everyone admires candidates who are willing to put in the effort to develop within the company before they start looking for work in the marketplace. These are the most valuable employees.
Build a systematic talent pipeline. Create a culture of openness, demand a systematic and humane approach to work from the HR manager. Remember that business is made by people.
