Your top talent does so much more than support your business’s bottom line. They also set the aspirations, tone, and culture for the rest of your team. Losing a top team member often has a cascade effect, as other team members decide it’s no longer worth working at the organization if the star player they look up to has moved on.
Reward good performance and provide support for improvement.
Acknowledging successes is vital to keeping top talent and motivating everyone on the team. Yet many leaders overlook a closely-related element: Providing the support required to improve when work doesn’t quite merit a reward.
By providing this support, you communicate to your staff that you believe in their ability to do well. You intend for your team to succeed. And you’re willing to dedicate the resources to ensure it happens.
You also communicate with top talent that you share one of their primary concerns: Growth and improvement. Top employees are typically “top” because they’re motivated toward continuous improvement. By supporting that motivation concretely, you benefit and make your top people more likely to stay.
Help team members cultivate a sense of ownership.
Top performers have a deeply-ingrained sense of ownership in their work. They expect their employers to understand this need for ownership and support it. When they are regularly undermined in their ownership, top players are likely to look elsewhere for jobs.
When delegating work, focus on fostering a sense of ownership. Trust your team members to do the job and ask questions if they need help. When questions arise, resist the urge to step in; instead, help team members find their own answers.
Promote people internally whenever possible.
Workers who feel they have no more room to grow at their current employer will look elsewhere for their next career step. This is especially true for top talent, who excel precisely because they’re committed to constant growth.
Keep your top talent engaged by creating multiple internal promotion paths. Staff positions with promotions whenever possible. Top talent will respond by growing into their new roles instead of leaving the company.
Looking for ways to keep your best people on the team? Talk to the recruiters at Employment Professionals Canada. We’ll help you identify ways to find and keep top talent. Contact us today to learn more.
