A growing business entails several changes; greater capital and financial management, policy restructuring, redesigning operations, and last but not least, hiring and retaining talent.
An organization’s employees are undoubtedly its most valued resource; it is essentially their efforts that translate into revenues and thus profits for the company. Therefore, having the right people on board is essential to successful business growth.
Whereas finding the right talent nowadays is an arduous task in itself, retaining that talent goes one step further.
The following must be observed when hiring and retaining the right kind of talent:
Determine Your Criteria For The ‘Ideal’ Employee
You must determine the exact skill set, strengths, and forte you are looking for in your employees. This will immensely help narrow down the list of potential hires. Examples of the right kind of skills include quick thinking and analytical skills, extroversion, a diverse knowledge base, confidence, ambition, and the ability to work under pressure, among others. You must have a clear purpose in mind at each and every step of the employee evaluation so that once you select determined, motivated individuals who are right for the job, you pave the way for a long-lasting work relationship with them and thus reduce the need for retention strategies.
Don’t Let History Repeat Itself
Every successful venture has a long trail of failures behind it. Nearly every successful business today has made several bad hiring decisions in the past, some of which they regret to this day. However, one learns and grows from one’s mistakes. Identify instances in the past where you made errors or misjudgments in the hiring process, learn from them and make sure that they are not repeated. This will require in-depth critical analysis of why some of your past hires did not live up to your expectations, where they lacked, why they lacked and what you could’ve done to avoid such situations. This practice will give you much-needed direction for future hires.
Avoid Average Performers
The cut-throat nature of the corporate world leaves no room for inefficiency. Business growth entails staffing up to meet the growing demands of expansion. This, however, does not validate hiring average performing employees just to fill this gap. As a rule of thumb, always strive for the best employees out there; make attractive offers that will lead them to choose you over the competition and convince them of the benefits your business offers in terms of career growth. Careful attention must be paid to the hiring process to screen out only those potential applicants that can best serve the organization’s needs.
Master The Art Of Hiring
Correct, beneficial hiring is a task that many have failed at, but one that can be mastered with time and experience. Avoid the traditional process of standard interviews and crossing off points on a checklist; go the extra mile to get an insight into the employee’s psyche and strengths. This is a very helpful indicator of the quality and consistency of future performance and can help determine if potential employees are a good fit for your business and can facilitate growth in a productive manner.
Once you’ve hired the right talent, you’re only halfway through the painstaking task. Retaining that quality talent you just hired is a lot easier said than done; employees generally jump at the first chance at a bigger paycheck, loyalty goes out the window. Therefore, you must implement effective retention strategies to ensure your employees are devoted to your organization. This means providing attractive salary packages, good working conditions, regular appraisals and ample advancement opportunities. The following are some steps you can take to ensure staff retention:
Align Organizational And Individual Growth
Employees are likely to have a greater commitment to your cause if they feel that it benefits them in some way as well. You must develop effective strategies for employee growth and help your employees understand how the growth of the business will, in turn, lead to their career growth. Involving them in their career development process is a real plus. You must identify what motivates your employees and ensure those factors are in place; a motivated employee is indeed a productive and loyal employee.
Loosen The Reigns, But Don’t Let Go Altogether
Although you will need to supervise your employees in the beginning, gradually lessen direct supervision by giving your employees greater authority in the work they do. This will give them a feeling of accomplishment as they will feel worthy enough to be delegated the work without being constantly monitored. You must, however, step in time to time to ensure that your employees do not exploit this freedom. Lead and guide them wherever you deem appropriate but give them the authority to execute their work on their own. This practice must be communicated to all managers and supervisors under you to ensure everyone is on the same page. An effective manager gets work done through other people, therefore, you must establish a democratic style of management to get the best out of your employees.
Appreciate Good Performance
Constantly praising your employees for outstanding work is integral to retaining them. Make it a point to commend them for exceptional or even good work; recognition of work well done and appreciating performance gives them a sense of accomplishment and moves them up the hierarchy of needs as identified by Maslow; from security to self-esteem needs’ fulfillment. Research indicates that praises and compliments are essential to employee motivation and their absence can result in a very unproductive workforce. Appreciation can take the form of monetary benefits as well verbal praises or a pat on the back from time to time. A positive environment is bound to pave the way for a hard working workforce.
Establish A Relationship Of Trust
Any successful business owner will tell you that trust is the most important factor in a successful work environment. If your employees feel that you are looking out for their benefit and well-being, they will reciprocate the effort. Treat each and every employee with respect and ensure fair treatment for everyone across all platforms; a transparent system whereby there is open and smooth communication is instrumental in achieving this. Give them training and impart knowledge wherever they lack, help them gain a sense of accomplishment by assigning them challenging yet achievable tasks and make them feel like an important part of the organization. Furthermore, by aligning the organization’s goals with their individual goals, you give birth to an inner motivation in your employees to excel and perform to the best of their abilities, as they feel that the organization’s success is in fact their own.