Every CEO and human resource manager out there better get worried. A research conducted by Consumer Insight that was released last week found out that money and the desire for success is the motivation behind the consumer behaviour among the youth. According to the report, children as young as nine years are yearning to amass wealth and live the lifestyle of kings and queens!
This is not a new problem, but it seems to be ever more critical. The question of attracting the brightest and the best is a key issue for successful companies. Today, with large signing bonuses and very attractive salaries and benefits, the more perplexing question is how to best build the loyalty of our talented young people.
Is it really expensive to have quality talent? Can you as a company afford the right talent at the right price?
The truth is that the war for good talent still rages! Good employees are becoming increasingly difficult to find yet there is abundant human resource globally. Employers of labour make efforts to create their own unique employee value propositions. Yet despite these propositions, organisations still lose critical staff to competition or fail to attract the right talent that can make a difference. Organisations sometimes unconsciously play the role of a training school from whom competition easily poach from. Once an employee signs on, within a few months, a few years if you are lucky, they start looking for other opportunities elsewhere. This is where you must mitigate as a CEO or HR manager. What must you do?
First, you must begin with the “As Is” analysis. This is a formal questioning of your employee value proposition.
It is done with the employee and potential employees in mind. There are questions that you must constantly ask yourself. What is it that employees really want in an organisation — especially your kind of organisation? What will make current employees be fully engaged/retained and like our organisation? What is it that fresh talents need in a company like your own? What will make a talent be ready to join your organisation and also stay with you? These questions are not easy for any organisation. But you must stare the monster in the eye.
Secondly, do you let each member on your team know how he or she fits into your company’s success and ever-changing environment? Do you know what each of your people wants and finds most important?
A recent study of exit interviews found that money was not the reason good talent was leaving. They wanted to be part of a worthwhile enterprise, be influential in decision-making, and create and contribute to mutually agreed upon objectives. High achievers want to be in contact and dialogue with the colleagues they respect. Identify ways to bring the best minds together. Successful people relish the opportunity to learn from one another and communicate on deeper levels.
When you set your quarterly goals, try goal alignment. Ask your team to identify the key stakeholders who could either support or impede their progress. Facilitate some meetings with other groups to seek creative ways to align goals and develop improved solutions. Top talent remains loyal when they believe there are chances for professional growth and challenge. Leaders should invest more time planning for these growth opportunities. You might identify cross-functional team projects where your talent can effectively network and work with different teams.
Third, taking time to coach and mentor your people pays off. Point out opportunities in their career growth like encouraging specific training. Don’t be afraid to ask them tough questions and guide them in finding the right path. Help them identify ways to leverage their skills and accomplishments. Encourage or sponsor them for professional organisations. Give meaningful feedback on how they can get ahead and be of more value to the company.
Catch them doing something right. Then catch them again and again and again. The more good talent we retain, the more we will attract.
And finally, you must create opportunities for team building. Team building, a process to enhance the energy and cohesiveness of a group, is one means of accelerating better communication. It helps focus a group on committing to common objectives, striving for high quality results. Team building is not something that happens in a one or two-day workshop. It is an evolving and integrated process. There must be a safe environment to have open, honest communication that is appropriate.
Having facilitated team building for 10 years, I’ve learned that there is no quick fix to team dysfunctions. Sometimes an outside facilitator can offer a fresh perspective and new strategies.
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