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How best to retain your top talent in the next normal
How best to retain your top talent in the next normal

May 21, 2021

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The business world is still navigating a tumultuous period. Ever since COVID-19 hit the shore, organisations across the globe have been stretched for resources. Facilitating the shift to remote work and sustaining cash flow amidst economic turmoil has come at a personnel cost. In other words, companies are now operating with smaller workforces and fewer resources. Under such constraints, retaining top talent is vital to survival. 

  

Here are six ways to do so:-  

 

Engage Them

Engaging top-performers in a landscape where they’re already firing from all cylinders can feel counterproductive. However, the messaging makes all the difference. If managers can get an accurate pulse of their remote workforce, they can ascertain the right engagement measures. This is especially important for retaining top talent. For example, managers may determine that top performers are busy picking up the slack in their respective departments. In such a case, they can distribute responsibilities in a more egalitarian fashion. That would ensure ample breathing room for top performers and shield them from burnout or job dissatisfaction. After all, engaging top performers would be futile if such engagement forces them to walk out of the metaphorical door for good. Generational differences also need to be accounted for when brainstorming engagement measures for top talent. What works for older star-performers will not have the same impact on Gen-Zeers and millennials. 

 

Show current performers what is in store for them in the future

When companies think of retaining best-performing employees, they can’t afford to be short-sighted. But, that’s not all. The top brass needs to share their vision with the company’s best talent. They need to showcase where the organisation’s future lies, and what mechanisms are set in place to facilitate said leaps. In the same breath, top-performers also need to be made cognizant of their role in the company’s future. Long-term growth strategies that integrate top talent into key endeavours prove quite useful in this respect. 

 

Assign management of TOP talent to key decision-makers

An organisation is the sum of its talent. Though other factors also come into play, an organisation’s success weighs heavily on the quality of its talent. Thus, top talent is among the most valuable (if not the most valuable) assets that a company can hold. That’s why management of this distinct group of high-performing individuals should become a company-wide initiative. This means, line managers shouldn’t be the only ones looking after the growth and development of top talent. Business heads and board members should also contribute to the process. In other words, companies should build individual development plans for top talent and involve supervisors and high-level executives in the same. 

 

Provide job autonomy

Given the conditions the world is dealing with, it shouldn’t be surprising that flexibility at work has become essential to everyone. From average employees to top performers, everyone is longing for control over their working hours. Organisations that have acceded to this almost universal demand have woken up to shockingly positive results. Instead of diminishing productivity across teams, increased job autonomy has done the opposite. It has encouraged employee loyalty and incentivised top performers to give their best. The logic here is simple. We like to help those who help us. So, when companies help employees take care of their well-being by offering flexible working hours, employees help back. A few rotten apples may take advantage of the freedom at their disposal but conscientious employees won’t. Quite obviously, top performers would belong to the latter cohort. 

 

Focus on employee well-being

The world at large is facing unprecedented problems. Stress levels are on the rise everywhere. Pair that with the additional weight of sustaining job performance in a novel playing field (remote work), you’ve got the recipe for mass burnout. Like we’ve discussed already, offering job autonomy is a good start when addressing these concerns. However, looking after the well-being of your top performers doesn’t end there. Companies need to go above and beyond to make sure that their best talent is taken care of. This involves checking up regularly with your employees, offering paid time-off, and providing easy access to help. All in all, creating a company-wide culture prioritising employee mental health can do wonders for the retention of top talent. 

 

Build a robust reward system

Talent demands recognition. That’s why companies need to incentivise performance by gamifying work. This can be accomplished in multiple ways. From extra paid leaves to monetary rewards, there are plenty of ways to motivate top talent to achieve certain milestones. Doing so engages best performers in pursuits meaningful to the company’s long-term growth and breeds healthy competitiveness across the organisation. Simply put, a robust reward system cultivates an atmosphere where day-to-day efforts become exciting challenges with promising prizes. 

 

Conclusion

There’s no denying that COVID-19 has robbed the world of normalcy for too long. But, its effects are here to stay for a few more months, at the least. Therefore, all companies can do is buckle up and hold on to their top talent as tightly as possible. The tips discussed above will surely make the ride easier. 

 

This article was originally published on PERSOLKELLY blog here


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