Having a good understanding of these categories, as well as learning and understanding an employee’s personal and professional goals, will provide one
a great base for finding and attracting top talent
to his/her company. Remember which points are most attractive for top talent and craft the employment opportunity in a manner that focuses on these categories. Be sure to effectively communicate the appropriate information when looking for great people.
Communication is key for employee retention
For one’s current employee roster, the best thing to do is establish great communication with people. Take an interest in their lives and bring a new perspective on mistakes. Remember, any mistake that is made is a learning opportunity. The question then moves from what did they do wrong, to what did they learn? If a bad decision was made, be thankful they at least had the confidence to make a decision in the first place. If a mistake keeps happening, even after the behaviour has been corrected, then the person is either being careless or there could be a potential failure in communicating clearly and in a way the person understands.
Most of the time, it is the latter, and if this is the case, it is important to focus on how the person learns new things. The best way for an employee to learn is to show them. Demonstrate what it is they are to do and, at the same time, reiterate the reasoning behind any key steps and the decision-making process. When it comes to the soft skills required for effective communication, a great book one can learn from is How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.
Be a leader people believe in and want to learn from. Employees should have targets to strive toward, be rewarded when goals are reached, and corrected when necessary. Rewards are one of the most effective ways a company can increase its retention rate. Although money can be a good compensation, recognition is the ultimate secret weapon. Further, recognition can be as easy as a pat on the back, or sharing their successes with others (especially in front of them). As Carnegie states in his book, “People will work for money, but go the extra mile for recognition, praise, and rewards.”
