Effective Talent Management Strategies to Retain Employees

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Talent management strategies have transformed over the years to cater to people-specific trends much like all other aspects of work and have changed in fast strides over the last few years.

Strategic talent management is a need in today's ever-changing world.

As any manager understands, losing a key team member can wreak havoc with your business. That’s why when you find a great member of staff, you want to do everything possible to keep them at your company.

That’s why talent management is so important.

This blog will walk you through everything you ought to know about effective talent management. Keep reading to discover effective talent management strategies you can utilize to keep your best staff working longer at your company.

What is talent management?

Talent management is the process of recruiting, onboarding, training, and retaining the best talent that your company can find. Talent management usually comes under the purview of a company's HR department.

It’s often referred to as the talent management lifecycle. The graphic below provides an excellent depiction of this.

An HR talent management strategy begins with acquisition and onboarding. Once employees are settled in, a company should have a process to identify strong performers and provide them with a long-term plan outlining clear opportunities for career advancement.

Talent management is not just an HR function. Managers and supervisors must identify employees with potential and develop them.

The HR department should provide the support they need and ensure that talent management processes align with the organization’s strategic goals.

Effective HR talent management strategies

Effective talent management involves many moving parts. This guide will touch on the strategies you can implement throughout the talent management lifecycle.

1. Hire candidates who fit your company ethos

The best candidate is not simply someone who possesses the skills necessary to fulfill the job. A great candidate must also have the attitude and personality to succeed. That is why culture fit is important.

According to Culturro, 73% of employees who leave their jobs do so because of poor cultural fit.

When hiring a candidate, consider how well they will work with your other team members. You need to have an environment where the new hire will feel supported, get along with colleagues, and grow.

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The interview process will help you understand a candidate’s personality. Pointed questions like, “where do you see yourself in five years?” can help you understand the candidates’ goals.

Considering how people will get along on your team is essential for effective talent management. The wrong hire can sow discord and make teams unhappy. That can impact productivity and team morale.

2. Ensure effective onboarding

Onboarding can make or break an employee’s relationship with your company. Poor onboarding practices leave employees feeling that the company is disorganized.

As part of your talent management strategies, ensure you give new hires a warm welcome and take the time to introduce them to the team.

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Here are a few other things you can do to make life easier for new hires:

Ensure their employee ID, email address, and necessary IT equipment are ready for them on their first day.
Give them access to relevant tools such as the software programs your team uses.
Explain company policy on PTO, sick leave, the dress code, and so on.
Provide them with a clear roadmap presentation for their first week and month.

The more information you can give new employees, the better. You can host onboarding training utilizing learning management systems. Effective onboarding will increase your chances of retaining new hires.

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According to the Society for Human Resources Management, 58% of employees who go through a structured onboarding program remain at the company for at least three years.

3. Set clear expectations

Great employees want to perform well. But they can only do that if they understand what you expect. Therefore, ensure you set clear expectations from the start.

Employees should understand the tasks they’ll need to do each day and where their role fits into the company’s long-term goals. Ensure your new employees understand the KPIs you’ll use to measure their success. Provide them with SMART goals and targets.

Never assume your employees know what the company wants from them. Providing clear direction from the start makes it easier to identify employees with strong potential. From there, you can invest in developing their talent.

4. Give feedback on employees’ performance

Regular feedback on employee performance is essential. Providing positive feedback can help incentivize staff. Providing critical feedback is an opportunity for personal development.

Giving feedback also gives you a great insight into an employee’s attitude. You want people who are open to learning and growing through constructive criticism.

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Suggested Read: Excellent Employee Feedback Examples

You should never criticize without providing direction and guidance.

Point out areas for improvement and show your employees how they could do better to get a promotion faster. Remember, the idea is to help your team members grow and develop their talent. That’s one of the best talent management strategies you can implement.

5. Provide proper recognition

Great employees want to feel recognized for their work. A hard worker is far more likely to stay in the company if their efforts are rewarded.

A study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management says that employee recognition has positive effects on the employee experience, employee relationships, and organizational culture, among other benefits:

There are many ways you can give your hardworking employees recognition. A simple “thank you” goes a long way. You can also praise them in front of others at the next team meeting.

Reward hardworking employees with cash bonuses, extra time off, or small gifts if you’re able to. A formal employee recognition program is a great way to do this. It helps you avoid the appearance of favoritism while providing employees with transparent targets.

6. Offer opportunities for career advancement

Retaining your best employees means providing opportunities for career advancement. Your HR team should discuss career goals with new employees. They need to understand what advancement opportunities are available and what skills they need to develop to get them onto the next rung of the career ladder.

The HR team can direct employees to relevant training programs. That’s important in fields like accounting, for example, where an employee needs certifications to advance their career.

Having a succession plan with data visualization in place aids retention. People feel there is an opportunity to progress in the company, which is important. Moreover, it can aid you when you face unforeseen issues.

For example, if a manager goes on sick leave, the potential successor can assume managerial responsibilities until they return.

7. Automate wherever possible

You need to have a system to monitor your talent management efforts. You can use various software solutions for tracking.

A good HR software platform will also allow you to run employee surveys, create performance reports, and conduct predictive analytics as part of your hiring strategy.

Automating aspects of your talent management processes will free up time for everyone. You can use that time for direct coaching, training, and development activities for employees. When employees feel that their manager cares about their career development, they are likely to stay with the company for longer.

Automation also helps ensure that all your talent management strategies are integrated. A strategic and streamlined process will allow employees and managers to invest appropriately in talent development.

8. Provide the best experience at all employee touchpoints

You need to provide your employees with a great experience in the office. After all, a job is not all about money.

There are various things you can try. For example, working from home is pretty much the norm right now. Even if things go back to normal, you can still offer flexible work-from-home arrangements and working hours to accommodate your employees’ health and wellness requirements.

Try to create a sense of workplace community as well. When there’s a feeling of belongingness at work, employees will find it hard to leave. This is particularly important as your employees won’t probably be seeing each other face-to-face for some time.

You may also bring adapt old office traditions to the new normal. Hosting “summer fridays” can help motivate your team. When you give your employees the option of cutting their day short by a few hours, you help them achieve that work-life balance. Increasing employee satisfaction will aid employee retention.

9. Provide employee support

Communication in the workplace is important. Your employees need to talk to their manager or HR when facing problems and support them. You need to ensure employees know who to contact when they have an issue and the communication channels.

When there’s trust in the workplace, you’ll often see efficiency and productivity improvements as well. If people know they have support, they are less likely to burn out.

10. Focus on creating a sense of shared purpose

To ensure employee retention, focus on developing that sense of shared purpose in the workplace. Creating a shared purpose can be as easy as aligning your company values with your mission. What you do should reflect who you are as a company.

Make your employees understand the organizational values and mission. Take every opportunity to emphasize what your brand represents in company gatherings and meetings.

What is your company’s value in the community? Don’t just tell your employees your aim is to sell and make a profit, for example.

When your employees understand your company’s role in the community, they’ll also understand they have a role to play for the company to reach that noble goal. That will motivate them to work and stay with you to fulfill that purpose.

11. Seek regular feedback

Your employees shouldn’t be the only ones receiving feedback. If you want to retain your best employees, you need to know if you’re treating them right in the first place. The best way to know this is to ask your employees.

Seek regular feedback. Ask your employees what they think about working in the company. Do they like working there? If they don’t, what are the company’s areas for improvement?

You can ask your employees in meetings. Use anonymous collection methods as well—for example, anonymous surveys.

Make sure you follow through on the insights you gain. If you see merit in your employees’ suggestions, implement them. That will show that you’re serious about acting on the feedback they are providing.