Keep Your Top-Talent: Four Keys to Retention

The past few years have been an economic roller coaster, and in 2012 approximately 21 million American workers might change their job. That’s a large number of people who aren’t saying they practice job security. How can your organization be prepared for such a huge wave of change? Well, according to a recent Talent Management.com article by Jason Corsello, you need to strengthen your performance management process.

According to a recent Cornerstone OnDemand/Harris Interactive survey, approximately 21 million Americans are thinking about changing jobs in the next year. Regardless of the economy, workers are still keeping their eyes open for the next opportunity. Health care, technology, and manufacturing industries are experiencing a  talent shortage – and top-performers in these fields are prime for the picking with promises of better wages or benefits at another organization. This survey notes that one of the largest reasons employees note dissatisfaction in their current role stems from the organization’s performance management processes, specifically the annual performance review.

Employee turnover is largely more expensive than employee retention. What can your organization do to minimize the possibility of major employee turnover and its price tag? According to the survey, there are four ways to revitalize your organization’s performance management process:

1. Go beyond the one-time review: The survey revealed that 50 percent of employed U.S. adults who have experienced their employer’s review process feel more valued by the company when they receive a performance review focused on helping them succeed.

2. Get feedback from the right people at the right time: Allow for reviews from peers, project leaders or clients who people work with on a daily basis.

3. Actions speak louder than words: Another critical change when it comes to remaking the performance review process is making them actionable.

4. Future-proof your workforce: The next step is to focus on employees’ long-term career development.

It’s important to train your managers that simply going through the motions with employees during performance reviews will not garner the highest rate of success for the individual or for the organization. Giving employees constant feedback and support year-round will improve their individual performance and the success of the organization. Annual performance reviews often yield the wrong results. The idea here is not to cut people down once a year, but to provide constant advice and support for the development of your organization’s top-talent employees. Aligning employee goals with organizational goals will help to keep your talent satisfied, focused and increase retention. Top-talent development will lead to lower turn-over rates and a more productive and successful workforce. To read more about how to keep your organization’s top-talent, click here to read the full article.

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