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5 Steps to Ensure Retention of Top Performers

HMG Success on August 5, 2011

It should come as no surprise that roughly half of all top performing employees are actively seeking new career opportunities. These A-list employees are typically those that have very high goals for their careers, and they will not be loyal to your company if something more attractive comes along. Companies that want to outperform their competitors had better take note of this trend and do something to keep their top performers, for maximum profitability. Here are some steps to ensure retention of highly motivated employees.

Regularly Evaluate and Develop Skill Sets

A good rule of thumb when trying to retain top performers is to know whom they are and recognize any rising stars among the employee roll. Doing this means regularly evaluating employee skill sets and developing those who show true potential. It can be easy to forget that there are valuable team members within the ranks of existing employees, since many are going to school for advanced degrees or participating in work training programs. Don’t make the mistake of only searching for these gems in new hires, as there are many achievers already at work in your company. Take the time to seek out these folks and do everything in your power to help them find their career path within your corporate structure.

Support Employee Mentoring

Mentoring can be a great way for you to be in more than one place at one time as an HR professional. Encouraging existing, seasoned employees to take an active role in the development of less experienced employees is a no-cost way of enhancing skill sets and employee morale. Mentors also have the added benefit of being given more responsibility, which gives them a sense of accomplishment and loyalty to the company. It’s important to match new hires up with seasoned employees early on for the best way to identify and retain top performers.

Provide Training and Career Advancement Opportunities

Top performers are not always interested in jumping ship solely over money concerns. Oftentimes, A-listers are just lacking a good challenge or career advancement on the job, therefore they seek this elsewhere. Any organization can benefit from putting in place a career advancement program for each department, so that high achievers can set goals and attain them while on the job. This serves both the employees and the company in that work will be of higher quality, there is a sense of accomplishment and top performers lead to higher levels of productivity among many team members.

Engage Top Performers for Maximum Productivity

To keep the best employees in the game, it’s a common practice to hold regular meetings and events to help them stay motivated and engaged in the success of the company. Give your A-list employees reason to come to work every day with challenges and tasks that are within their abilities. Ask employees through frequent surveys what other responsibilities, ideas and needs they have. Accept and implement new ideas whenever possible. This activity alone can provide insight into developing more educational programs that benefit all levels of employees.

Promote a Performance-Focused Environment

Every employee needs to feel inspired to do the work he or she has been tasked with. Top performers just happen to need a little more challenge in order to keep them interested. A performance based organization is the right environment for top performers. Be sure to set goals for each employee at employee evaluation time, encourage friendly competitions, and keep employees motivated for the best chance at retaining your key performers for the long term.

Need more help developing a workable employee retention program for your organization? Consult with the human resources specialists at Advance Staffing Solutions today!

The evolving role of HR Professionals

HMG Success on July 2, 2011

According to an article, “The Changing Role of Human Resources” on the website for Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, pressures like increasing globalization, rapid technological change, tougher competition, and organizational changes make HR’s role in navigating these transitions vital, but different from their limited responsibilities of yesterday.

In shifting for “personnel” to “human resources,” HR had to become a strategic partner with the leaders of the business–to contribute to significant business decisions, advise on critical transitions, and develop the value of the employees–in short, to have a real seat at the table.

Dave Ulrich, author of “Human Resource Champions: The Next Agenda for Adding Value and Delivering Results,” lays out a path for the next generation of HR departments to follow. He describes a multi-faceted approach to delivering HR services that meets the needs of both employees and employers, and positions HR as a significant contributor to organizational success.

Ulrich writes the “new” HR should be responsible for four areas within a company:

  1. Strategy execution– as a strategic partner working to align HR and business strategy.
  2. Administrative efficiency–as an administrative expert working to improve organizational processes and deliver basic HR services.
  3. Employee contribution–as an employee champion, listening and responding to employees’ needs.
  4. Capacity for change –as a change agent managing change processes to increase the effectiveness of the organization.

Making the shift to a new HR role will raise unique issues for every HR group that attempts it, Ulrich continues, but there are some common steps and activities that will increase the likelihood of success:

  • Strong HR leadership: A strong leader can develop a clear vision, motivate others to share that vision, and help them work toward achieving it. The HR leader will need to work both within the HR group and with the organizational leaders to reshape everyone’s expectations of what HR can and will deliver. The success of the change will depend upon HR’s ability to meet the real needs of the organization and the credibility it develops.
  • Acute future orientation: HR must understand how changing environmental, organizational, and workforce factors will likely influence the business, anticipate the associated HR needs, and be prepared to deliver appropriate solutions to meet those needs. By focusing on workplace trends, like the importance of intellectual capital in they way employees are hired and managed, HR can anticipate changes that will need to be made in company processes and respond “ahead of the curve” as opposed to reacting behind it.
  • Flexibility and creativity: Today’s HR group needs to be flexible and respond quickly as the organization’s needs and priorities change (as in globalization, for example).
  • Delivering value: HR is still often perceived, says Ulrich, as simply a non-revenue generating function. It is important to make apparent the value provided by working with the management team to hire the right people, manage them well, pay them appropriately, and build a working environment that encourages success.

Ulrich concludes that it is clearly time for a quantum leap in the HR field and stresses that everyone within a company can help this transition along by taking seriously the organizational pressures to change, helping to identify ways to measure the value delivered by HR, and conducting meaningful research related to all areas of human performance in tomorrow’s organizations.

Advance Temporary Service helps some of the area’s busiest HR departments fill their need for experienced and qualified employees. Please call us today if you are interest in being one of the candidates presented.

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