Top 4 Talent Retention Strategies I've Seen Businesses Using | 120 Seconds to Better Leadership

*Video Transcription*

These are some of the talent shortage strategies that I'm seeing organizations use with mixed results. 

I'm always tracking what's working for different clients. I can share what seems to be a best practice. Here's some ideas that I'm seeing. We know there's a talent shortage at all levels of the organization, from front-force labor to executive-level C-suite folks.

I can't fully explain why this is happening. I just know it's the thing I hear about most in my practice.

Some of the things that I'm seeing organizations do to stave off this “everybody leaving for more money." And it's true. If somebody stays in an organization, at best, they're going to get 8%, maybe a year. That's if you're lucky. 

I'm seeing people get 50% increases by just going to work somewhere else. I'm not sure how sustainable that is for organizations, but the concept of people poaching for money is crazy right now. 

Part of what organizations can do to try to be more attractive—a couple of things. One, I'm seeing work flexibility or part-time.

So even for professional roles that would normally be considered only a full-time position, companies are getting more flexible again. 

We saw it in the movie 9 to 5 in the eighties. Job share: She does AM, and she does PM. Or here's one job we're going to break into two part-time jobs. It saves a little bit on benefits because you don't have to pay them. 

It takes two people to manage. But as long as they're both strong performers, I've seen it work really well. I think this is particularly attractive for new parents. You had a baby, and they both work full time, and maybe mom or dad decided, ”One of us should really go part-time to take the stress off the family.”

These are really creative ways to make it likable: "Well, the company across the street isn't doing that for me, but this company will" And so it becomes a really attractive offer.

This is actually part of how I landed my first university job. It was full-time, but they made it so flexible. I'd just had a baby, and I was thinking, "What am I going to find that's more flexible than this?" And they were really thoughtful about making that easy for me. 

I'm also seeing organizations that perhaps can't get someone full-time because they just can't find the people, but they are finding people that are willing to moonlight.

So if they want to put in two or three hours a night on your project work, I'm seeing this work really well. As long as they're getting their full-time job done and they're doing this at night, it's a win-win for the person that may need to pick up some extra bucks for a repair or a new home.

You get some well-experienced labor AT usually a fair price, but it’s better than not having anyone. 

“Stay interviews” are a big deal right now. It's funny how often people get the sense that someone's thinking about leaving—people think they hide it so well, but there are so many tells! So companies usually have a sense someone's looking.

If you get a sense that someone's looking, or you hear that someone is sort of dissatisfied, do a stay interview. Ask them how they're feeling about their job, what's working and what's not working, are they happy? Do they have everything that they need? Those kinds of questions get the person thinking, "Oh, gee, well, if I didn't, is this the time to ask?" It’s better before for them to ask before they're out the door. 

I am seeing, which is interesting, people following a boomerang. Someone leaves for better money. They see the grass isn't necessarily greener. It might not have been worth the money because the culture is not as good or the leadership isn't as good, and they actually boomerang back to their other organization.

This is good news for companies that have a good culture because people might find that when they leave, the grass wasn't greener, and they want to come back. As long as they left on good terms, then it’s good that they boomeranged. 

Finally, doing a really thoughtful job of succession planning is vital.

I am amazed at how far companies have come in the succession planning work. Twenty years ago, the situation tended to look like this: “You're all a certain age. Who's taking your place in a couple of years?” And they respond, “We haven't even thought about it." And the reality is, “It's past time to think about it."

Now companies are being extremely thoughtful about giving people rotations, letting them know where they see the career going.

Because if they know you're investing in them, developing them, preparing them for something bigger in the future, well, why would they want to give that up?

Especially if they've been working for a couple of years to get to that next level and they know they're going to get there. Why would you leave after doing all that work?

So for most people, it makes them more attracted to stay if they know that you’re going to make sure that you have maximized their potential. So do what you can to do thoughtful succession planning. It’s the right thing to do for the organization, and it can be a pretty good talent retention strategy, too.

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