Six Reasons Why Companies Lose Top Talent

Retaining your star players should be an ongoing priority – they are expensive to replace and might take their insight and skills to the competition. Why then do so many organizations still get it wrong? Make sure to think long term when implementing your candidate action strategy – attracting great people is futile if you can’t retain them.

Here are six reasons why large companies fail to keep hold of their best people.

In any organization, it can be easy to fall into the trap of treating employees as a unit rather than as individuals. HR can often be stretched and some employees will get very little face time with HR personnel or even their own manager. Take the time to meet with your team. Even if day-to-day business seems to be fine, there can be frustrations that surface during a one-to-one. Listen to what they have to say, and show that you’re willing to take reasonable action to resolve any issues.

Bureaucracy can be a common reason for employees looking to move on, particularly from large corporations. Most executive-level employees will understand the reasoning behind ‘red tape,’ but can still be frustrated if they feel they’ve had no say in particular decisions, processes or rules. It’s important to engage top talent before establishing important protocols.

Don’t always assume that money is the biggest motivator. A strong salary and benefits package isn’t enough to engage your best talent. Most employees will want to know there are genuine opportunities for career progression, ongoing training and development in their role. Failure to provide a clear career path with your company can lead to disengagement, particularly if there are other roles available elsewhere.

When a conflict goes unnoticed and unaddressed in large corporations, it’s usually because nobody realizes it’s occurring. This could start conflict between colleagues, or an unsuccessful and unproductive relationship between a line manager and a team member. Tension or an unsavoury atmosphere soon begins to chip away at morale and motivation – and not just for the parties involved. A regular ‘health check’ of your workforce is a good way to keep an eye out for any problems and deal with them quickly and effectively. You could try putting in place a system that encourages anonymous feedback/satisfaction surveys from staff to highlight any issues.

Don’t just keep this to yourself – employees want to feel excited and passionate about the business they work for and need to see a clear vision on the horizon. If an organization fails to promote the brand internally and fails to successfully communicate the goals of the business as a whole, employees can soon lack direction and drive. A lack of vision often leads people to look for inspiration in a different place.

A lack of strong, consistent management is one of the top reasons for an employee to leave. As outlined above, encouraging open, honest feedback is a good way to highlight any pockets of dissatisfaction within the company as a whole and within individual teams. This may point toward poor management in a certain area or could expose a wider problem. Ensure your employees are equipped with good leadership, inclusivity and communication skills – which may involve additional, ongoing training, but is worth the effort. At every level, there needs to be strong leadership in place.

Keep your top talent interested and engaged in your company with these 10 inexpensive but effective ways to motivate your staff.