How to Retain Top Talent in a Competitive Market

The Great Resignation disrupted the way we hire and retain top talent. Many candidates have multiple offers and hiring one may feel like winning the jackpot.

Arguably, the most important part isn’t about hiring but retaining employees. With the annual turnover rate in the U.S. at 47.2% in 2021, it’s become apparent that focusing on retention strategies is essential to ensuring top talent stays at your organization.

To retain top talent at your organization, you need to understand what your employees want. Then develop a strategy to achieve what they’re looking for in an employer.

Retaining your top talent in a competitive market is an absolute priority.

What Does Retainable Talent Want?

The main perks people look for in a company have evolved from just benefits and 401k. It now encompasses much more about their career development.

Employee retention has become more prevalent in recent years. This shift can be directly related to employers focusing on what perks employees are looking for in their organization.

Additional Employee Perks to Retain Top Talent:

1. Job Stability

News of layoffs and the state of the economy have been a hot-button topic over the past few months. With these topics prevalent in everyone’s mind, it’s become even more critical now than ever that job stability is valued at an organization.

The numbers back this up, with around 52% of people reporting that job security is essential to the employee experience.

2. Meaningful Work

So much of our time is devoted to working each week. Doing something someone enjoys has become an important factor employees consider when deciding if they want to stay at an organization.

Work is more than just getting a paycheck. It’s a feeling that you have a sense of purpose in your job and genuinely enjoy the work you do each day. It’s more important than you may think. According to a McKinsey report, 31% of employees left their previous jobs due to their work not being meaningful to them.

3. Career Growth

No one wants to be at a standstill in their career. To the extent that 41% of people quit their previous jobs due to a lack of career development and advancement.

Employees not receiving the proper resources to grow their careers can feel unvalued by their organization. This is where many employees decide to switch to another company that will invest in their growth.

4. Company Growth

Everybody wants an organization that is growing. Growth allows for more opportunities in someone’s career and consistent change in their day-to-day tasks.

Employees who feel they are progressing in their careers are 20% more likely to still work at that company. A lack of growth in your company can indicate to employees that there is more opportunity to grow and develop their skills somewhere else.

These perks are essential to any employee, but it focuses more on an organization making strides to uphold them that significantly impact someone’s experience at a company.

Failing to consider these perks can leave your organization at risk of not being able to retain talent and suffering from vacancies.

The Key to Retaining Top Talent

Retaining talent is considering an employee’s experience and what might keep them at your organization. Adapting your current strategies to cater to what your employees want in a job will help you retain top talent. It will also benefit your company with a positive reputation among prospective candidates.

Employees want their critiques on improving their experience at your organization to be heard. This means listening to employees about what is important to them and letting them have input into new policies or in their day-to-day tasks.

You need to rethink your current retention strategy to retain more employees. Eliminate the notion of ‘this is how it’s always been done’ and develop a new process. This would look like reevaluating the company procedures, culture, and approaches to reflect on the experience employees want to have at your organization.

Keeping your organization’s core values at the center when creating a new retention strategy is essential to success. Your core values are crucial to employees now more than ever. Including this in your retention strategy shows that you prioritize people at your company.

Retaining Top Talent, Year After Year

In the long run, taking steps to restructure your retention efforts can help you keep employees at your organization for a long time.

Some benefits to having seasoned employees is that they understand your business and all the history that goes with it so they’re able to help fill in the gaps with newer employees.

Finding candidates in it for the long-haul can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack – but we see them each time.

Addison Group has more than 20 years of experience filling roles with top-tier candidates dedicated to your organization and the work your business does daily. Connect with us today!