8 Ways to Keep Your Best Workers on Board
The organizations honored as Best Places to Work are vastly different in many ways, but they tend to share an ability to keep their most productive people on board. While there's never a good time to neglect retention, doing so now may prove to be especially costly. With economic conditions beginning to improve, some organizations are looking to increase staffing levels. And as job opportunities proliferate, IT professionals will be more likely to consider moving to a new employer. Businesses that don't address this looming challenge will find themselves at a competitive disadvantage.
Mon, June 21, 2010
Computerworld — The organizations honored as Best Places to Work are vastly different in many ways, but they tend to share an ability to keep their most productive people on board. While there's never a good time to neglect retention, doing so now may prove to be especially costly. With economic conditions beginning to improve, some organizations are looking to increase staffing levels. And as job opportunities proliferate, IT professionals will be more likely to consider moving to a new employer. Businesses that don't address this looming challenge will find themselves at a competitive disadvantage.
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Effective retention strategies may be based on unchanging core concepts such as providing recognition and helping employees with their career development. But that doesn't mean an approach that worked prior to the downturn will be equally successful this year -- or next. Here are eight ways to keep your best employees in the current environment:
1. Re-recruit top performers. When a team member considers an opportunity with another employer, he or she is typically presented with a vivid picture of that firm's strengths. Be sure to reinforce the best things about working for your organization -- for example, great benefits, camaraderie or an ongoing commitment to investing in the latest technology. It's easy for employees to lose sight of such assets, especially if they've been carrying a heavy workload during lean times.
2. Show them they have room to grow. Make sure your top performers can envision their future with your organization. Provide examples of other employees who have advanced through the ranks and built long-term careers with the firm. Provide staff members with specific steps they must take in order to move up, and the resources and support you can offer to help them do so.
3. Help them develop. IT professionals who feel like their careers are beginning to stagnate are much more likely to jump at the chance to pursue an outside opportunity. So seek out smart investments in professional development. For example, if it's too expensive to send the whole team to a conference, consider sending one member and then having him or her make an informal report to the group.
4. Keep them in the loop. The turbulence of recent years has increased the value of stability in employees' eyes. In fact, professionals recently surveyed by Robert Half Technology rated "working for a stable organization" highest among the work environment factors they value most. Keep your staff as informed as possible about major developments, including news of organization successes and setbacks. Employees who are being kept in the dark may assume the worst, making another employer's outlook seem brighter in comparison.
