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Retaining top talent remains a crucial challenge for companies looking for sustained success in the year ahead. To meet the needs of the market, their customers and their workforce, organizations need to adopt innovative approaches that not only attract, but also help retain their most valuable asset: their employees.
Below, 18 Forbes Coaches Council members share best practices in people management and human resources that facilitate employee retention. From providing upskilling opportunities to surveying employees, these expert-approved suggestions can help companies build a more resilient and engaged workforce in 2024.
1. Invest In Your Team’s Success
Actively invest in your people’s success. Get curious about their professional goals and aspirations. Implement a strategy to help them get there through growth-oriented feedback, coaching, skill-building, network-building and professional development opportunities. This investment might accelerate the timeline to their next role or promotion, but the chances of them moving up internally are very high. - Farah Bala, FARSIGHT
2. Meet One-On-One With Each Employee Weekly
Commit to having one meaningful one-on-one conversation with each employee every week. All you need is 30 minutes and three questions to strengthen your relationship and drive performance. 1. Ask what’s going well so that you can give recognition and celebrate wins. 2. Learn what they want to improve so you can productively frame your feedback and coaching. 3. Discuss their focus each week to ensure alignment on the right priorities. - Carrie Skowronski, Leadology
3. Survey Employees Regularly
Survey employees regularly about their happiness and gather their ideas for improving the organization’s culture. So much has changed about the way people work in a few short years. What might have worked in 2020 might not be working today. Leaders will never know how their staff truly feels unless they seek their honest feedback. Anonymous surveys are among the best ways to accomplish that goal. - Michael Timmes, Insperity
4. Develop Emotional And Verbal Intelligence
To retain top talent, management must become literate in the realm of emotional intelligence. All employees are first and foremost human beings and, as such, each one has a diverse and complex constellation of personality strengths and triggers. Effective management must be trained in and conversant with emotional and verbal intelligence to retain and advance their talent pool. - Mel Schwartz, Mel Schwartz
5. Put An Employee Experience Program In Place
Focus on the employee experience, which doesn’t just happen by accident. Well, it can—but it likely won’t be the experience employees want or expect. The experience that employees deserve is one that’s designed based on their needs and desired experience. You’ve got to have an employee experience program in place that ensures that you do all the work needed to design and deliver that experience. - Annette Franz, CX Journey Inc.
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6. Make Employees Feel Valued
Simply put, people want to feel valued. That can show up in different ways, but it’s human nature to want to feel as if you’re part of something, that you matter and that what you do makes a difference. If leaders focus their energy on making people feel valued as individuals and for the work they do, the rest will follow. - Tami Chapek, WeInspireWe
7. Conduct Exit Interviews Without Attribution
One best practice is to conduct exit interviews without attribution. These interviews provide invaluable insights into workplace dynamics, culture, employee satisfaction and areas needing improvement. By understanding why top talent leaves, companies can proactively address underlying issues, enhance the working environment and implement strategies to increase top talent retention. - Alexandra Salamis, Integral Leadership Design
8. Empower Employees With A Clear Plan
Visionary leaders understand that when they’re pursuing a large vision, team members may lose motivation along the way due to the perceived distance from the end goal. To combat this, they empower employees by providing them with a clear plan and continually measuring progress while rewarding accomplishments to maintain motivation. This is how to keep their team motivated, focused and always moving forward. - Nick Leighton, Exactly Where You Want to Be
9. Invest In Employee Wellness Programs
Investing in employee wellness programs is a powerful practice that goes beyond numbers; it signifies a genuine care for their overall well-being. This approach sets companies apart from the competition, creating happier staff and serving as an effective talent acquisition tool. By fostering a positive work environment through wellness programs, companies can improve retention of valuable talent. - Danielle Melton, M.Ed., MOTHERboard®
10. Cultivate A Culture Of Continuous Learning
Cultivate a culture of continuous learning and development. Prioritize employees as human beings by showing them value through opportunities for skill enhancement, mentorship programs and being themselves. Being intentional to enhance employees’ professional growth shows commitment to their long-term success, ultimately contributing to higher retention rates and a more skilled and motivated workforce. - Chris Aird, With Purpose
11. Leverage Data And Feedback To Problem-Solve
Employers should stop guessing and start measuring what matters so that they can invest in up-to-date solutions that address the root causes of the challenges instead of treating the symptoms. The combination of data and actual insights from employees can provide companies with the highest level of ROI, as opposed to risking their future while investing a fortune in trying to save it. - Csaba Toth, ICQ Global
12. Understand Each Employee’s Real Motivation
It is vital to ask about and understand each employee’s real motivation. Too often, the name of the game is to find the right person, then pray that they will stay—or offer them enough carrots. I never met an HR person who knew me or wanted to understand me truly to discuss future options and how to make now better. Understand the person, then agree on common goals aligned with your values. Trust this process. - Julien Fortuit, Julien Fortuit Agency
13. Emphasize Upskilling And Internal Mobility
An emphasis on upskilling and internal mobility is vital. Train your talent to move up in your company and allow them to grow professionally and financially. Expose talented individuals to multiple aspects of the business and empower them to seek additional opportunities internally. - Franklin Buchanan, Post Up Careers
14. Adopt An Empathetic, Strengths-Based Approach
Adopting an empathetic, strengths-based approach is vital. Identify with the team while focusing on and using their strengths and abilities to build. Management and HR teams who express genuine interest in their employees’ or teams’ well-being, growth and development create a strong foundation to build upon. The game-changer is taking an interest in knowing the things that cause them grief and stress. - Kurline J Altes, KURLINEJSPEAKS LLC
15. Build An Actively Respectful Culture
Build an actively respectful culture where everyone is treated respectfully in these three areas: informational respect (leadership is honest and provides the info everyone needs to do their jobs as best they can), procedural respect (the company has fair compensation, promotion and disciplinary policies) and interpersonal respect (all are treated with genuine respect, civility and courtesy). - Gregg Ward, MCEC BCC, The Center for Respectful Leadership
16. Understand The Unique Needs Of Each Employee
Everyone is different and needs different things at different times. Cookie-cutter compensation and benefits packages are not working for the fast-paced, ever-changing workforce of today. If you take care of your people in ways that are most important to them, they will always take care of the mission. - Jason Ballard, Soar Higher Coaching & Training
17. Conduct ‘Stay Interviews’
Flip the script and conduct “stay interviews” with top talent before they’re making moves to exit. Engaging with individuals to understand their unique motivations, goals and challenges not only builds connection and trust, but also shows hardworking employees that they are not so expendable and makes them feel heard. Be prepared to act meaningfully on what you learn if you truly hope to retain them. - Jessica Fox, Clear Path Executive Coaching
18. Have Every Employee Fill Out A Growth Plan
I have one simple saying to share: “Smart, motivated people do not stay in dead end jobs.” Therefore, managers and HR directors should have a growth plan for every person in their company. I highly recommend that each employee fill out their plan and then share it. This should include the future position they are striving to achieve and the courses, books and training they will use to grow and learn. - Andrea Bullard, Andrea Bullard & Company
