Do you know who is trying to steal your best staff and how do you plan to stop it?
It’s no secret that despite global unemployment rates hitting unbelievable highs IT workers are in high demand. In fact the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the unemployment rate for information technology professionals at half that of everyone else.
That makes poaching of employees an incredibly high risk and expensive problem for employers.
Professional HR Poachers Have Their Sights on Your Staff
HR professionals and recruiters won’t give a second thought to approaching your staff on the web or even calling them at your office to lure them to new positions. In fact, these are now among their top tactics for recruiting.
Unfortunately this is a problem which is only going to get worse with more startups being launched every day and as the economy improves and more companies get hungry to hire. Having the top talent is increasingly being seen as one of the most critical factors for staying ahead of the competition and your enemies want yours.
Top corporations have huge budgets to offer signing bonuses and 60% of them do. That’s in addition to some corporate giants literally splurging billions to buy out firms just to grab their talent.
Your company is actively under attack and you had better start doing something about it!
What Your Workers [Really] Want
You can monitor employee internet usage, track their social media and record their phone calls but that isn’t going to keep them. That’s like thinking spying on your girlfriend or boyfriend’s cell phone messages is going to stop them from straying.
You have to give them more of what they want if you want them to stay…
It’s not just that your staff is being seduced away. A big part of the problem today is that they are actively looking for new opportunities too! Why? A recent report shows the number one problem is lack of employee engagement. This study found a whopping 66% are disengaged, with 60% actively looking for a new employer.
You can’t always fork over more money than the competition and fortunately that often isn’t even the biggest factor. Unfortunately, gift baskets, game tickets and ‘employee of the month’ plaques won’t always cut it either.
They do want to be engaged and interested in their work, feel appreciated and that their effort and opinion counts as well as being confident your organization is invested in their future.
5 Ways to Build Unbreakable Loyalty & Keep Your Staff
1. Thank Them!
The need for recognition and appreciation is huge and runs far deeper than most bosses can possibly fathom. Make rewards achievable and based on both individual and company performance. There is often no substitute for a big “thank you” on a regular basis.
2. Let Them Know Their Opinion Counts
This is a huge challenge for most business owners who hate to take advice from the ranks. Keep in mind your staff are the ones on the front line and often they just might know better than you. Keep communication lines open.
3. Enroll Them in the Grand Vision
Each and every employee instinctively wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Enroll them in the company’s big mission, build company culture and look for additional ways to unite the ranks behind a common cause like volunteering or fundraising.
4. Promote Work/ Life Balance
Be invested in making their whole lives better and showing you actually care. They’ll be a lot happier and more productive for it. Offer flexibility in time off or working remotely and considering doing more for corporate health and fitness.
5. Invest in Staff Development
One of the biggest employee complaints today is companies not investing in their development. Help them achieve their own goals within your firm or they will find it somewhere else. This could simply be leaving or worse starting up their own competing company and taking the rest of your top talent with them. A great way to pre-empt this is with better performance management reviews with truly actionable processes.
Quick Tip: Handing out a cool new job title will cost you nothing but can feel like a million bucks to your employees.
