Your employees are your most valuable resource. Recruiting and hiring is a necessary part of building a high functioning team, but retaining your top talent is also critical to maintaining a high functioning staff. But as employee retention becomes more of a priority for businesses, it’s difficult to know what levers you can pull to influence retention rates. And furthermore, it can get even more challenging when you realize that retention can be hard wired into your company mission and goals. Here’s a look at what actually drives retention in business. Working back from there, you can take a deeper look at the company goals which will naturally influence that retention rate (whether for better or for worse).

Retention Requires Engagement

Retention requires investing in your current workforce and making sure they are interested in their work, feel their efforts are valued, and have the resources they need to be successful on the job. Engagement leads to commitment and loyalty. Employees who are invested in their work and in the company they work for are more likely to perform better and stay with the company for extended periods of time. In order to keep your rock-star employees engaged, you should connect with them regularly about their work experience, their goals, and their engagement level.

Managers should have their fingers on the pulse of their team members’ overall engagement level as well as their performance. Creating an open conversation about goal setting and career development will bring the long-term interests of an employee into the forefront of the conversation. If they are starting to lose interest in one particular role, but you feel they would be of value elsewhere within the company, help them find a project or opportunity that really speaks to their interests and their skills. If employee engagement isn’t currently high on your list of corporate goals, you run the risk of letting those high performers slip through the door before you even notice what you’ve lost.

Compensation Matters

In today’s job market, employers are the ones competing for top talent. They are on deck to offer competitive compensation packages and the sorts of benefits that make top performers feel appreciated. Retention strategies can include regular cost of living raises, well-rounded retirement plans, and a strong corporate culture of rewarding long term employees. Today’s modern worker wants to know that their employer sees the value in a positive work-life balance, and has an emphasis on their health and wellness.  Employees show loyalty to the companies who appreciate their efforts and work hard to keep them.

Keep in mind that each employee has a different way in which they feel appreciated, and it is the task of their managers to pin down how their employees should be rewarded for their successes. Achievement and recognition programs along with little things like gift cards, holiday parties, an extra day off, or even tickets to a show, all help to make employees feel that they are appreciated. The goal is to make your top performers feel that they are part of a strong community rather than just showing up to pay their bills. You need to directly link the support of top talent with your overall corporate strategy in order to build the pipeline you need to drive your business into the future.

Looking for the top talent in the industry?

For more advice on building and leading the best team you can, connect with the industry experts at Ag 1 Source today. Our leadership consultants will help connect you with the talent you can trust to get the job done right.