Forbes Magazine recently published “6 Reasons Your Best Employees Quit You” by Louis Efron.  In his article he shares tips to help managers retain top talent.  With our own local market tight for skilled employees, retaining the employees we have, especially the good ones, is very important. So what should managers know?

• Have and share a vision. Managers should not confuse financial goals with a long-term vision.

• Connect the employee’s work with the big picture. The Forbes article sites a Gallup employee engagement survey question, “The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.” Their studies are finding a direct correlation between how employees answer this question and company retention rates and productivity.

• Make time to listen to employee concerns. While you may not be able to address all employee concerns you should have an open door to discuss.

• Ensure you have motivators that work. Mr. Efron sites new research that traditional financial and bonus rewards may not always drive the most motivation in today’s workplace. More “intrinsic” motivators, such as the desire to do good work, can also make an impact on retention.

• Communicate career paths. Our top talent in any job role needs to have more than just performance reviews. Clear communication on where their performance could take them, career paths, whether horizontally or vertically is important for retention.

• Support autonomy and innovation.  Our best employees want to be part of the vision and company mission.  Making time to gain feedback is important for engagement.

For additional insight on employee retention, click here. Share an example of how you as a manager put these tips into practice. [caption id="attachment_523" align="aligncenter" width="187"] Source: tlnt.com[/caption]