
5 Tips to Keep Top Talent
February 3, 2025
Did you know that in Australia more employees resign on January 31st than any other day of the year? That’s why we have 5 tips to keep top talent for you! Just as you are settling back into to work and striving to achieve targets, your business is sideswiped by an (unexpected?) resignation. Now rather than focusing on the future, you are focused on recruitment and facing months of training to get a new person up to speed.
But it doesn’t have to be that way!
While many SME owners and managers state that it is hard for them to compete with big business, we view it differently. Employers often believe their teams work with them because of good salaries and job security, but research shows these rank around 10th on the list of why someone would accept a new position. Employees who responded to that research say what they really want is:
Interesting work
In our rapidly changing SMEs, life and work is never boring. Keeping work interesting is different for each person, and can be really simple. Leveraging your team’s knowledge and expanding their work within the confines of their roles, you can gain more than one benefit. It keeps the work interesting, and it gives you a more highly skilled team who can backfill for each other when needed. More than 40% of respondents connected interesting work to personal development so they could contribute more to business goals.
Connection (with the leaders, managers and colleagues)
Humans are social beings. We create bonds and establish relationships with those we work with. Being a trusted manager or leader can make a huge difference when people are considering new opportunities. It is often said that people leave managers not jobs. It is part of your role to develop strong connections and support the team to connect as well.
Appreciation & recognition for the work they do
I’ve shared this before, and it is worth sharing again. For years, one of my most treasured processions was a small card given to my by a manager I respected. She told me that she noticed how hard I worked, but more important for me were her words around the difference that I made in our wider team. It cost her a little time and a a couple of dollars to buy the card, but it was invaluable to me. Appreciation and recognition don’t have to be expensive, but it should be genuine and heartfelt.
Ability to contribute to the team, solutions and success
As a leader your job is to Work On the Business and not (always) In the Business. This means over time we become less hands on. So we have to trust that our team see things that we don’t. Giving them the opportunity to contribute to our and their success will huge impact on them. It demonstrates their opinions are valued. People who feel they have a voice, choose to stay with their employers for longer.
Open communication
Why is it that we assume that all communication is good communication, and we don’t need to plan for it?
Thinking about how and when to share information is essential. We all like to have awareness of what is happening in the company we work for. Open communication could be ensuring that your 1 to 1 meetings take place regularly, those coffee catch-ups when you talk about things other than work are possible, formal communication with up-dates of celebrations, changes, misses or opportunities are built into your week, month, quarter.
The great news for Impact HR clients is that that means we have a lot of experience in determining options that will work for your business and know how to implement them successfully. You deserve to have your dream business through your dream team, so please reach out on 1300 474 672 or info@impacthr.com.au
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