Tips to attract and retain top-tier talent

Navigating trends in human resources: Part 1

From professional sports to business, the teams with the best talent typically win more often than their less-talented competitors.

How can you ensure your workplace team is staffed with the best available talent – and that these employees stay with you? The key to human resources success is to begin with a solid foundation – making sure your workplace is top-notch to retain and attract the best talent. Consider the following tips:

1. Be an employer of choice – Companies of all sizes that proactively commit to being top employers outperform their competitors and experience lower turnover, according to the Great Place to Work^® Institute. Employers regularly appearing on the Fortune “100 Best Companies to Work For” list, such as Google and Genentech, have outperformed major stock indices by a factor of two and experienced as much as 65 percent less voluntary turnover.

2. Commit to employee development – Common among the “100 Best Companies to Work For” is their commitment toward regular and rewarding employee development. At employers like these, employee development is not a check-the-box, one-class-a-year exercise, but an integrated part of the workplace culture that improves employee knowledge and commitment.

3. Measure the return of employee development – Ways to measure the return of employee development include your retention rate, employee engagement or behavioral change scores (via confidential employee and customer surveys) and advancement rates (employers of choice want their employees to advance). Compare these statistics to the cost of development to determine your return rate.

4. Think holistic development – As noted in an article predicting HR trends for 2014, “employees are no longer looking for a career, they’re looking for an experience.” Employers need to make sure that experience is “rewarding, exciting and empowering,” the article continues.

5. Recognize the competition for top talent – Unlike prior years, 2014 and beyond will be marked by increased competition for top performers and technical talent, according to ere.net, an online recruitment site. “Aggressiveness, the need for counteroffers, higher rejection rates, and a renewed focus on recruiting the currently employed will all return to prominence,” according to ere.net.

6. Use an employee referral tool – If you are an employer of choice, who is likely your best recruitment referral source? Answer: your current employees! There are now several high-quality online employee referral sites which enable current employees to tap their networks for job prospects. The popular online professional network, LinkedIn, is one option. Another is Zao.com, which sells an employee referral program software.

Tip for the day: Your best investment strategy is your people

Your commitment to and investment in retaining and recruiting the best talent will likely pay off in many ways – including greater owner/leadership peace of mind. Take it from former General Electric COO Lawrence Bossidy: “Nothing we do is more important than hiring and developing people. At the end of the day you bet on people, not on strategies.”