Top 3 Tips to Retaining Rock Stars

 A high turnover rate can become debilitating for a business given the cost of hiring new employees. In fact, research has estimated that it costs an employer 33% of a worker’s annual salary to hire a replacement when that worker leaves. Retention is crucial to any company’s bottom line as well as its culture and people management. Since an alarming rate of attrition occurs within the first 100 days of new hires joining a company, you are never finished selling your organization to top talent even after you’ve closed the deal and have successfully matriculated your newest rock star to your team. Regardless of your industry, every business should be intent on keeping their A players, and here are the top three tips we suggest following to do so: 

1: Onboard your new hires.
Onboarding isn’t just a “welcome to the team” email and a newly issued laptop. A successful onboarding program demonstrates an investment in your new employee while providing them with the key information they need to be successful. Onboarding programs should provide key information, connections to team members, and opportunities to ask questions as the new employee enter into their new realm of work. Not only is it important to getting your new hire up to speed on the way things run at your company, research also links effective onboarding processes to reduced turnover and increased retention. Employees who undergo a structured onboarding program are 60% more likely to remain with the organization for more than three years. 

2: Develop your employees.
Professional development shouldn’t stop at onboarding. Your rock stars already crush it at what they do; however, they should be given ample opportunities to take their skills to the next level. If you’re not providing these opportunities at your company, your irreplaceable employees will start looking elsewhere. Making professional development and career growth a top priority at your company will ensure that your A players stick around. Take the time to design a professional development calendar based on the needs/desires of your current employee base. This can also serve as a leadership opportunity for your high performers, as they can design and facilitate professional development activities or take on a mentorship role. Strategic professional development and mentor opportunities deliver personalized training and professional learning communities to employees in a cost-effective manner while improving engagement, connection, and retention among your employee base. 

3: Communicate. Communicate. Communicate.
Whether it’s ensuring your employees are provided with timely feedback, informing them of a new company policy, or celebrating successes on the team, communication is key in retaining strong employees. Make sure your business is creating channels for feedback to flow to and from your employees, providing them with consistent opportunities to receive praise and constructive criticism in a timely manner and to provide you (the manager) with the same. Establishing opportunities for 1:1 check ins between managers and direct reports, providing a digital spaces like online employee communities, and scheduling weekly updates to share big wins and areas of growth across the organization can increase communication among your team while sparking meaningful conversations that keep people committed to your company.