In every organization, there are employees who exhibit significant potential. These are the individuals who demonstrate a high level of contribution to the company’s growth. Irrefutably, these employees are valued by companies, and are always in hot demand.
Leaders of organizations should do everything possible to retain these employees. However, in some instances, this does not happen. Many organizations invest a lot in recruiting high-potential employees but put minimal effort to retain them.
At this period, the most prudent thing for companies to do is to put strategies in place, which will help them to avoid losing individuals with such great value to their business. Below are seven strategies that companies should consider to succeed in retaining their high-potential employees.
Empower Them
Whenever an organization identifies an employee who consistently exceeds performance expectations, it should invest more in their growth. Such employees also need motivation and encouragement from management. The company should create opportunities for such workers to try a wider variety of tasks, which would enhance their capacity building.
Whenever a high-potential employee is subjected to the same task for an extended period, their potential is often underutilized. According to the President of Bluepoint Leadership Development, Gregg Thompson, a lot of organizations often recruit high potentials but rarely stretch them. He argues that for the companies to reap the most value from such individuals, organizations MUST empower the employee.
Give them Challenging Assignments
One of the strategies for keeping high-potential employees engaged is giving them meaningful and highly visible assignments. For instance, they should be subjected to complex tasks, which are pivotal to the company’s success.
This will help in fostering their thinking capacity and, consequently, getting them out of their comfort zone. They could make mistakes in the process, but those mistakes are essential for their development. The point is, you help them to realize that they possess something unique and should use it for their benefit, and that of the company.
Providing the Right Development Opportunities
As an organization, it’s advisable to evaluate what additional learning and development opportunities can be afford to high-potential employees, in addition to current employee training programs.
For instance, many companies are designing talent management programs, which allow such employees to be exposed to various facets of the organization. They may get assignments from customer service, marketing, sales, and several other departments. For such employees who are believed to thrive on continuous learning, what could be a better growth opportunity? However, as this whole process takes place, the employees should be empowered to take part in their career development planning.
Give them Space
Giving your high-potential employees enough space to execute their responsibilities is beneficial. Micromanaging workers is one of the greatest mistakes that organizations make, which tends to limit their overall performance. Allowing a reasonable level of freedom to your employees gives them room to learn and grow.
Consequently, this enhances creativity and innovation in the organization. According to Steve Jobs, “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”
Have Them Teach
One common characteristic among the high-potential employees is their willingness and passion for learning and the ability in grasping new ideas. Whenever employees demonstrate such traits, they should be allowed to teach other workers during the training and development opportunities.
This nourishes their confidence, which is essential for their growth. Also, the exposure enhances their communication and leadership skills, hence improving their eligibility for top positions in the organization. Consequently, these employees feel motivated to continue working for the same company.
Mentors
Mentoring high-potential employees in an organization is a very useful talent management strategy for retaining such individuals. At some point, every successful leader was mentored. The mentoring process helps to retain the high-potential workers who primarily thrive on interacting with influential colleagues.
A mentor should be more experienced member of the organization, who can share substantial knowledge about the company and guide the mentee on their career journey. The biggest challenge in this process is finding mentors who are open and willing to help other employees. The young, high-potential employee should also be eager to learn from the mentor and equally respect them. However, if the matching is successful, the results can be considerable.
Open and Constructive Feedback
One strategy to retain your high-potential employees is by maintaining consistent and open communication with them. This may entail feedback regarding their progress and performance at work. You can also discuss the goals that they are expected to achieve.
It’s helpful for leaders to share with employees how much they are valued in the organization as well as the opportunities that they can achieve through continued good work. A smart manager uncovers how to motivate valuable employees even further to help them realize their full potential.
According to Gregg Thompson, the employees who are achieving the highest success today are not those who know a lot. The agile learners, who are eager to be developed, are reaping it all. Any organization that follows the above strategies will be certain to retain workers who add to them top-shelf value.
Contact RTG Solutions Group Today!
Are you currently struggling to retain high potential employees? What does your organization’s employee retention rate look like? At RTG Solutions Group, we are here to help advise and share the best strategies to facilitate a company culture that promotes employee retention. Should you have any questions regarding your high-potential employees or setting them up for success, don’t hesitate! Contact us today and let’s chat!