As 2022 draws to a close, companies across the country are about to learn that tightening up work policies will backfire as employees actively seek employment with businesses that value work-life balance as a positive contributor to productivity and profit. If you’re not actively anticipating ways to retain and reward your best employees, 2023 will be a slow start as you scramble to replace top talent as they leave for other companies willing to value them at their worth.
Raises And Praises Will Only Get You So Far
When you grant a salary increase to a great employee, you’re only meeting them at their value - you’re (rightfully) compensating them as they deserve to be paid. Raises are not gifts and are not perceived as such by great employees, so you need to think beyond salary when you are creating ways within your company to show you genuinely value them. The actual value to a great employee expands work-life balance, helping them move toward their personal and professional goals, and including them in the grand design of the company.
Be The Greener Pasture
Everyone who works within your company holds goals, dreams, and pursuits close in their hearts. Whether your company helps or hinders their efforts determines whether or not your employees view your company as “the greener pasture” or if they are looking for better elsewhere.
If working at your company isn’t making it easier for them to live the life they want, they will inevitably glance outward for employment that will. The important part isn’t fulfilling every need and whim of your team: your goal should be to reach out and understand where individual star employees see friction within their work-life balance. Sometimes all it takes is clarifying a policy, demystifying a company perk, or reorienting a misperception to get an employee back into confidence in their workplace.
Make Proactive Changes Now To Supersede Potential Offers Elsewhere
You should be actively considering constructive changes in anticipation that they will become deal breakers for your best employees. Remember that when an employee comes to you with a request, they’ve been frustrated by it for some time already, and it may take you too long to adapt to their needs before they decide that shifting companies will solve their issue sooner. Be constructive, thoughtful, and adaptive. What do your best employees require to perform at their best and enjoy the fruits of their labor? Access to childcare? Confidence in their retirement plan? Opportunities to train in-house for future roles?
They Work For You - So Long As It Works For Them
Remember: your employees work for you so long as it works for them. No matter how prestigious your company is, no amount of loyalty will overcome the impulse to search for opportunities that better align with their goals. It is up to you to proactively nurture the individual needs of your best employees and remind them that you care as much about their life and goals as they do!
