How to keep your best talent

Dear WW: I just lost one of my best employees. And now a few others are starting to make similar noises. What can I do to convince them to stay? STICKY

Dear STICKY,

Anyone worried about keeping their best people needs to know about Howard Brown. He’s not a retention guru, CEO or consultant; in fact, you could argue that he is the antithesis of retention. It all started on Howard’s wedding day, when a guest at his wedding brought too many friends. Howard shot him. Howard’s honeymoon had to wait; he spent the night in the slammer.

Many of us are more like Howard than we’d care to admit. We march down the aisle and vow to make a commitment to our best talent-then we fill them full of buckshot. Follow the tips below and it will increase the odds that you’ll have a long-term relationship with your top people. For more, check out Leigh Branham’s book, “Keeping the People Who Keep You in Business” (Amacom, 2001).

Do you know who your top talent is? Duh. It’s surprising how many companies don’t even know who their best men and best women are. But don’t just look at the numbers; look for the team players and the people who make everyone around them better.

Are they treated fairly? Recently we did a poll at Working Wounded/ABCnews.com. 8% said that a bigger paycheck was most important to them while 41% said that at the top of their list was being treated fairly. Other polls back this up; simply treating people fairly will go a long way to keeping your people happy.

Are they constantly challenged? There is an old quote, “You paid for my hands, you could have had my brain for free.” Most employees like a job that challenges them. Unfortunately most bosses never take the time to learn how they’d like to be challenged. Sit down with each of your top talent and ask what matters to them, before you can become stickier for your best talent you’ve got find out their priorities.

Do you increase their responsibility and visibility? It’s natural to want a bigger sandbox and more credit when you’re a top performer. And it’s easier to do than many of us realize. Next time there is a senior staff meeting, can you send one of your top talent to sit in for you? Can you give them more control over their projects? Or can you give them credit publicly for something they’ve accomplished?

Do you keep in touch even after they’ve left? More and more companies have learned that it’s smart to keep in touch with former employees. It’s not just out of generosity or kindness; as long as they haven’t gone to a direct competitor they can often send a substantial amount of business your way. But not if you treat them like traitors.

If you want to avoid a nasty separation, put effort into keeping your vows to your top talent current.

Working Wounded poll:

Here are the results from a recent workingwounded.com/ABCnews.com online ballot: How much of a priority is keeping your top talent?

–Given the economy, it’s not at the top of my list, 15.6%

–There are plenty of hungry people out there if they’re unhappy, 31.3%

–Retention is job #1, 52.9%

Working Wounded strategy:

Our winning strategy for keeping your best people comes from Mary D. in New York City, NY. “Mother Teresa once said, ‘The worst disease is to be a nobody to anybody.’ I can’t believe how many companies don’t acknowledge their best people. Take the time to get to know them, be sure they are being treated fairly, pay them well, be sure that their job challenges them and acknowledge a job well done. It’s so simple and yet so few of us take the time to do it. A little consideration goes a very long way.”

Bob Rosner is a best-selling author, speaker and internationally syndicated columnist. Sherrie Campbell is a relationship and business professional, having applied her counseling background in a variety of challenging organizational settings. They’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic, especially if you have better ideas than they do. Also check out their complete column archive at workmash.org, “The Boss’s Survival Guide” and “Gray Matters: The workplace survival guide.” Send your questions or comments to bob@workmash.org.