Ah, turnover. The unexpected plot twist of working life. You think things are going great on your team and then bam! Your top performer hits you with a “Do you have some time to connect quickly today?” It’s the employee version of the classic “We need to talk.” As you set up the meeting, you know exactly what’s about to happen. What you may not know is what brought you and your employee to this point.
Now it’s easy to say a savvy manager should see turnover coming a mile away, but in reality, it’s hard to know who is getting approach by what recruiter and who might be given an offer that is impossible to turn down. Some turnover is hard to protect fully against. But there’s still a lot a great manager can do to help keep people in their seats. If you want to get ahead of employee turnover, check out these 10 tips to help.
Ok let’s be real. Salary is a huge motivating factor behind turnover. The adage is if you want to get promoted, leave your company. And sadly, this proves to be true more often than not. It’s hard to compete when an employee can add quite a bit to their take-home pay by leaving you. That’s why it’s important to think about more than just dollars and cents when tackling turnover.
Are you making employees feel appreciated at work? Do you have an environment that makes your team happy to connect? Is your top performer connected to peers in multiple departments? All that contributes to why someone would stay in a job even if the salary amount is higher elsewhere. People stay where they are happy and recognized. Build regular and meaningful recognition into your management strategy. And we don’t mean a nice pat on the back. Think bonuses, public shout-outs, days off, or other perks for a job well done. Show your people you see how hard they work and care about what they’re doing.
Read more: Avoid employee burnout with these 6 tips.
If your workplace is stagnant, your top performers might start looking for greener pastures. That’s why it’s so important to continuously provide opportunities for ongoing learning and development. Whether it's online courses, workshops, or even just a good ol' fashioned book club, you want your team to feel like they are honing their skills and improving as a professional the longer they’re with you.
Yes, you can micromanage every minute of an employee’s day but that’s not going to make them want to stay with you. Instead, trust your people. Give them the flexibility to balance their lives. That might look like having a remote work strategy, providing flexible hours, floating holidays, or even just a long lunch to pick up the kids every now and then. Show them you trust them to get the job done, even if they might need a little flexibility here and there to do it. Trust is huge in the workplace and employees don’t stay where they don’t feel respected.
Be honest. Is there room to grow in your company? Because the answer should be yes if you want your top performers to stick around. Even the best job in the world needs room to improve and try new things. Clear career pathways with well-defined goals and milestones can keep your employees motivated. Nobody wants to feel like they’re stuck in a dead-end job. Show them what skills they need to reach the next level, and explain how you’ll be tracking their progress towards those goals. Invest in developing your employees’ skills whether that be in a leadership role or just improving their understanding of themselves and their role on a team. Feeling like you can grow and achieve within a company keeps key players around longer.
While we’re on the topic of growth and development, have you tried using mentors? Pair your stars with a mentor who can guide them, challenge them, and help them develop as a professional. This not only aids in their skill acquisition but also fosters a deeper connection to your organization. Top performers can see how they fit into the framework of a company and where they might grow one day if they stay the course. Having these clear lines of sight to future positions, supported by mentorship knowledge, shows employees they can achieve more by staying in place than they can by bouncing out.
So much of what drives great employees away has to do with the workplace itself. A toxic workplace can turn even the best employee into a flight risk. Promote a healthy, supportive, and inclusive work environment and leader by example. Encourage teamwork, open communication, and maybe even a little office team building. This would be with team workshops to promote interpersonal understanding or with large initiatives like truly embracing company values and walking your talk.
Read more: Explore these strategies to encourage employee wellness
We cannot say enough about the power of feedback. And we mean both giving and receiving. If your team doesn’t have a feedback loop in place now’s the time to get one going. Regular, constructive feedback helps employees understand their strengths and areas for improvement. It gives them clear goals to shoot for. And making feedback a two-way street helps managers keep their fingers on the team's pulse while understanding any barriers or obstacles that might be hindering performance. It can be hard to hear candid feedback, but at the end of the day, isn’t it better to know what might keep star employees around before they head for the door?
If your top players are twiddling their thumbs during working hours, you’ve got a problem. Star performers want challenges that keep them engaged and achieving. Make sure tasks are varied and provide opportunities to stretch skills or learn new strategies. When people are excited to go to work, productivity and team morale rocket forward. Think about the idea that race horses need to run and apply that to your high performers. Give them the opportunities they need to find work meaningful.
Alright you’ve given them challenges, but have you made sure you’re not layering too many challenges at once? Burnout is real, and it’s a top performer’s worst enemy. Encourage a healthy work-life balance so your employees don’t feel like work is following them home every night. This could mean enforcing a no-email policy after hours, offering mental health days, or just promoting a culture where taking breaks is seen as a strength, not a weakness. And remember, balance comes from the top down. If you want your employees to make full use of their benefits, they need to see their managers and directors doing the same thing.
At the end of the day, everyone wants to feel valued and appreciated. Celebrate your top performers’ wins, big and small. Be their biggest cheerleader. Advocate on their behalf. Show them you are a resource to be trusted and they’ll be more likely to stick around.
Remember, keeping your top performers is about more than just the perks. It’s about creating an environment where they feel valued, challenged, and supported. So, put on your best “World’s Best Boss” mug smile, and let’s keep those star employees shining bright in your organization