Finders, Keepers: How to Attract & Retain Today’s Top Talent
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Attracting and retaining top talent is a game of finders, keepers. First, you need to find the talent. Then you need to keep them. This is especially important in today’s competitive landscape, because your competition is coming after your best employees. Not to mention, your employees have more choices where to go.
An intentional culture makes you better at the game of finders, keepers
If you want to attract and retain the best talent, you need to be the best at finders, keepers. And that starts with getting intentional about your culture. How do we know?
Energage has spent the last 13 years doing culture research. We’ve surveyed more than 19 million employees at over 57,000 organizations across the United States. Through that research, we’ve pinpointed what drives culture at Top Workplaces. Here’s what our research uncovered.
Top Workplaces are better finders
This is important because everyone is pulling from the same talent pool. 95% of employees at Top Workplaces refer their organization to others. In fact, these employees practically recruit their friends. But at average organizations, only 60% do the same.
Top Workplaces are better keepers, too
A leading indicator of retention is intention. Our research says only 4.5 employees at average organizations plan to stick around. But it’s a different story at Top Workplaces. Here, more than 8 out of 10 employees at these organizations intend to stay put. Think about that – it’s double the commitment level!
Culture drives retention and referrals. So, what drives culture?
Through our research, we’ve identified 15 key drivers of culture that we’ve organized into four themes or “imperatives”:
Imperative #1: Align
- The organization operates by strong Values.
- Employees are clear about the future Direction of the organization.
- Meetings are efficient and help get the work done.
- There is strong Interdepartmental Cooperation.
Imperative #2: Connect
- Clued-in Leaders know what is really happening in the organization.
- Employees feel Appreciated.
- Employees find Meaningfulness in their work and believe it contributes to a greater cause.
- Clued-in Employees feel well-informed about important decisions.
Imperative #3: Coach
- Cares about team member Concerns.
- Supports career growth and individual Development.
- Is Helpful in supporting the work of team members.
- Does whatever they can to help their direct reports achieve their full Potential.
Imperative #4: Perform
- Open-mindedness, because the way things have been done in the past may not be the best way moving forward.
- Innovation, because things can always be improved.
- Great Execution, because nobody likes to battle inefficiency.
How to be the best at finders, keepers
A healthy culture is the simplest way to retain your best employees and attract more of the same. In other words, it’s the secret to being the best at the finders, keepers game. There are lots of ways to go about getting intentional about culture, but here are three proven steps we recommend:
Step 1: Know where your culture stands.
You can’t figure out where you’re going if you don’t know where you are. Start by asking those who know your culture best: your employees. A research-based, third-party employee engagement survey is the best way to get the insight you need.
Step 2: Know what good looks like.
If you want to understand your culture and learn the right way to improve it, you need to go beyond simple benchmarks. Comparative analytics provide you with valuable culture insights and actionable intelligence.
Step 3: Up your culture game.
With comparative analytics in hand, you can pinpoint what’s causing your top performers to look for new opportunities and then plan improvements to minimize it. You can also see if the actions you’ve taken have had a positive impact.
When you’re intentional about culture, employee engagement is the outcome. Your team is committed to the organization, they’re passionate about their work, and they’ll even recruit their friends for you. Join us for our upcoming webcast, Finders, Keepers: How to Attract and Retain Today’s Top Talent to learn more!
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