In today’s competitive job market, retaining top talent has become crucial for businesses across all industries. The key to achieving this isn’t just offering attractive salaries or perks; it’s about understanding the deeper motivations behind why highly credentialed people join your company and what keeps them engaged.
Whether you’re hiring an entry-level frontline worker or a highly credentialed senior exec, finding out what motivates someone will transform your retention strategy. By having meaningful conversations with your job candidates and your employees, you’ll be able to retain top talent and build a thriving workplace culture.
Understanding Employee Motivations
If you want to retain top talent, the best thing you can do is talk about why they started looking for a job in the first place. The best time for this conversation is during the interview.
You can start by asking these critical questions:
- Why did you leave your previous employer?
- Why did you choose to apply to our company?
- Why did you accept our job offer?
Digging into these answers will uncover the core reasons behind your candidate’s decision to move from one job to another. Understanding the reasons will allow you to create a more supportive and engaging work environment.
Why Did They Quit?
The first question, “Why did you leave your previous employer?” sheds light on what pushed them away from their previous job. Common reasons include a lack of opportunities, bad leadership, and poor work-life balance. By understanding these pain points, you can make sure your company addresses these issues and provides a more attractive alternative.
Knowing their reason for quitting in the past will also give you peace of mind. If they left because their boss was always screaming at them, you don’t need to worry if your management team is levelheaded.
Why Did They Apply?
The second question helps you understand what drew the candidate to your company in the first place. Was it your company culture, reputation, growth opportunities, or maybe a specific project that caught their eye? This insight is invaluable as it highlights your strengths and what sets you apart from your competition.
Leveraging these strengths will help you retain top talent by reinforcing the positive aspects that attracted them initially.
Why Did They Accept?
Finally, the third question gives you a glimpse into what made them decide to join your team. This decision should be based on information shared during the interview and may be a combination of the role’s responsibilities, team dynamics, company’s vision, and more.
Understanding what made them say yes allows you to make sure their expectations are met and they continue to feel valued and motivated while working for your company.
Creating a Culture of Retention
“Turnover hurts. It feels personal.” – Ryan Englin, CEO of Core Matters
Hiring is hard, but it’s worth it when you find the right person. When you clearly understand why new hires join your team, the next step is to create a culture that consistently meets and exceeds these expectations.
- If career development was their reason for leaving, be sure to offer continuous learning opportunities, mentorship programs, and a career path that keeps your team engaged and motivated.
- If poor management drove them away from their last job, prioritize training to help your managers become supportive leaders who meet their team members’ needs with constructive and motivating feedback.
- If work-life balance was a sticking point, offer wellness programs and recognize the importance of time away from work.
By focusing on these key areas of retention, you will retain top talent and build a strong, committed team that drives your company toward success.
Understanding Their Journey
Retaining top talent is about understanding the deeper reasons why employees join your company and what keeps them motivated to stay. If you understand the root reasons they took the steps to go through one of life’s most stressful events – to look for work, to leave the security of where they were, and ultimately pick your company – you’re on the right track.
By having meaningful conversations and addressing their core needs, you will create a workplace culture that attracts and retains top talent.
Remember, if you can be the employer they believed you to be when they accepted the job offer, you have nothing to worry about.
