Engaged employees will stay

“Arguably, the foremost tool for hanging on to a company’s most strategic human resources is putting in place pro-active systems that allow leadership to close the gap between what they think is going and what is actually happening in the minds of their employees,” says Debbie Goodman-Bhyat, CEO of Jack Hammer Executive Headhunters.

“Often companies are lulled into a false sense of security when their core talent performs well,” she adds.

“Just because your top performers are great at their jobs, does not mean they will want to do them for you forever. Not recognising this reality makes your company vulnerable and opens the door for talent searchers to have the conversation with your people – the conversation you should be having instead.”

According to findings contained in the latest Jack Hammer Executive Report, a whopping 50% of respondents said they would leave their companies if they did not receive a promotion within a specified period of time.

Asked for how long they would be happy to stay in a role before being offered a promotion, 84% said they would expect to be offered a promotion within three years. Of these, 10% of respondents would want a promotion within a year, and 34% within two years.

“What this shows is companies who spend a lot of time and money searching for the right candidate, must put as much effort into retaining those individuals,” says Goodman-Bhyat.

“The great thing about the retention part is it costs very little, other than time, attention and good communication.

“Having no strategy in place, and getting caught up in the dayto-day demands of a job without assessing where you and your team are, could find you losing your valuable resources,” says Goodman-Bhyat.

The recently released report, titled Executive Talent: Get them, Keep them, investigated the challenges faced by businesses hoping to attract and retain top executives.

Goodman-Bhyat says there are five ways to ensure your expensive talent doesn’t take fl ight prematurely: Do not overpromise. Align the promise with reality. Ensure the original vision is carried through to the role and responsbilities of the executive. Check back regularly. Constantly communicate the future vision.