The sound of CVs being pinged out from Gmail accounts and hushed conversations with people sitting alone in meeting rooms are early warning signs of the next, furious phase in the war for talent. Savvy business leaders are taking pre-emptive action now by giving their high flyers back their mojo.
A Right Management report last year found that 25 per cent of employees were actively looking for a new job and a further 35 per cent said they were 'taking calls' about new jobs as they intended to leave soon. Even more seriously, it is the high performers who are most likely to go. And, according to a Towers Watson workforce survey, employee engagement has fallen by 9 per cent overall in the last 12 months, and by a whopping 25 per cent for the top performers.
Business leaders who have downgraded employee retention during the tough times are going to get a painful shock. Their best people are fed up with broken promises, vanishing opportunities and being stuck in a career backwater. They've lost their work mojo and want to go somewhere they can get it back.
Here are four simple things that every business leader can do to keep their best people on board and on form. Even better, they don't cost a penny.
1. Empathise. Let the high flyers know that you understand what they've been through and how it feels: "You thought you were on the fast track and yet for the last 12 months all you've been doing is taking on the work from people who've left and haven't been replaced. I imagine you've felt frustrated and probably a bit let down. I don't blame you."
2. Paint the vision. Share a compelling 3-D impression of how the business will be different in a few years' time, why this will be better for them and, critically, the reasons to believe such a change is probable. Make it clear how their contribution will play a vital role in making this aspiration a reality.
3. Show them their future. They need to know that if they make the effort it will be worth it. Give them a 12-24 month view of how their working life can improve, whether it's with a new role, new skills or rich new experiences.
4. Give hope. The single most important attribute a leader can convey is hope. This consists of both will power ("I believe we will succeed") and way power ("I have the outline of how to get us there"). People are suspicious of leaders who claim to have all the answers, but warm to those with the passion, faith and an idea of what to do.
Octavius Black, is CEO of The Mind Gym. Visit themindgym.com for more information
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