Millenials have a tendency to switch from one organization to another. Earlier, the average time for which a person used to work for a company was 10 years, which has dropped to 2 years today. Major reasons being the plethora of opportunities available for the top talent. With the internet coming in and growing globalization, employees enjoy a better visibility on the opportunities available around the world. In such a scenario, it is extremely important to retain your top talent as they are the ones who would grow the company. Here are some tips to retain your top talent in the company

Tip 1: Share with them the larger picture of their role in the company

Instead of long and confusing Job Descriptions, share with the employees, how do they contribute to the company. JDs only tell about the activities that one has to perform and employees never get to know what is the relevance of their role in the organisation. Giving a straightjacket set of tasks and activities, reduces the sense of ownership in the team and they start to look out for better options. Also, since they never get to know where exactly are they contributing to the company’s growth - they slowly end up feeling irrelevant and unimportant.Share the larger picture of the company and also, their contribution to its growth to increase the sense of ownership in the team.

Tip 2: Hire the right talent rather than the best 

Managers tend to look for the best performers among the candidates while hiring for a position. This often ends up as a hiring error. An employee need not be the best out there, but it is important for them to be compatible with the position and the company. In order to hire the right fit, analyse the competencies: Knowledge, skills and abilities required for the role and match them with that of the candidate. The  better the match, better would be the association. 

Tip 3: Make the work exciting

When it comes to millenials, they are never satisfied in a monotonous job which would just be enough to satisfy their materialistic needs. They look for something aspirational and exciting to work for. The  best incentive for good performance to a top performer is the opportunity to engage in new and ambitious projects which would challenge and develop their abilities further. As soon as the top talent comes in its comfort zone, they start getting bored and look for new opportunities outside the company. Keep challenging the top performers by throwing new and exciting problems at them to keep them engaged.

Tip 4: Give your employees a career and not a job

Today’s workforce is growth oriented. They need to have a better visibility of their future with the company. Discuss with them about their career aspirations and tell them how the company can create opportunities for them to achieve the same. Define a clear career path for your employees and have programs to facilitate continuous learning. Some methods for this are: courses within and outside the company, challenging on the job assignments etc. If the company’s growth is aligned  with that of the employees - they tend to stay for longer period of time. 

Tip 5: Switch from once a year performance review to consistent discussions throughout the year

Consistent in person meetings in a less formal environment are the best to talk to the employees about their performance and concerns. Research says that employees are more defensive to feedback during year end review meetings.Rather, such feedback should be shared in a less formal setting for them to take the feedback in a constructive manner, which would really improve their performance. Also, continuous and consistent conversations help employees to be aware about their performance and thus lead to continuous improvement. When an employee performs well, they have lesser chances of leaving the company.

Tip 6: Create an open and flexible work environment

Create a culture of open and transparent communication in your company where employees can freely raise their concerns with the management. It is very important for the management to really listen to the employees. Be open to their ideas, be available to address their personal and professional concerns. An employee can never contribute to the company if they are facing any issues of their own. It is also very important that the employees have the flexibility to choose their goals, work timings and even work location. Be open for policies like flexible working hours, work from home etc.

Tip 7: Perform Exit Interviews

Most of the companies record the reasons for employee separation in a form or through an HR interview - before their last working day. It is found in research, that employees are more comfortable in sharing the real reason for leaving a company, after they have already left. Usually,  a gap of at least a month is recommended to perform an exit interview. This is the best time as the employee has already settled in their new job and therefore can freely share the honest reason for separation.

Tip 8: Earn the respect of your employees

It is very important for the company to set an example of ethical conduct in the market. This not only builds a reputation among the clients but also acts as a great Employee Value Proposition for the top talent. Even though this is a softer aspect, which never gets talked about in exit interviews, but does impact employee retention at a subconscious level. Human beings never want to associate themselves with something which has a bad reputation. Make sure that the stories associated with the company and its top management set a good example of ethical behavior.