According to a recent study by SHRM and the Wall Street Journal, employers “might need to brace themselves for an upcoming surge in voluntary turnover.” Unfortunately, the previous options of offering high performers additional perks or bonuses in order to retain them may not always be available given today’s market. Instead of focusing only on how to avoid losing your top performers, perhaps it’s a good idea to identify super-stars in the market right now that you could bring into your organization later, if needed.
Before the problem of turnover strikes, there will be a LOT of people who are just waiting for their phone to ring to talk to a recruiter or HR about a company where they might like to work. Now is the perfect time to start connecting with these people! Obviously, a recruiter can easily help you build and manage your candidate network, but this can also be done by internal HR departments. If a top performer applies to a job or comes to you through a referral, take the time to have a real phone interview with them – even if they’re not a good match for any open positions! Get to know them and invite them to learn more about your company, possibly through additional conversations or an on-site visit. Keep in touch with them regularly and establish a professional relationship that keeps dialogue open to discuss new roles as soon as they become available – better yet, be able to call them BEFORE you’ve even posted the job!
This is especially effective with sales teams. Most salespeople are willing to talk/interview, even if they’re not looking for something new immediately, and welcome the opportunity to broaden their network of potential employers. Additionally, these bench candidates may help you fill jobs that are currently open by offering referrals and directing other top performers to your organization.
In time, you’ll have a short list of top performers you could call at any time to discuss great, new opportunities available with your company. The investment is small, but the returns are fantastic! I think it’s safe to say that if you’ve built a place where top candidates want to come to work, it’s likely your own top performers will want to stay.