How do you keep your best people engaged?

What is it about companies that keep the best people truly engaged? Someone recently asked me this question, and I found it quite intriguing. After some reflection on this topic, I gladly share my views with you. Truth be told, many companies do quite a poor job in motivating their most talented employees and are even worse at retaining them. Even though those companies might have HR departments that take great pride in engagement scores and their ‘best places to work’ ranking, most of their highly acclaimed methods are in fact standardised and one-size-fits-all.

It has been a standing joke amongst peers that during restructuring or downsizing, you always loose the good ones first. Whilst I think this is an exaggeration, there is definitely an element of truth to it. The most capable and confident employees often have the tendency to seek better options during those times. It is important to reflect on why this happens and how we can retain those people, as it is a likely cause for failure.

Senior leaders often focus on their own ambitions

So why are the most talented people so hard to retain? In most cases, I think these issues are caused by senior leadership teams that are focused on the wrong goals. They are still leading based on quarterly results to satisfy shareholders and Wall Street. They are too focused on meeting their own ambitions and tend not to share their victories with their best employees. Yet when results are poor, they are quick to share the blame. There seems to be a tendency still to use the carrot and stick approach: “You did a great job, but don’t think too highly of yourself.”

In my experience, senior leaders often have a cynical and narrow focus on their own goals. They focus on their own career progression: their own key metrics (read: salary) and their own ‘brand’. More often than not, they choose personal gain over genuine care for their teams. Of course, you cannot stereotype amongst senior leaders and there are some true light houses out there. But for every great role model, there are ten others that succeed by doing the opposite of what they preach: Do as I say, not as I do!

To be able to motivate and retain top talent on a larger scale, we need a fundamental cultural change in the top of Fortune 500 companies. But why start there? Because those companies set the trend for the broader population.

Value should be measured differently

No doubt profits are crucial for investors’ support and survival of companies. But if we look beyond the short-term, there are more factors that add value than just profit. This means leaders should measure value differently. We need to ask ourselves: what creates sustainable value for our companies, for our employees, and society? I believe that we need to be more conscious about what we truly provide for our employees. How do we contribute to their daily success? And how are we fulfilling our role in society and our respective communities?

It would be giant leap forward if leaders would be more transparent in how they measure true value. That way they could provide their employees and prospective candidates with an understanding of the organisation they are dealing with – almost like a balanced scorecard. Only once this way of measuring value becomes a global standard, will it be possible for talented professionals to identify which corporations share their values and contribute to society in a way that suits them best.

Strong leadership starts at the top

After contemplating long and hard, I believe this is how you can show strong leadership to keep your best employees engaged

• Show strong values and stick to them. The best people will look for a leader that stands for more than just profit. Transparency, trust, and inclusion are key factors here. Do what you say and say what you do!
• Give employees the ability to make an impact beyond their job title. This can take many forms for a diverse talent pool. Think about things like social responsibility, environmental impact, innovation, or providing input on strategic directions.
• Provide employees with a clear and transparent path forward. Not only towards promotion or more salary, but also concerning personal development and corporate culture.

Looking towards the future, I truly believe that it all starts at the top. To be able to become one of the winners of the corporate world, senior leaders need to start measuring the right values on that scorecard! If they get it right, they will be able to engage HR teams, recruiters and head hunters that understand it as well. As far as I am concerned, to genuinely care for your employees as a leader is the only way to truly make a difference.