One of the keys to success in the world of business is not only getting the right assets, but retaining the right talent as well. In a competitive landscape, particularly for smaller businesses, it can be very difficult to retain the people with a high level of skill; there are always bigger fish for them to fry, it often seems.
However, it wouldn’t be wise to simply bemoan a lack of loyalty: better to actively do something to make sure you keep the right people working for your business. So, just why do people leave, and how can you convince them to stay?
A two year time limit
Millennials are soon going to be making up the majority of the workforce in Australia, which is why they are such an important class of people to appeal to. In fact, some of the business owners reading this right now might be millennials themselves! In either case, it’s important to note one particular trait of this generation: almost half of them are planning to leave their current company within the next two years, according to Deloitte. It gets even worse after five years – only 19 per cent expected to stay on until this point. But why are so many leaving?
Deloitte has another revelation about this younger generation: they don’t think very highly about senior leaders in modern work environments. In fact, 30 per cent of them agreed that senior leaders were primarily focused on personal reward, and 27 per cent thought that older leaders were all about meeting short-term financial goals. This was at odds with millennial focuses on employee growth and wellbeing.
There is a distinct picture forming: Millennials don’t feel valued, and they want to get the chance the develop into leaders. Considering that Deloitte found talent is the number one driver of manufacturing competitiveness, it might be best to pay attention to these desires.
How can you keep them on?
So, the talented people that will drive your business are after personal development and more leadership-oriented roles. There are plenty of ways you can invest in the younger generation: take them under your wing as a mentor, groom them for a managerial role, or even use the opportunity to expand your business and place them in charge of a team. Find the finance through a commercial loan, invest in your talent and you can ensure you retain them for now, and the future.