The war on talent has new battle lines given recent changes in the workplace and the increasingly virtual nature of teamwork. Talent is more portable than ever before. Attracting top talent is a critical challenge for nearly all teams and organizations. Less obvious is the problem of taking one step forward while taking two steps back. This occurs when a talented member of your team leaves the organization for greener pastures. Retaining talent may be an even larger challenge in organizations today, especially considering how misunderstood talent retention is.
For all of the incentives, perks, and flexibility organizations bestow on their best people to retain them, there is one issue that has an oversized influence on why talented team members chose to stay. The gold nugget issue comes down to the nature of the relationship between a team member and their direct leader, manager, or supervisor. It is this relationship that creates the sticky glue for talent to stay put. People don’t leave organizations as much as they leave leaders. Talent is highly susceptible to outside opportunities when they are dissatisfied with the relationship they have with their direct manager.
When organizations invest in teaching leaders how to deepen and nurture their relationships with those that follow them, people stay. Leaders who invest in the quality of that connection crack the hidden code of retention. How sticky is your leadership?
