Employee retention and engagement levels are two key factors that employers often strive to influence. By introducing strategies to achieve improved engagement and retention, companies set themselves a strong foundation for success. Utilising talent management to realise these targets is an essential step to achieving this.
Implementing employee engagement and retention strategies through improved talent management, is a tried and tested way to build a committed and engaged workforce. Which is why leading companies factor talent management and employee engagement into their central strategic plans.
Defining employee engagement and retention
So, what is employee engagement? A simple explanation is that employee engagement is the act of creating a positive working environment in which employees feel willing and able to perform their best work. This means that employee engagement is more than just a happy or satisfied workforce. Whilst happiness is an important factor in employee engagement, to create a truly engaged team, elements such as communication, collaboration and wellbeing all need to be addressed to realise your ambitions.
An employee engagement strategy works in tandem with employee retention plans, to improve engagement. Employee retention refers to the ability of a company to keep existing employees by using employee engagement as a retention tool. Employee retention initiatives are often introduced by a company, with the aim to develop and maintain an environment where existing employees feel supported and want to remain within the company. Retaining existing employees reduces the substantial costs associated with recruitment and the time and effort that it takes to train new starters.
The importance of talent management
“Talent management seeks to attract, identify, develop, engage, retain and deploy individuals who are considered particularly valuable to an organisation.”
CIPD – Talent Management
Talent management initiatives are one of the key drivers of employee engagement and staff retention, which is why getting them right is essential to the continued success of your company. Without a robust talent management system, you put yourself at risk of creating a disengaged and uncommitted workforce, that are less likely to perform to a high standard, and more likely to leave the company. Utilising talent management, and driving performance and retention through employee engagement, will enable you to establish a strong workforce that is committed to your success.
Introducing talent management initiatives, in line with current employee engagement trends, to support your employee engagement and retention strategies, may seem like a complicated and time-consuming task, but it is essential to the continued success and growth of your company.
How talent management can impact employee engagement and retention
The need to engage employees through powerful strategies, has never been more important – and talent management is the vehicle that allows companies to achieve this. An influential talent management initiative relies upon employee engagement theory, and actively creates the environment needed to properly engage and retain new and existing employees. Without this type of joined-up approach to engagement, your company will suffer.
Talent management can positively impact your engagement and retention efforts in a diverse number of ways, by creating a culture that is conducive to producing a committed workforce. Three of the key areas where exponential change can be seen by implementing talent management strategies are onboarding, performance and retention.
Better onboarding
Implementing talent management strategies to better support your onboarding process, enables you to actively engage with your employees from day one. Providing new starters with the opportunity to immerse themselves in your culture, rather than being stuck behind a desk with countless training documents, will establish a stronger relationship between employee and company.
Create an onboarding process that focusses on company culture and positions you as an engaged employer. Utilising employee engagement as a retention tool will result in increased retention levels and lower employee churn.
Improved performance
Utilising talent management strategies to consistently engage employees, will ensure a downturn in absenteeism and an increase in productivity. Employees who feel engaged with their work will naturally strive to help their organisations realise their strategic goals, often going above and beyond the remit of their role to achieve this.
Effectively implementing strategies that foster high levels of engagement, will nurture a high performing culture, where employees feel engaged with company operations and committed to producing high quality work.
Reduced staff churn
It’s a fact that employees stay working at companies where they feel that their input is both valued and appreciated, and where they are nurtured and encouraged to grow. Investing in talent management solutions to effectively manage existing staff, and to identify complementary and culture matched new recruits, will result in lower staff turnover. Providing a company with a uniquely committed and qualified talent base.
The ability to recognise and nurture existing talent, and identify exceptional new recruits, puts your employees at the forefront, and shows them that they are a vital part of the company’s future. Creating an environment where employees feel valued and therefore committed to the long-term success of your company.
Identifying your employee engagement retention plan
Creating a powerful talent management plan, to underpin your employee engagement and retention goals, is critical to success. Unfortunately, great talent management isn’t simply achieved overnight. But, by implementing employee engagement ideas that work to better support your talent, you can create a fully engaged team who are actively striving to reach their full potential within your company, and are committed to your company goals.
To aid in the process of achieving an effective talent management initiative, an employee engagement platform can help you to build and monitor the impact of your plans. Solutions, such as an employee engagement app, have become an increasingly popular investment for industry leaders, with the software providing employers with the functionality to monitor employee engagement, whilst also providing employees with a space to build relationships, read important company updates and identify training needs.
Implementing talent management strategies to increase employee engagement and improve retention, is essential to company success. By fostering an environment where employees are encouraged to actively engage with your company from day one, you create a workforce that is both engaged and unlikely to leave. Positively impacting on your employee engagement and retention levels.
Topics:
Employee Engagement
