4 Ways to Retain Top Talent
Posted by [email protected] on Jan. 10, 2017 / Management/Leadership / Subscribe 0
It’s no secret talent retention is a problem plaguing many companies in the real estate industry. According to a Deloitte White Paper, property management companies struggle to attract and retain personnel in an increasingly sophisticated workplace, resulting in an annual turnover rate of 31.8%. Great talent is out there and getting snatched up quickly. So once you’ve managed to find a great employee, how do you keep them from jumping ship?
1) Know How to Spot A Star
Retention takes effort, so the first step is figuring out who is worth your effort. The Harvard Business Review pinpointed three main attributes that define rising star employees: ability, engagement, and aspiration. Ability is a more obvious quality; what innate potential does an employee possess? Engagement can take a bit more time to develop, but is just as important. A team member has to feel, and express, a connection to their peers as well as the company as a whole. Lastly, but perhaps most vitally, is aspiration. The desire for advancement, increased responsibility and visibility is crucial to any employee achieving upward mobility.
2) Connect Them With The “Big Picture”
Traditional thinking suggests that long term goals and strategies are concepts only the upper echelon of management should be privy to, but a more modern approach would suggest otherwise. If we break it down to a most basic (and very Texan) example, think of a football team. If the players are only told about their role in a play, they are only focused on that aspect. Therefore, they will only be invested in their role rather than in achieving the bigger goal of the whole team, making a touchdown. If an employee can understand and connect with a company’s “big picture,” he or she is much more inclined to stay and invest their talents. Communicating these things with young leaders can be as simple as email updates, or as involved as quarterly meetings. It’s a matter of finding what’s feasible for you, and what your team responds best to.
3) Recognition In Real Ways
We’re all human; we all desire praise. The difference with the incoming workforce is this praise is sought in forms different from just a raise or job title (although these are also significant). CareerBuilder conducted a survey aiming to identify ways to improve employee retention, and 50% of employees surveyed cited an increase in recognition such as awards, cash prizes and company trips. Not only do these methods offer an opportunity to reward great talent, it helps build connections between different levels of authority within the company, reinforcing the loyalty a worker might have to a company. Bottom line, no one wants to work a thankless job. A little can go a long way in this area.
4) It’s All About The Benefits
As property managers, you often put significant effort into new amenities and perks for your tenants because it’s one of the deciding factors for most renters. It also happens to be a deciding factor for most of your team members. Things like insurance, vacation time, and bonuses are of course central, but there’s more to it these days. Work-life balance is very important to this generation of the workforce. Data from Intuit found that 79 percent of full-time workers want to work from home at least part of the time. If telecommuting isn’t practical, perhaps you can invest in more modern, creative workspace features. And don’t be afraid to think outside the box; some companies offer options like reimbursement for child care, gym memberships or conference attendance.
The work landscape is ever-changing, and that includes the ways in which you attract and retain promising talent. When looking at your team, think as much about what you can do for them as you think about what they can do for you. As the saying goes: “Appreciate good people. They’re hard to come by.”
About the Author: Lindsay Konlande currently serves as the Association Assistant for IREM Houston. Lindsay earned her Bachelor Degree in Communication from Texas A&M and has several years of experience in marketing, public relations and copywriting.
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