How to Retain Talent and Inculcate Sense of Loyalty?

Hiring good people is still a relatively simple task as compared to the task of retaining them; people may join a company because of its favorable image but will stay on only if they find appreciation for, and satisfaction from, their work.

To retain talented people the manager should provide a comfortable working environment which is conducive to work. More important than the physical environment is the degree of freedom which a worker enjoys in making decisions within the defined parameters of his job. When a worker knows that it is his responsibility to produce results and he is accountable for them, he will put in his best effort. On the other hand, if the worker is always ordered to do every single act, and nothing is left for him to decide, whatever little potential exists in him will be killed. A worker should be able to take pride in his work, derive satisfaction from saying 'This is my achievement'. To ensure that work does not degenerate into a boring and meaningless affair, repetitive, dull tasks should be interspersed with tasks which call for some element of creativity. In practice this may be difficult, but the manager must at least give some thought to how best he can make work meaningful. Rotating jobs within the same department at the same level may be one way of making work more interesting and provide opportunity to the worker to demonstrate his professional and technical skill.

The manager must also understand that each individual is unique and his degree of expertise at handling various aspects of works varies from that of another. As an effective manager your attempt should be to pinpoint your subordinates' strengths and give them work in which their skill can be utilized to the maximum. In areas where they feel inadequate, provide them support. A talented, competent man is definitely worth that bit of extra support.

Recognizing, appreciating and nurturing your subordinates' talents will bring you rewards in terms of improved results and loyalty. However, to really earn the loyalty of his people the manager must remember two other key concepts, communication and motivation. A manager who encourages open, direct and frank communication is always able to tackle issues much before they become problems and also take advantage of the creative ideas of his employees.

Opportunity to communicate directly with the top manager enhances the sense of self-esteem of workers and helps create in them a sense of belonging, a feeling that what they think and feel is important to their organization. Such a feeling goes a long way in building loyal employees.

Every individual's behavior is initiated because of some needs, drives, and desires and is directed towards achievement of goals. These needs and drives motivate a man to action. The manager's attempt should be to influence these needs, desires or motives towards the achievement of the organizational goals. The more such motivational factors a manager can incorporate in the work content, environment of work and rewards of work, the more willingly will people put in hard work. Money, power, status, recognition, etc. are all powerful motivators which a manager can use. Under the Employees Stock Ownership Plans in use in many U.S. companies, employees can buy shares and become part owners of the companies for which they work. Recent research reveals that these plans encourage employees to remain loyal to their organizations and stay on with them.