Hiring managers, especially inexperienced ones, often believe that the challenges of recruiting and hiring end when contracts are signed and talented employees are brought on board. According to this logic, once the deal is sealed, great employees will automatically feel a sense of binding commitment and company loyalty that will last until the end of time. Not so. Talented workers are always in demand, and whether they’re employed or not, they will always be subject to the lure of offers from your competitors.

So what can you do to keep your top performers on your team? And how can you keep them motivated and engaged so they continue dedicating their powerful skills to the success of your enterprise? Here are few general guidelines.

Know Who They Are

First things first. You can’t target your retention efforts at your top performers unless you know who they are. Employees who perform within the top 3 to 5 percent of your workforce across all relevant metrics are invaluable. So are employees who perform at average levels across some metrics but who offer one or two rare talents that contribute in an outsized way to your bottom line. Examples of this often occur in sales; some otherwise-average workers possess selling abilities that approach the supernatural. If you have a few of these on your team, don’t let them get away.

 Mentor Them

Guide and motivate top employees by providing them with trusted mentors. The mentor-mentee relationship brings a personal element to employee development and offers star workers a dependable source of nuanced feedback. Employees who have been assigned to mentors often experience higher levels of engagement, greater loyalty, and accelerated growth.

 Push Them Into the Deep End

Top performers need to be challenged periodically in order to test their limits, keep them striving, and prevent them from getting bored. But this means pushing them beyond the boundaries of their comfort zones, which can be unnerving for employees and managers both.

By nature, the act of pushing someone in over his or her head increases the chance that things may go wrong. But great managers take this chance when they can, and they reap the rewards when star employees gain valuable experience.

Provide them With Adequate Opportunities for Growth

Star employees need room to move their careers forward. If you have a top performer who’s ready to step into management, but there are no management positions available, find another way to increase her level of responsibility. Restructure in order to create new jobs and titles when you have to.

Providing opportunities for growth can also involve creating a fertile environment for employee ideas and new initiatives. Maintain an open door policy and keep lines of communication clear. When employees come to you with their thoughts, stay receptive. Make sure they know their ideas and solutions are being heard.

Recognize, Praise, and Compensate Them

This advice may seem obvious, but some managers often get so caught up in getting the most out of great employees that they neglect to give something back. Employees like being rewarded. Who doesn’t? If you can afford to pay your top performers at a level that reflects their contributions, by all means do so. If you can’t, that’s okay, but you’ll need to provide a counterforce to keep them from being tempted away by your competitors. To do this, make sure your relationship stays positive, warm, and respectful, and don’t underestimate the value of verbal praise. Even a simple “thank you” for a job well done can cost nothing and return big dividends.

Searching for ways to maximize your workforce?
Contact Expert Staffing. Our team of human capital experts will help you leverage one of your most important assets to drive productivity and reduce costs.