Okay, maybe not a mass exodus, but you could be losing some of your most valuable assets- vested, talented and productive workers. Do your employees emanate talent? Do they exude creativity and productivity? Do your employees bring a well-rounded and robust skill set to your organization? Have you recognized it or, are you limiting them? Do you promote your best workers? Do you reward them? Do you take their ideas into consideration and implement them? If you answered “no” to these questions, you might see a mass exodus of highly-skilled, vested employees. Why, you ask? Because you don’t know your talent pool and unfortunately, you may not care about the talent because they are all replaceable, expendable, right?
So often the reason that good employees leave great companies is because they do not feel valued or appreciated. Yes, we’ve heard that before. We hear it all the time, right? Have you ever asked how so many people at the same point can say the same thing? Is it that they are in cahoots and they are retaliating in some plot to tarnish your reputation and reviews? Probably not likely, but on the other hand, who knows. What I know is this, companies are always looking for great talent, but rarely look inside for the talent that is already in place and vested in your company and culture.
Employers often fail to recognize and harness the vested talent pool. The reality of this is that employees likely feel limited, but they may not be able to voice, constructively, their concerns. Too many talented employees are being overlooked for growth, promotion, raises and all around opportunities. It’s like when a service provider offers all the bells and whistles to new customers but not to existing customers. Existing customers feel slighted and, well, angry-undervalued and unappreciated. This is why they switch providers.
So, chances are, if you’re not willing to take a chance on your employees, someone else is willing to take a chance with your employees. Cut out the cliques and good-old-boy systems. The perspective will never change if the mindset doesn’t. Take time to find out what your employees offer and bring to the table. Find out their background and education. An ode to The Notorious BIG, ask “what your interests are, who you be with, things that make you smile, what numbers to dial.” That was just for fun, but still impactful. Find out about their interests and develop them. It’ll probably help you cut some costs and resources, while saving you time and effort of hiring new, external employees to fill roles.
Ask yourself the next time you post a requisition externally, can someone within my organization fill this role? Chances are, even you will be surprised at the talent pool at your disposal any given day. Moreover, you’ll give an employee hope, which naturally gives others hope. This just might slow up the mass exodus, or something like it…
onfire2inspire 