How to stop your employees from being poached
With so many career opportunities available, it can be difficult to keep your employees from being poached. In fact, according to a recent study, nearly half of all employees are approached by a competing company at least once a year. And almost 80% of hiring professionals say they poach employees.
So what can you do to make sure your best employees stay put? In this blog we will discuss the steps you can take to stop organisations from poaching your employees.
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Let's the get the obvious out of the way first: money.
Paying your employees fairly and competitively is essential for the success of any company. And if people are consistently seeing offers for considerably more money, it can be hard to resist the temptation, they may also question their value if they aren’t paid the market average for their role.
The crucial factor here is to ensure you offer the people who deserve it, satisfactory pay rises before they get a new offer. If you wait until they're already considering a move, it may already be too late because showing people that you value them now them makes feel more altruistic. People may feel that leaders are just selfishly trying to save themselves problems if they hold out on offering workers more competitive compensation until they're forced to.
Our PayReview compensation software can help you make the best pay decisions for your people
Another key thing to consider is communication. A whopping 80% of people being paid above market average believe they're either being paid below or at market rate. And almost 70% of those at market rate think they're underpaid.
“Almost 70% of those at market rate think they're underpaid.”
As an employer, you need communicate openly and honestly about salaries, market rates and how your business makes decisions on them. It builds trust between management and staff, and stops misconceptions becoming an issue. You can read more about communicating pay in our last blog.
Engage your employees and create a greater company vision
One of the greatest emerging trends in work in recent years is one of purpose. People are no longer content to accept a pay check and call it a day: now they want purpose. They want to feel as though they are contributing to or achieving something truly meaningful, with 70% of people feel they find their sense of purpose through their daily work.
This sentiment has only been accelerated by the pandemic, with now two-thirds of US workers saying that COVID-19 has caused them to reflect on their purpose in life. And it's not all about what's good for workers. People who feel a purpose at work:
Are more productive
Show more engagement
Report more better mental and physical health
Have better resilience
Show greater willingness to recommend the company to others
Feel heightened loyalty
And most relevant to this article, are more likely to stay at the company
So how can you help your employees find a greater purpose at work?
One way to do this is by ensuring that they have a career plan in place. This means that they know what their goals are, what steps they need to take in order to achieve them, and the benefits they'll gain by succeeding. You can also help them reach their goals by providing training and development opportunities. This way, they'll be able to learn new skills and grow their knowledge base.
Defining and communicating a company vision is another vital aspect of engaging employees. It allows people to understand the big picture, and how their job contributes to the overall success of the organisation. And when people feel like they're a part of something larger than themselves, they're more likely to be engaged and productive in their work. A company vision also provides a overarching sense of direction and purpose, which can be helpful when times are tough.
“Leadership is a function of questions. And the first question for a leader always is: ‘Who do we intend to be?’ Not ‘What are we going to do?’ but ‘Who do we intend to be?’”
— Max De Pree, Founder of Herman Miller
Also, take the time to find out what matters to people. If someone feels like their job is not fulfilling, they are more likely to look for other opportunities and everyone has different things that bring meaning to their lives. One way to find out what matters is to ask a person directly, which can be done through surveys or one-to-one discussions. Another is to observe their behaviour. If you notice that an employee is taking on extra projects or volunteering for extra assignments, they may be looking for ways to feel more fulfilled in their job.
Give your people value
In today’s society, people are keenly aware of two key things.
Their job is not necessarily what gives their life meaning.
If they’re going to be working 30-40 hours a week for someone else, anything that person can do to sweeten the deal (beyond more money) is a huge bonus.
There's a reason a company like Google is consistently ranked a top place to work. It gives it's employees benefits such as
Three chef-cooked meals a day
Cakes and coffee whenever they like
Champagne lunch at the end of the week
Access to gyms and wind-down areas
Early access to company technology
Now of course, a majority of companies are not going to be able to offer nearly as much as Google. But here's the point: You will find rewards in making the work environment a positive and beneficial place on a personal level for people.
Despite these glaring benefits, a lot of companies merely focus on the bottom line and on profits rather than on their employees and what they need in order to be happy and productive. This leads to high turnover rates and a lack of loyalty among workers.
Conclusion
Job poaching is a reality in every industry. If you want to avoid losing your best employees, you need to start focusing on giving them what they want instead of just what you think is best for your business. The alternative is having to spend excess time and money to recover from every time someone leaves.
But now you know there are measures you can take to make sure your employees are happy and engaged in their work – thus reducing the chances of them being poached. Ensuring fair compensation, highlighting strengths, creating career plans, ramping up training, and giving them extra-curricular benefits can all help keep your top talent from jumping ship.
PayReview software can assist you in achieving a fair and consistent compensation strategy for your employees, a process which will add value not only for your company but also for your employees.