{"id":7895,"date":"2016-12-06T18:02:50","date_gmt":"2016-12-06T17:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/intoo.com\/?p=7895"},"modified":"2025-12-03T10:29:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T10:29:00","slug":"talent-retention-give-the-gift-of-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intoo.com\/uk\/talent-retention-give-the-gift-of-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Talent retention: give employees the gift of your time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]

Without wanting to sound too clich\u00e9d, we are fast approaching the time of year when people naturally start to reflect. Reflect on the past year. Reflect on what they have achieved. Reflect on what they want to change in the coming year. Unsurprisingly, when it comes to making changes, a change of role or company is often high on the New Year\u2019s resolution list. Buoyed by a stronger job market, this year could see even more employees considering new opportunities.<\/p>\n

The cost of losing talent<\/strong><\/p>\n

For organisations, any loss of talent is a real blow. And while it is possible to replace employees, the question, \u201cat what cost?\u201d is often overlooked. The truth is that it can be very costly indeed: recruitment costs associated with replacing the employee, loss of knowledge, disruption to teams, potential loss of customers, not to mention the additional investment required to successfully onboard a new hire. Far better to focus on retaining employees than to find yourself needing to replace them.<\/p>\n

Worryingly, the most frequently cited reason given by employees during exit interviews is lack of perceived development opportunities. Delving a little deeper, this is regularly linked to infrequent or limited conversations about career development between managers and employees. In essence, it represents a missed opportunity and a failure to communicate.<\/p>\n

While some employees will already have committed themselves to finding a new role in the new year, it does not mean all is lost. Organisations should not simply sit back and resign themselves to losing valuable talent. Now, in the run up to Christmas (yes, it is just a few weeks away) is potentially the perfect time to do something meaningful that could encourage those considering leaving to rethink their resolution.<\/p>\n

Make time to speak with employees<\/strong><\/p>\n

As managers, it is our responsibility to know those within our teams; to know how they are feeling, what achievements they are most proud of and the areas they would like to develop. The reality is that, despite best intentions, these conversations often happen infrequently. Yet setting time aside now to speak with employees about their goals could make the difference between them thinking about leaving and actually taking action. Conversations do not have to be complex and including the following points will help employees feel valued:<\/p>\n

Make time<\/strong> \u2013 simple but possibly the most impactful act a manager can commit to. Make time to speak with team members and find out how things are for them. Remember, it is not just about having a meeting, it is about being present at that meeting, so turn off your phone, leave your laptop behind, go off site and prepare some positive feedback to show them that their contributions have been noticed.<\/p>\n

Say \u2018thank you\u2019 and mean it<\/strong> \u2013 we often forget the power of saying thank you, but these two simple words can be powerful and show that you genuinely value their efforts.<\/p>\n

Get them talking<\/strong> \u2013 ask open questions, for example, how they feel the last year has gone, what they have enjoyed and how they think they have developed. It is amazing what you can learn when people open up. You can then use this information to better understand how to utilise the individual\u2019s strengths and interests going forward. Remember, it is important that this is a two way discussion, so offer feedback. They will appreciate the objective viewpoint.<\/p>\n

Ask them about the future<\/strong> \u2013 this can be a challenging question and one that often makes managers nervous, but if you do not ask you miss the opportunity to explore ways to support them. It also demonstrates that you and the organisation value them and want to retain them.<\/p>\n

These steps may seem simple, even obvious, yet many managers still struggle with them. For an employee who is seriously considering their future with your organisation, this gesture, at this time of year, could be enough to make them reconsider. There is however an important caveat. It cannot and should not be done in isolation. It needs to form part of an ongoing conversation that happens regularly between managers and employees. So, give the gift of your time now, but make it an early resolution to continue doing so throughout the year.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are you expecting to see a percentage of your employees resign in the New Year? Instead of waiting for it to happen, here are some simple steps managers can take that may help to change employees’ minds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7899,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"Without wanting to sound too clich\u00e9d, we\u2019re fast approaching the time of year when people naturally start to reflect. Reflect on the past year. Reflect on what they have achieved. Reflect on what they want to change in the coming year. Unsurprisingly perhaps, when it comes to making changes, a change of role or company is often high on the New Year\u2019s resolution list. And buoyed by a stronger job market, this year could see even more employees considering new opportunities.\n

The cost of losing talent<\/strong><\/h2>\nFor organisations, any loss of talent is a real blow. And whilst it is possible to replace employees, the question, \u201cat what cost?\u201d is often overlooked. The truth however, is that it can be very costly indeed: recruitment costs associated with replacing said employee, loss of knowledge, disruption to teams, potential loss of customers, not to mention the additional investment required to successfully on-board a new employee. Far better then to focus on retaining employees than having to replace them.\n\nWorryingly,\u00a0the most frequently cited reason given by employees during exit interviews as their reason for leaving is lack of perceived development opportunities. Delving a little deeper, this is regularly linked to infrequent or limited conversations around career development between managers and employees. In essence \u2013 a missed opportunity and failure to communicate.\n\nWhilst some employees will have already committed themselves to finding a new role in the new year, it doesn\u2019t mean that all is lost. And organisations certainly <\/u>shouldn\u2019t sit back and resign themselves to the fact that they will lose some of their talent. Now, in the run up to Christmas (yes it's just a few weeks away), is potentially the perfect time to do something meaningful that could just make those considering leaving in the new year rethink their resolution.\n\nMake time to speak with employees<\/strong>\n\nAs managers, it is our responsibility to know those within our teams; to know how they are feeling, what achievements they are most proud of and areas they would like to develop. The reality however, is that despite best intentions, these conversations happen on a limited basis. Yet, setting time aside now to speak to employees about their goals could just make the difference between them thinking about leaving and actually taking action. Conversations don\u2019t have to be complex and including the following points will undoubtedly help employees feel valued:\n
    \n \t
  • Make time<\/strong> \u2013 simplistic, but possibly the most impactful act a manager can\u00a0commit to. Make time to speak with team members and find out how things are for them. Remember, it is not just about having a meeting, it\u2019s about being present at that meeting, so turn off your phone, leave your laptop behind, go off site and prepare some positive feedback to show them that their contributions have not gone unnoticed.<\/li>\n \t
  • Say \u2018thank you\u2019 and mean it<\/strong> \u2013 we often forget the power of saying thank you, but these two simple words are powerful and demonstrate that you genuinely value their efforts.<\/li>\n \t
  • Get them talking<\/strong> \u2013 ask open questions, for example, how they feel the last year has gone, what they have enjoyed, how they think they have developed? It\u2019s amazing what you can learn about people when they open up. You can then use this information to better understand how to best utilise that individual\u2019s skills\/interests going forward. Remember, it\u2019s important that it\u2019s a two-way discussion, so feedback \u2013 they\u2019ll appreciate the objective viewpoint.<\/li>\n \t
  • Ask them about the future<\/strong> \u2013 this can be a challenging question, and one that probably scares managers the most, but again if you don\u2019t ask you won\u2019t be given the opportunity to look for ways to support them. It again demonstrates that you and the organisation value them and want to retain them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nThese few steps may seem simplistic, obvious even, yet, many managers still struggle with them. However, for an employee who is seriously considering their future with your organisation, this gesture, at this time of year, could be just enough to make them reconsider. However, this comes with a caveat. It can\u2019t and shouldn\u2019t be done in isolation. It needs to be part of an ongoing conversation that happens frequently between managers and employees. So, give the gift of your time now, but make it an early resolution to do it frequently going forward.","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[15,351],"tags":[396],"class_list":["post-7895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cat-blog","category-feedotter","tag-talent-retention"],"yoast_head":"\nTalent Retention: Give Employees Your Time - INTOO UK & Ireland<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how meaningful conversations, appreciation and quality manager time can strengthen talent retention and encourage employees to stay.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.intoo.com\/uk\/talent-retention-give-the-gift-of-time\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Talent Retention: Give Employees Your Time - 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