Employers

The AP Approach

1. Be Proactive - Don't wait until your best employees are unhappy before taking any steps to rectify the situation. Staying in good communication with your staff and actively showing concern for their welfare goes a long way in building loyalty. Take the initiative and ask your employees and prospective employees what qualities and offerings an ideal employer would have. You may be surprised by the answers.
2. Develop & Adhere To Company Values From The Top Down - Find projects and causes that are in line with those values your employees support; then encourage everyone to get involved. This can be unifying and build a camaraderie born of a common vision and purpose. This also gives them a sense of pride in who they work for and adds another dimension to their loyalty.
3. Get Creative - Attracting and retaining talented employees should be your number one priority, regardless if you lead the IT, marketing, or finance section of your organization. Talented employees are difficult to find, even in one of the most open job markets since The Great Depression. However, attracting talented employees is not as difficult as retaining them.
   Attracting talented employees is known as recruitment in human resource parlance. Many organizations implement comprehensive recruitment strategies that are not only ineffective, but completely unnecessary. Advertisements do not attract talented employees. This shotgun approach overwhelms human resource departments with thousands of resumes and cover letters.
   Tap into the high achievers of your organization for referrals. Talented people often associate with other talented people and, even if their particular talents are not commensurate with your company’s mission, you can tap into their network of high achievers who possess the skill set commensurate with what you expect from an employee.
4. Develop Talent - Talented employees expect a development program that not only enhances their professional skill set, but also allows them to seamlessly integrate into the organization’s culture. Development is an ongoing process that encourages a talented employee to seek more responsibility and hence, upward mobility. Talented employees tend to remain with organizations that promote from within.
5. Compensate - It goes without saying that talented employees want to be fairly compensated for their performance. This means that a talented employee should at least receive the mean compensation package of someone who works in a similar position in the same industry.
6. Recognize - Talented people want to be recognized for their contributions and performance, whether it is with a simple congratulations or thank you, to being featured in the organization’s monthly newsletter. While ego does not pay the bills, plaudits for an employee’s talent motivates them to achieve at a higher level.
7. Challenge - Talented people seek new challenges, especially projects that are outside the domain of their job responsibilities. Above all, talented employees see the new challenges as an opportunity to build on their occupational skill set. Providing new challenges must be done judiciously, with attention paid to time constraints and resource requirements.
8. Mentor - Mentoring is a time-consuming endeavor that requires discipline and patience. However, talented employees will remain with an organization if they are mentored by someone who has a timeless commitment to the organization. Mentoring seems to be lost art within the business world, mostly due to the fragmented nature of contemporary workplaces. Nonetheless, mentoring ensures a talented employee receives the professional grooming required for moving upward within an organization.