# Listen Up, Hiring Managers: A Six-Step Plan for Retaining Top Talent

- Link: https://kollersearch.com/listen-up-hiring-managers/
- Published: 2016-03-24T18:17:17-04:00
- Author: Vincent

[vc_row unlock_row=”” row_height_percent=”0″ override_padding=”yes” h_padding=”2″
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=”800″][vc_column_text]I’ve spent more years than I care to admit interviewing candidates
for various operational positions, but I still get excited when I meet professionals
who show an upward trajectory in their careers, take on larger assignments every
two years, change companies every four years, and present themselves in an engaged,
engaging way.

Media/information professionals who remain in jobs for a meaningful length of time
are a win-win in the recruiting ecosystem.  They’re easier for me to “sell” because
they have more appeal to hiring managers than those who have had four jobs in six
years, and clients benefit because it can be time consuming and costly to change
out a management team every two years.

Hiring managers, there are certain things you can’t control: a consolidation in 
your industry suddenly makes your company’s future uncertain or your entire department
must relocate from Chicago to Tulsa. But, there are many more things you _can_control.
Here is a six-step plan to help you retain your top talent.

**1. Set clear expectations**.  The conversation on aligned goals and expectations
should start well before the start of employment.   Often times I hear “The position
was not as advertised” as the motivation for wanting change.  People who are flexible
when it comes to changing business models and strategic pivots are in high demand,
but the odds of success greatly increase when they’re given basic information about
the painful history of the position or company financial performance.  So, the key
word is _transparency_.  The last thing you need to be bothered with, is replacing
your go-to revenue person or content marketing guru four months after they’ve started
because they signed up for a different job.

**2.** **Foster the flow of information about key strategies, initiatives, and goals
for the company**.  Once the hire is made, share the good news and the bad.  The
Number One reason candidates tell me they are considering a change is they feel 
uninformed about where the company is headed, and as a result,  uncertain about 
where they’re headed.  They come to feel detached from and not fully committed to
the company and its goals.  After all, we live in the information age.

**3. Encourage your employees to gain greater exposure**.  Tight budgets may prevent
them from attending high-priced conferences even once a quarter, but there are more
economical ways, including cozier networking events, to help them become better 
known in the industry.  And, if they are better known, then your company is better
known, and that’s just plain good business.  Candidates often tell me that they 
don’t have the time to engage in such activities, so it’s your job to explain the
importance of doing so and that it’s part of their job.  As a result, you will also
be seen as someone who cares about their career development.

**4. Internally, make yourself visible**.  Don’t hide behind email.  An “open door”
management style is fine, but why not initiate the contact?  Legendary IDG Founder
and CEO Pat McGovern was famous for personally handing out holiday cards and bonus
checks to every employee he could find whether they were in Framingham or Hong Kong.
An extreme example, but let that inspire you to get out of your chair.  I hear from
too many candidates who can’t remember the last time they laid eyes on their CEO
or CRO.  I’m sure your plate is full, but figure out a way to make time.  Again,
it’s all about making your employee feel _connected;  _that they are part of a larger
whole.

**5.** **Connect on a human level, but don’t pry**.  I’ve learned through my conversations
that people aren’t motivated to leave their companies because a manager doesn’t 
show enough interest in their personal lives or because there aren’t enough departmental
outings for pizza and beer.  Such devices may have an effect on morale—or they may
not.  But employees do like to feel like they’re valued as human beings, not just
entities performing a job function.  A one-on-one lunch once a quarter and regular
stop-bys relating to a personal interest that an employee has can do the trick. 
When I place someone in a new role, the personality of the hiring manager is often
my most persuasive recruiting tool, so connecting is important.

**6.** **Discuss with your employees their future path, even if they don’t come 
to you first**.  There’s a saying at our firm, “It’s not about this job, it’s about
the one that this job gets you.”  That’s true most of the time.  If there’s a glass
ceiling in place, brainstorm with this person about how they can take on additional
responsibilities.  Maybe it’s serving on a company task force focusing on long-term
planning, or serving as the point person for the introduction of a technology or
platform.  Just because a new title and set of responsibilities do not exist in 
the foreseeable future, that doesn’t mean a new stimulus can’t be found.  In other
words, find ways to challenge members of your team, especially the indispensable
ones.

Hiring managers need to keep in mind that the molding of a revitalized employee 
is usually a gradual process, often defined by two steps forward and one step back,
and requires the systematized approach I’ve laid out, as well as a healthy dose 
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