What kind of employer do you want to be?

Helping Businesses Thrive: Sarah Hamilton, People Puzzles

With the average price of replacing an employee ranging from 30% to >250% of their salary, cost will always be a factor – but not the only one.

Ignoring talent costs more than money

New rules proposed under Labour could see workers given more rights from day one of employment. It’s a great time for business leaders to think about the kind of employer they want to be. Understanding the values and aptitudes you’re after is only the beginning; knowing how to attract, develop, and retain the best talent is the key to SME success.

What creates a high-performing team?

Innate talent without systematised, consistent development and good management is not ultimately going to benefit your business. So how do you transform raw potential into peak performance?

1. Understand where you’re at (and where you’re going): Understanding the capabilities, abilities, and skills within your business is a great starting point. The context of your business vision and strategy will help you identify gaps, while future-ready organisational design will help you plot the roles and skills you will need in the future.
2. Be brilliant at recruitment: A strong employer brand will help you attract the best candidates, and a well-planned recruitment and onboarding process will help you draw from a wider talent pool, avoiding bias and making sure new people are set up for success.
3. Create a strong, relevant employee value proposition: Go beyond gimmicky perks and find out what your people truly value. Thorough salary benchmarking helps you stay competitive, but employees are looking for more than just remuneration. Often, reward and recognition schemes don’t have to cost you much – in fact, an experienced people director can save costs in tax efficiencies and still create a higher perceived value for your people.
4. Prepare your managers for people management: Invest in your managers so that they have the skills and capability to properly bring their teams on and have the challenging performance conversations that are necessary along the way.
5. Make processes consistent, measurable, and teachable: If your processes are not well defined, consistent, measurable, and teachable, you will run into issues with performance management and scalable talent development.
6. Focus on talent early: Early years talent development not only ensures the increasing asset value of your own business thanks to in-house skills and capabilities, it’s also a massively important part of retaining your best people in the longer term.

A business’s ability to identify, develop, and retain talent is crucial for sustainable success. Developing your people’s abilities enhances performance, aligns growth with business objectives, and fosters a culture of continuous improvement – and it requires a deliberate approach.