Retaining Top Talent Tip #4: Celebrate (and Don’t Delay) Promotions, Milestones and Opportunities

It’s certainly not business as usual for most U.S. companies – for some it’s a high point with everyone going at full tilt, while for others it’s a time of uncertainty.  Regardless of which it is for your company, it’s tempting to maintain the status quo and push off promotions, milestone celebrations and new opportunities for employees.  However, if you want to retain key employees, it’s critical that they continue to see a career path in the business.  Here are some tips for making sure that employees continue to see your company as a place for them to grow in their careers:

• Stay on track with performance reviews.  Cancelling reviews may save time in the short term, but the message it sends employees is that their career development isn’t a priority.   Make sure you conduct reviews as in the past – and if anything, consider more frequent reviews and informal discussions about performance and career track to make sure that you and your employees are staying on the same page.
• Award promotions and new opportunities where they are warranted.  There’s a TV add running at the moment in which the supervisor nonchalantly says that he’s going to hold on the employee’s promotion for a year, and the employee responds by hopping into a Nissan with Brie Larson, who convinces her that she needs to advocate for herself and make sure she has a seat at the table.  c
• Use these milestones as an opportunity to celebrate!  There’s lots of negativity in the world, with people craving good news and signs of normality.  Publicly celebrating promotions, opportunities and achievements (on an intranet, by zoom or in some other creative way) not only shows the individual that the company cares about them but also sends the message that the company is moving forward.

For additional information on ways to retain top talent, click here or contact the Labor and Employment Group at Levenfeld Pearlstein.