How to Develop and Retain Top Talent

As our workplace continues to evolve, the ideal worker must be well-versed in technological literacy, exercise greater flexibility and adaptability, and have good people-management skills. Finding workers with these capabilities is something many companies are finding difficult, with as many as 90% of companies predicting they will have a skills gap in the upcoming years, and the process of retaining such leaders once hired hasn’t been any easier. Even with some stabilization after the great resignation, we are still seeing a high amount of turnover; with the Bureau of Labor Statistics documenting 3.5 million quitting their job in February of 2024, it is obvious that, “[p]romises of cushy perks and pay” are not effective in keeping employees from leaving. Organizations must find ways to integrate impactful moments of development aside from only formal programs. Here are some ways to create these small learning moments:

1. Gain insights on your employees. Schedule regular one-on-one meetings. Ask them what is most interesting, rewarding, and challenging about their job and if there are any other responsibilities they’d like to take on. By involving employees in their own growth, they will be more committed and motivated to the goals set forth.
2. Create more learning opportunities. After you’ve identified the new skills your employees wish to learn, create opportunities for them to develop them. “[E]ngaging employees in this way is key to helping them step outside their comfort zones, practice, and build confidence.”
3. Provide constructive feedback. By setting up clear expectations and providing useful feedback, you can help your employees identify other opportunities for improvement and development. “If an employee tried something new and it didn’t pan out, recognize the effort. People are more likely to grow from their experiences when they aren’t punished for failure.”

How Monark Can Help You Act on These Insights

1. Capturing and retaining employee insights. Monark’s Leader Relationship Management (LRM) tool allows leaders to easily store and access important employee information, such as skills, interests, and future career goals. This enables developmental conversations and prompts leaders to provide direct reports with individualized growth opportunities during routine one-on-one meetings.
2. Practice-based learning. With a practice-based approach to leadership development, Monark is focused on ensuring leaders are provided with various learning opportunities. Whether supplying safe environments for practice, such as AI roleplay or coach-led case studies, or engaging leaders in real-world practice through setting goals to apply new skills, learning opportunities are made plentiful.
3. Real-time feedback. Monark can help leaders both provide and receive relevant and timely feedback through our courses (see Leading High Achieving Teams) and AI tools. Our AI role play allows leaders to practice having difficult feedback conversations while providing individuals real-time feedback on those exact conversations, allowing them to continually develop the capacity to encourage and develop their teams. Additionally, our upcoming AI meeting companion will offer leaders feedback on any web-based conversations they have, allowing them to receive consistent evaluations and suggestions that while crucial to their development, they are often left without.