7 approaches to developing and retaining talent that drive success

Competition is fierce in many industries, both for employers and employees. Companies are working harder than ever to attract and retain top talent that drives success.

So, what are the best approaches to developing and retaining talent? And how can you capitalize on employee benefits to generate business success simultaneously? Here are the strategies to consider.

1. Find the right fit

The first logical step in identifying approaches to developing and retaining talent is to find suitable candidates in the first place. Attracting talent that aligns with your company's vision and goals is essential for future engagement and retention.

There are several ways to do this, such as investing in the right recruitment process and an effective hiring process, but the company culture has a big part to play.

A lot of developing and retaining talent is rooted in culture — which we’ll explore in more detail — so being clear about your culture and how a candidate fits will set the foundations for future success with potential employees.

2. Invest in the right training and development

The role training and development have to play in retention should never be overlooked. The statistics speak for themselves — 76% of millennials believe professional development opportunities are one of the most important aspects and 70% of employees would leave their job for another that offered better training opportunities.

Considering only 29% of employees are satisfied with their current career advancement opportunities, this allows a point of difference to enhance development, retention and attraction.

Building a learning and development strategy and discovering the right partnerships can make or break your development and retention efforts. Always invest in engaging, beneficial and actionable employee training to ensure your investment pays off.

3. Create career advancement opportunities

As part of that learning and development strategy, you should also map out the career advancement opportunities as an approach to developing and retaining talent.

Employees who feel invested in, valued and have growth opportunities are far more likely to champion their development and stay loyal to your company.

There are many career advancement opportunities, whether it’s developing the skills they need to be promoted, gaining new skills to expand their knowledge or working cross-department to gain new insights.

4. Track the progress of training and development

While investing in a training platform or building a learning strategy is a good starting point, it could be wasted time and money if you don’t assess how the program is performing or whether employees find it beneficial.

Ensure your training and development plans engage your employees, enhancing development and retention through participation.

You must also assess if your employees are developing the skills needed for your business. Investing in training and development should be mutually beneficial. Employees feel empowered to develop and progress with their new skills while the business benefits from efficiency, innovation and performance.

5. Foster a positive work environment

A healthy workplace culture is the linchpin to successful training and retention. Developing and fostering a culture to be proud of should be a central approach to developing and retaining talent.

88% of people say a healthy culture at work is vital for success.

It doesn’t matter how much you invest in training. If you don’t have a workplace culture to support development and progression, your retention rates will likely suffer.

6. Customized learning pathways

Another approach to developing and retaining talent is to take your training initiatives one step further. Instead of offering blanket training courses or opportunities, enhance individual employee development by creating customized learning pathways.

Customized learning pathways are where you build and develop a training plan based on an individual employee, their development plans and your business needs.

Many training platforms offer a range of content topics appealing to various roles and responsibilities. Training these for individual employee needs will mean better results for both the business and the employee.

7. Offer the right benefits

Benefits packages are often under the microscope for attracting and retaining the right talent. To stay competitive, your benefits package must be as enticing as possible.

While a generous holiday allowance still has its place, training and development is fast becoming a fundamental trade-off for many prospective and current employees. Consider incorporating a dedicated learning budget for each employee so they know you’re devoted to their development.

This could be the difference between an employee staying or looking elsewhere.

How does learner engagement fit into the puzzle?

While offering training opportunities is certainly the first step, it’s unlikely to impact developing skills or encourage retention if it isn’t engaging for learners.

To get a deeper understanding of learner engagement and the part it has to play in your business, head over to our learner engagement hub, where you’ll find everything there is to know.