Retain your talent by investing in personal and professional growth

Swedish employers need to invest more in development and training if they want to win the battle for talent on the labour market – because the more personal the approach, the longer talented employees will stay.

Companies face stiffer competition in attracting and retaining the best employees thanks to a number of reasons. With unemployment reaching the lowest percentage (7%) since the economic crisis of 2008, it has become harder to hold onto staff because of increased opportunities. According to PageGroup´s study, more than 57% of people in employment are confident they can secure another position in 3 months. For people under 30 that figure is even higher, at 72.2%.

Develop professional skills

According to research by PageGroup, 56% of all candidates in employment want to change jobs to develop their professional skills. More than one third (35%) of candidates feel their current employer doesn’t offer any prospects for personal growth.

Managers play an important role

What can employers do? In simple terms, more than they are already doing to help their people to develop on a personal and a professional level – but on a communicative level. According to internal research by Facebook, managers play a vital role in how happy talented employees are about their career in the company.

The more personal their approach, the better the results. “Most companies design jobs and then slot people into them,” explain the authors of the article from the Harvard Business Review. “Our best managers sometimes do the opposite: when they find talented people, they’re open to creating jobs around them.”

Challenge for larger companies

This personalised approach encourages people to commit to the company because they enjoy their work more, and are more confident they are developing the right skills for their career.

Especially for larger companies, it can be a challenge to develop an individual approach. Some employees get very little face time with HR staff or even their own line manager. Making time for one-on-one feedback with employees and listening to and acting on suggestions and concerns is key for employee satisfaction.

Discover our related articles on “Why companies lose top talents” and “Why do top performers leave?” for further reading on the topic of employee retention.