Only those who have worked for others may have such an understanding. At the beginning of joining the workforce, one tends to exert a lot of effort, hoping to give their all and even willingly sell themselves to the company. Why? Sometimes after doing a good job, one feels extremely comfortable, as if they've done the work of an emperor. Why? This has something to do with trust. Whether it's the boss's trust, the manager's trust, or the colleagues' trust, it gives one a sense of belonging to a family. Especially after completing a task, there is a very clear sense of accomplishment because work reflects one's value and also realizes the value of the company and society. However, with prolonged career experience, one's abilities continue to improve, and one may feel that it's impossible to get promoted or receive a raise within the company; or due to improved abilities, one wants a higher growth platform or salary; or one feels that the returns in the company are not proportional to the efforts, leading to psychological imbalance. Thus, one's career begins to transition from one company to another, which we call "job-hopping." For the company, this means loyalty and defection.
The reasons for employees' job-hopping and defection aren't always entirely the fault of the employee; sometimes, it's due to issues within the company. If the boss fails to fulfill promises once or twice, it might be acceptable, but it cannot happen a third time. The boss should not deceive employees due to their inexperience, otherwise, the employees' cohesion will weaken. Also, the boss should not treat new and old employees with double standards, otherwise, how can new employees stay? Of course, there are other reasons. So, as a boss, how can one retain excellent talents suitable for the company? I believe one should focus on the following six aspects to improve the loyalty of excellent talents.
1. Be cautious with promises and emphasize fulfillment.
As the saying goes, "If the source is not clear, the water cannot be clear." Therefore, when recruiting, companies should pay attention to employees' dedication. If someone has changed jobs three times within two years, they definitely should not be hired. Such employees may not stabilize even after being recruited, so control can be maintained at the source. The key is that companies should not easily paint a rosy picture of themselves during recruitment. They must tell potential hires about the difficulties of the company, giving them an accurate introduction so they can make informed decisions. Do not make easy promises to new employees, especially not to urgently needed talents by the boss. Often, the expectations of the boss are high for these talents. If they fail to meet these expectations, the boss becomes dissatisfied, turning original promises into empty words. This makes employees feel deceived. In such an atmosphere, it is unlikely for them to stay. If new employees cannot let go of grievances, spreading rumors about the company, their destructive power cannot be underestimated. Therefore, whether it's the boss, manager, or HR department, do not make promises lightly. If a promise is made, it must be fulfilled without compromise. Even without promises, if employees perform exceptionally well, the boss and managers should give timely attention and rewards, exceeding initial expectations. This will greatly enhance the professional sense of achievement and loyalty to the company.
2. Emphasize incentives and offer high salaries.
The main motivation for employees in a company is still the level of salary. Low salaries lead to many complaints, while high salaries lead to jealousy among some people. What kind of salary can retain talent? In my opinion, it is a salary that exceeds employee expectations. In a company where I once worked, the boss told me something: "I add five hundred yuan to the expected salary of employees and tell them that if their performance is outstanding, getting a raise is not a problem." And the boss indeed fulfilled this promise later. I was once part of this team. Although the boss gave me a thousand yuan more, I sacrificed my weekends working tirelessly for the company. The return was significant since I developed many markets and led teams, reaching up to fifteen hundred people. This was the best return for the boss's recognition, and the boss continuously rewarded me through bonuses, salary increases, benefits, promotions, and training opportunities.
A company's appeal to employees is not always based on its fame or brand, nor solely on whether its products are easy to sell. The key is whether the company offers competitive salaries, not necessarily the highest in the industry but at least above the industry average.
In designing salary systems, fairness and competitiveness should be achieved, as salary largely represents an individual's specific value. The company should also provide spiritual and cultural incentives, with various methods of encouragement. Psychological quality education of employees should not be neglected. Attention should be paid not only to the present but also to the long term, providing career planning and guidance so that employees truly feel valued by the boss and the company. Valuation itself is a form of encouragement.
3. Give trust and ensure security.
An employee's work in a company is based on mutual trust between the company and the employee, forming a work relationship. Since the employee has been recruited to work, the company, whether it's the boss or HR, should give trust. "Trust those you employ, doubt those you don't use; if you doubt someone, use them cautiously." The company should understand why one should fully trust employees—this is trust in character and ability! Why should one be cautious when employing someone? This is supervision, doubting the person’s ability. Whether an employee can maximize their talents is closely related to the working atmosphere of the company. In a mutually suspicious environment, everyone worries about others reporting on them, creating a sense of insecurity. Therefore, good interpersonal relationships or healthy corporate culture can create a trusting atmosphere, helping to gather talents and promoting the common growth of talents and the company. Additionally, a perfect salary and welfare system can eliminate employees' concerns, giving them a sense of security. Only then can employees fully commit themselves to work and create more economic benefits for the company.
The company must create a trusting atmosphere and avoid making interpersonal relationships overly complex. Complex interpersonal relationships in a company are often a major reason for employees leaving. Especially when factions exist within a company, employees feel unsafe, and the company faces certain risks. There are many examples of companies going bankrupt or shrinking due to the departure of senior executives or core team members. Therefore, companies must instill the concept in employees: "Simplify interpersonal relationships and purify simple relationships," which helps employees feel secure and enhances integration among employees, stabilizing the workforce.
4. Regular training, improving qualities.
Training is highly beneficial for overall improvement in a company. If a company has its own corporate university or business school conducting internal training to enhance knowledge and skills of talents, it is advantageous. However, most companies lack such training institutions. Should the boss train? Should the HR department train? Or should external experts be hired for training? These options are rare, especially hiring external experts for internal training within the company. Usually, in companies, those receiving training are mostly bosses or people close to the boss—relatives or those who previously followed the boss in building the company. While this is understandable, for a company to grow efficiently and effectively, it must conduct full-staff training, allowing everyone to enjoy such treatment, thus enhancing employees' professional qualities and work capabilities.
Only through persistent and determined efforts over a long period can qualitative changes be achieved. When consulting for Jinniu Brick Machine, I encountered issues such as poor employee mindset, conservative thinking, mutual suspicion among employees, and weak sales abilities. I designed a systematic training course. According to the service time each month, in the first month of consultation, I launched "Who Am I Working For?" to resolve employees' mindsets, changing the notion of working for the boss to working for oneself; targeting conservative thinking, I designed "New Thinking, New Mindset, New Appearance" courses to change perspectives and required employees to wear professional attire, which quickly enhanced the company's image presented to clients and boosted employee confidence.
Targeting the passive attitude of waiting for information within the company, I developed "Information Volume Equals Sales Volume" to emphasize that the more customer information one controls, the greater the sales increase. Only by actively seeking information can one improve performance. Next, I designed "The Tongue of Corporate Marketing" for overall mobilization and helped the company establish six branch offices, significantly increasing performance. Even employees who had joined for only six months, with the help of their managers, successfully signed contracts worth over 2.2 million RMB, fundamentally solving previous laziness and the mindset of working for the boss. Regarding weak sales abilities, based on the characteristics of brick machine marketing, I designed "Eight Steps and Eighteen Rings of Brick Machine Marketing" to introduce new experiential marketing models, bringing a fresh approach to industry marketing. I also conducted training titled "The Growth Path of Professional Managers" to improve employees' thinking levels and awareness, broadening the horizons and minds of employees and managers, and activating the team's vitality. Simultaneously, I coordinated the "Hundred-Day Sales Competition Activity," establishing a running mechanism between branches and departments, employees and employees, managers and managers, thereby enhancing the learning atmosphere, uniting personnel, increasing information volume, boosting sales, and strengthening employee confidence. I designed a concept for salespeople: "Face difficulties with two words - 'Take it down!'" Later, the sales team even adopted this phrase when negotiating with the boss—"Take down Mr. Zhang! Take down Mr. Li!" Employees were extremely confident.
5. Provide platforms, utilize talents fully.
In Ge You's movie "A World Without Thieves," there is a classic line: "What is most lacking in the 21st century? Talents!" I think both individuals and companies face such problems today. No company says, "My talents are sufficient, no need to introduce more." Regardless of size, companies experience inflow and outflow of talents every year, which is normal. However, if a company's annual turnover rate exceeds 20%, it may indicate abnormality. Therefore, the talent mechanism is very important. How can a company retain talents suitable for its growth, especially middle-level backbone staff and senior management? This is a topic that bosses should focus on studying. First, we need to study human nature. Human nature has both good and evil aspects. If we define "good" as: one, having good character; two, excelling in a particular skill, called advantage; and "evil" as: one, having bad character and integrity; two, being unskilled or having disadvantages. Nothing in the world is perfect, so companies cannot demand perfection from employees. Companies should use people's strengths, avoid their weaknesses, and fully utilize their talents. It is also necessary to tolerate "thorns" in the company because they can bring vitality and act as catalysts or "carp effects." Therefore, bosses and companies must create and build platforms to fully unleash the potential of talents.
6. Frequent communication, value information.
Communication is very important in companies. I attribute all problems in a company to communication issues. Whether communication is effective determines its outcome. In companies, there are various methods of communication, such as meetings, information sharing, emails, chats, and conversations. As the biggest leader in a company, the boss should especially emphasize communication and promptly grasp information within the company, especially information that differs from the norm. The boss should frequently conduct walking management, making employees feel that the boss is nearby and cares about them. Sometimes, a smile from the boss is enough. Smiling is a form of communication and acts as a catalyst with unexpected results. Few bosses possess this trait; otherwise, there wouldn't be the saying, "Bosses are those who always have a stern face." Though somewhat sarcastic, it reveals the truth. A smiling visit from the boss can certainly obtain a large amount of company information, whether managerial or otherwise, while also conveying messages to employees. True information exchange and interaction can even enable lower-level employees to gain the boss's wisdom support and personal guidance in such an atmosphere. Working in such an environment, even if employees want to leave, they may be captivated by the boss's charm.