The term "hoarding" is not usually associated with efficiency and improvement, but corporate leaders, especially those in smaller businesses, are using this tactic in their favor when it comes to developing and retaining talent.
According to a recent survey from capital management platform isolved, retaining top talent is the number one thing keeping HR leaders up at night. Assessing how to do that effectively has become a company-wide focus and an opportunity for all
"Labor hoarding is being possessive of your talent, and being really creative about how you do that," says Amy Mosher, CPO at isolved. "You're maintaining the talent that you feel you need to run your business optimally. There are positive and negative stigmas attached to this kind of behavior, and it really has a lot to do with the way a supervisor approaches it and what their intentions are."
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With the fluctuating economy, employers are seeing increasing value in upskilling and reskilling their employees instead of refilling gaps in the ranks. The cost of replacing an employee can be up to two times their annual salary, and voluntary turnover costs U.S. businesses an estimated $1 trillion per year, according to Gallup. In order to avoid this financial strain, as well as a potential labor shortage, many leaders are turning their attention away from layoffs and toward all the ways they can keep their current people happy, engaged, and productive.
"It's difficult to know what employees want or need unless you really communicate with them," Mosher says. "Wouldn't it be nice for you as a leader, a manager or a supervisor to know what better means to your employees so that you could create that internally? The companies that are creating
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Identifying the strengths of workers and outlining a career path for them sends the message that they are a valued part of the company, and their employer is willing to invest in them, Mosher says. Upskilling and reskilling is important to 98% of employers, according to isolved research, underlining the wide acceptance of this as not just an HR responsibility, but one that sits on the shoulders of all leadership. Along with providing professional development, benefits are also a vital tool to entice employees to stay.
"It's very difficult to retain employees, and [companies are] making considerations for things they may not have previously considered," Mosher says. "We're seeing the message that they will create opportunity, and they are creating benefit offerings that are more specific to individuals."
With HR leaders getting behind the mentality that building a talent base should start
"There is an "Aha" moment that's happening right now," she says. "If you're proactive about your retention strategy, it has more capability for success. We ask our successful people what makes them tick, and build a curriculum around that. You have to hone in on what makes employees special, whether it's a skill set or their ability to learn, or both."
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Executed correctly, the labor hoarding method can lead to major payoffs all around. Organizations have a lot to gain financially, culturally and growth-wise, and workers have the opportunity to move forward in their careers without finding a new job elsewhere.
"Adding one more hat is tough, but if you're proactive in retaining your talent, you're going to spend a lot less time on finding someone new; it's just a reallocation of your time," says Mosher. "You're also cultivating someone's life, and we shouldn't downplay that as leaders. We hold a very important place in employees' lives, and we should feel that accountability and empathy toward their journey. It's not just about doing more with less, it's also about what the employee wants, and if you can align that, the journey is going to be much nicer."
