How To Stop Your Employees From Being Headhunted

No business is completely recruiter proof and having your top employees headhunted can be a huge blow to the company. But the good news is there are several things you can do to help stop this from encouraging them to leave. Consider the tips below and feel a little more confident that your top talent is secure with these in place.

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Put A Non-Compete Contract In Place

First, ensure your employees have signed a non-compete contract – this will prevent them from going to work for a competitor for several months or longer. You might also want to consider increasing the notice period length that employers must give.

Improve Salary

Salary is one of the main reasons people choose to stay or leave. After all, money is really why we all go to work. Make sure you are paying a salary that is in line with what people could get elsewhere for the same job – a competitive salary that comes with a transparent pay system is highly important.

If you are underpaying your employees, they might be tempted to go elsewhere, therefore you should look at other ways to keep them. This could be done with a generous holiday allowance, healthcare provisions, pension schemes, bonuses, company cars, flexible hours and so on.

Give Recognition When Deserved

We all like to feel appreciated in life so a little bit of recognition wouldn’t go amiss either. This can be in form of a simple well done or, thank you. If you want a more public announcement then go for lunch or a celebratory night out. This will make an employee feel valued and help towards motivating other workers too. Don’t take them for granted, show them the appreciation they need and truly deserve.

Ensure The Work Environment Is A Positive One

Make sure your work environment is a friendly and supportive atmosphere. Support employees with the chance to learn and grow within the business to keep them onboard and away from temptation. If you can provide the opportunity for progression and fulfillment in personal ambitions, you are more than likely to hold onto to them.

Make Them Feel Like Part Of The Business

Give them something to believe in when it comes to the business – make business targets goals for everyone and help them achieve them to make them feel they are part of something better. This breeds loyalty – making it harder for people to say yes when headhunted.

Give Them Some Freedom

People want to work based on their own initiative, make important decisions on their own, plan work and take full ownership of a project. Watching over an employee’s shoulder will suggest you have a lack of confidence and trust in them. As the employer, you should facilitate this and make sure that you are showing you have faith in them and their abilities – after all, you hired them!

Have Quality HR Software In Place

It’s also important that you handle their data and progress within the company professionally. This means setting up a system that ensures they are regularly reviewed, they have a full view of their progress, access to HR related assistance and can raise issues if needed. Make this easier and take on specialist HR software – CIPHR is a good example of a company offering this – that allows you to manage your team efficiently.

Increase Communication

Moving on is normal and you can’t have your employees on lockdown – so it is vital that you put a framework in place to ensure they are happy at all times. Be aware of the aspirations that each team member has, this means there needs to be more communication when it comes to bringing the company together as one.

None of the above is at all possible without communication, so you need to build an environment where employees feel they can talk about their job, salary, ambitions, and anything more than they wish to discuss.

Wherever possible build that relationship between you and your employees and understand that being fun and engaging will encourage loyalty – making it a lot harder for them to walk away. Put some of these tips in place and keep your best talent for longer – even when the headhunters come around.

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