Again, none of the above reasons reference money. While top performers will expect and deserve to be paid well, there are other intangible factors they place more emphasis on. If you can provide these, then you can usually get away with not having to pay the absolute top dollar.

What Can You Do?

Have An Open Dialogue With Them - One of the most important things you can do is initiate and maintain an open dialogue with your employees. Make it clear that you want to hear about any concerns or issues they may have and conversely, it’s important for you to communicate any necessary information to them as well.

Commit To Their Career Goals - Most people have goals they strive to achieve in their career. If for any reason they don’t feel their current situation is helping them achieve those goals then they’ll most likely start to look elsewhere for a situation that can. Make it a point to find out what your employee’s career goals are and how the company can help them achieve them.

Regularly Review Performance – Regularly reviewing performance and progress ensures both sides are on the same page with regard to expectations and if they’re being met. High performers thrive on doing well and meeting and exceeding expectations. If they’re not getting regular feedback then they could be left wondering if their performance is up to par.

Show Appreciation – This ties into people feeling unrecognized or devalued as a reason for leaving. People love to receive positive reinforcement - a simple ‘thank you’ or ‘great job’ can go a long way. Do what it takes to make your employees feel valued and ensure you’re genuine when you do it. The emotional satisfaction of being appreciated is often more important than money and despite carrying essentially no cost, it’s the most common omission company’s make.

Keep People Challenged – High performers not only want to exceed the company’s expectations, but they also want to exceed their own expectations. To do this they have to feel like they’re doing work that is both interesting and challenging. To make sure you’re providing this, allow employees to provide input on the work they do, and provide special projects to high achievers.

Lead By Example – Great companies generally have people that live and breathe the company values and work ethic. When people lose respect or faith in the leaders of the company, they begin to look for an exit.

Build Your Corporate Culture – This is one of the most important things a company can do to build employee longevity. Nobody wants to leave a work environment they love where they’re surrounded by friends. Focus not only on the business side of things, but the social aspect as well and create a place that people don’t want to leave.

Let Them Talk to Recruiters – One of the other mistakes managers and employers make is to characterize the notion of exploring the job market and other opportunities as taboo. If you have great people, then head hunters WILL call them. By discouraging employees from talking to them, you’re adding a “forbidden fruit” allure and making these outside opportunities seem that much more attractive.

Conversely, by making it acceptable for your employees to talk to recruiters, you appear confident and convey an opinion that what you’re offering your employees is as good or better than anything else out there. Instead let your employees explore the job market…and then talk to them about how it compares.

It’s Not All About the Money

The one thing that is clear in the above is that job satisfaction and personal fulfillment almost always trump money. By openly communicating with your employees, taking an interest in their careers, and providing them with challenging work that they like, you not only help to create an enjoyable work environment that will cause your employees to stay and perform at a higher level, but you can also get by with paying below top dollar.

Regularly put yourself in your employees shoes and ask yourself if you’re providing them with great answers to the question “Why do I want to stay here?”. If the answer is no, then don’t be surprised if they start to look for companies who do.

- As Partner, Stuart Calvert works in partnership with some of the brightest minds in the consumer packaged goods industry.
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