How to Win the War for Talent

Similar to the real estate market where there are buyer and seller markets, in the recruiting world there are employee and employer markets. In the post-pandemic economy, it has become a job seeker’s market as turnover rates reach above 13% and 41% of the global workforce is considering a job change within the next year. As a result of the Great Resignation, candidates have more choices than ever and the competition for talent has become a battleground. That’s why it is more important than ever that project-based firms take a focused approach to attracting and retaining the valuable employees they already have.

Talent acquisition and retention is particularly important for professional services (PS) organizations because they are "people businesses." It goes without saying that for these firms to succeed and grow they depend upon good people that have the knowledge and skills to drive performance, productivity, and profits. People are the key to achieving a competitive advantage. So, doesn’t it make sense that firms spend a significant amount of time identifying and implementing meaningful ways to attract, manage and retain good talent?

One way for firms to approach the problem is by addressing three key questions:

1. What are you doing to keep your best talent?
2. How much revenue are you losing per year through attrition?
3. What will happen to your firm if you don’t address the issue of talent retention?

1. What are you doing to keep your best talent?

There is a misconception among employers that most employees leave their position to earn more money. In reality, most employees leave because they feel they are in dead-end positions and no longer growing or moving up to more challenging roles within the organization. This feeling of stagnation leads to attrition which directly impacts company profitability.

2. How much revenue are you losing per year through attrition?

When employees leave it typically costs between 90% and 200% of an employee’s salary to replace them. If you calculate the cost to hire and train people only to lose them through voluntary attrition, the costs can be staggering. What’s particularly worrisome for most organizations is the risk of losing senior staff who are the face of the firm and have a loyal client following. You cannot afford to have these employees leave when it can be prevented. Remember, your talent is being targeted by your competitors every day.

3. What will happen to your firm if you don’t address the issue of talent retention?

Companies with great reputations and strong cultures are able to attract exceptional talent. People want to work for them, so it gives them the ability to be incredibly selective. At the same time, these companies know exceptionally talented people are also ambitious and have high expectations.

Therefore, these companies know they must double down on their efforts to keep their staff motivated and inspired so they want to stay. Great projects, good tools, career planning, training, and mentorship programs are some of the ways they focus on retaining their talent. They identify their top talent and frequently and openly recognize them as top performers. Organizations that succeed in talent retention have very skilled, very experienced people which in turn leads to higher billing rates, higher customer satisfaction and higher profitability for the firm.

If you don’t address the issue of talent retention it will be the opposite. Your best talent will begin to leave first – taking all of that experience and knowledge with them. This situation can easily snowball and negatively impact your project performance, billing rates, customer satisfaction and profitability. Therefore, it is important to address the problem immediately. Identify why staff is leaving: what challenges are they facing and what is making them leave? Take what you learn and build a strong talent management plan – one where your people are front and center, invested in and want to stay for a long time.