In today’s business world, the ongoing battle to increase profit and competitive advantage rages on like never before. But the playing field has become more crowded and leveled out. As a result, more and more organizations are realizing that their greatest assets are their employees. And as the trend of employees changing jobs every three years continues to gain traction, organizations need to do all they can to attract and retain top talent.

Losing a top employee is costly in a number of ways. As The Wall Street Journal points out, “Experts estimate it costs upwards of twice an employee’s salary to find and train a replacement.” But the costs aren’t only monetary. Losing quality employees can damage morale among the employees that remain, causing further workplace attrition down the road.

With so much at stake, managers and organizations need to do a better job at attracting and retaining top talent. And here are seven proven ways to do just that.

1. Provide Fair Compensation

Pay isn’t the only motivator for today’s job prospects. However, in order to attract top talent it’s essential that your organization offer prospective new hires competitive pay and compensation. Once the hiring takes place, that rule applies within the organizational workforce as well. Employees expect, and should receive, the same pay and benefits as other co-workers who have the same job responsibilities.

2. Recognize a Job Well Done

Some organizations get so used to their top achievers doing great work that they fail to recognize those achievements. But this can make an employee feel taken for granted, to the point that they start wondering if another company might appreciate them more. Taking the time to recognize a job well done, whether through some ongoing award and reward program, a shout-out on the company’s social media site, or even a personal note of thanks on a Post-It, can go a long way to keeping valued employees on the payroll.

3. Offer Job Flexibility

Millennials are quickly replacing Baby Boomers in the workforce. And while the latter older demographic was all about job security and a steady paycheck, today’s younger employees are looking for greater job flexibility to help them achieve a healthier work/life balance. For some employees, job flexibility might mean compressed work schedules or offering on-site day care services. Others might picture flexibility as the opportunity to work from home through telecommuting. Remote work is a growing trend. According to FlexJobs, 79 percent of full-time workers would like to work at least part of the time from home. More importantly, 65 percent of employees who work from home report that it makes them more productive. 

4. Cultivate a Positive Corporate Culture

Great employees want to work in a healthy environment where they can collaborate and associate with their co-workers—in and out of the office—and where they feel that leadership and management supports them as they stretch, grow, and even make mistakes. Cultivating this type of positive corporate culture within your organization will help to create happy, fulfilled employees who look forward to coming to work everyday. This will also help to build your organization’s brand in a way that will attract great employees who share your company’s core values and want to be a part of all that that entails. Aetna, Intuit, and Nu Skin are just a few of the many companies that cultivate a corporate culture where employees are empowered to flourish and do their best work. Check out these Nu Skin reviews for more information.

5. Provide Real Opportunities for Growth

No employee likes to feel stuck in their job or career, and this is especially true of today’s young high achievers. As a result, it’s absolutely critical to provide genuine and ample opportunities for growth and advancement. This means that managers must be trained to recognize potential and act as coaches and mentors to help top employees set and achieve goals that will improve their skills and advance their careers.

6. Promote Collaboration

The days of the cubicle workspace are over. Having grown up with technology, today’s younger employees want to work in a company that provides them with tools that promote communication and collaboration. If your organization is still clinging to outdated, intuitive averse technologies, it’s time to invest in technologies that enhance and streamline employee collaboration. The benefits of increased productivity and decreased employee turnover will be worth it.

7. Hire the Right People

It seems like common sense, but the first step in retaining employees is hiring the right employees in the first place. To that end, The Wall Street Journal offers the following advice, “Interview and vet candidates carefully, not just to ensure they have the right skills but also that they fit well with the company, culture, managers, and co-workers.”

All and all, work to continue to attract and keep top talent happy so they can produce the best work for your business.