Turnover is an expensive problem for engineering teams.  It can cost anywhere from one to two times an employee’s salary to replace them. The higher up or the engineer is on the ladder or the more specialized their role is, the more costly it becomes to replace them. Here are five tips to help you retain your top engineering talent.

One: Pay Competitive Rates

Talented engineers know what they are worth and if you aren’t paying them at least market rate, they will look elsewhere for a larger salary and/or better benefits. Do a market study to gauge current salary ranges and make sure yours are in line. It’s also important to reward talented engineers with performance-based raises so they feel valued.

Two: Promote Wisely

Seniority-based promotions and promoting friends are the least effective ways to build strong leadership teams. Promoting the wrong people can hurt an organization by making teams less effective and increasing turnover. Talented engineers want to work for leaders they can look up to and who they respect, and promoting the wrong people can crush employee morale.

Only promote people with demonstrated leadership potential, who set a good example by working hard and making valuable contributions, and who can inspire others to do their best work. It pays to create a formal leadership development program, as well. It shows engineers you have an interest in identifying strong leaders and that the company wants good people to move up and lead teams.

Three: Get Flexible

Engineers often have to be in the office or on site, but there are lots of times they can work from home. Today, Americans value work-life balance and if they feel burned out, they will leave their jobs. Look for ways to give employees better balance like telecommuting days, flexible eight-hour schedules, offering more PTO, etc.

Four: Cut Ties With Toxic People

Toxic people damage company culture and they have a way of speeding up turnover. Whether those people are individual contributors or leaders, their negative behaviors lead to resentment across teams. Talented people don’t have to tolerate toxicity at work – they have options. Take a close look at what’s going on day-to-day. Don’t tolerate poor performance, backstabbing, negative talk, gossip or toxic management practices. Cut those who are holding your teams back so talented engineers can rise and thrive.

Are You Looking For Top Engineering Talent?

If you are looking for talented engineers who can help your organization achieve its goals, contact the experts at PEAK Technical Staffing today. We are a national leader among engineering recruiting firms, and we look forward to helping you land top talent.