7 Ways To Attract & Keep Top STEM Talent

No one can afford to lose top STEM talent in a competitive market. There is a well-documented skill gap in STEM, and it is important to retain your best employees for as long as possible in order to control costs and maintain continuity. Here are seven ways to attract and retain top STEM talent.  

Pay Competitively  

STEM professionals know what they are worth – and it tends to be a lot. If you aren’t paying competitively, your best people will be wooed away by higher pay or better benefits and opportunities to earn bonuses.   

Promote Wisely   

Seniority-based promotions can be the least effective ways to build strong leadership teams and when you promote the wrong people, you will lose great employees. Talented STEM pros want to work for people they respect and people who foster a good working environment. Promote people with demonstrated leadership potential, who set a good example, make valuable contributions and inspire their teams.   

Offer Flexibility  

STEM professionals often have to be in the office or onsite, but there are times they can work from home. To achieve a better work-life balance, professionals want jobs that provide some work-from-home flexibility.  

Remove Toxic People  

Toxic people damage company culture and cause employee turnover. People who exhibit toxic behaviour cause resentment and talented STEM pros don’t have to tolerate toxicity at work. Take a close look at your teams and stop tolerating poor performance, backstabbing, negative talk, gossip or toxic management practices. Cut those who are holding your teams back to allow talented employees to thrive.   

Give Them Freedom to Work  

Micromanagement is an easy trap to fall into, but it can quickly wreck employee morale. If you’ve hired exceptional people, they should be able to do their jobs well with a lot of room to run. When you give talented people the freedom they need to do their jobs, productivity, outcomes, morale and retention will improve.  

Encourage Innovation  

Let your STEM professionals have the opportunity to test new ideas – and yes, to fail. Failing forward is a great learning experience and providing your team with the freedom to innovate will make them feel more engaged and satisfied with their jobs.  

Offer Development Opportunities 

Talented people want to learn and grow in their careers. Provide training and development opportunities, allow employees to take on new challenges and help employees see a clear path for growth at your company.  

Do You Need To Hire STEM Professionals?  

For more tips on hiring and retention or access top STEM professionals in Ontario, contact the expert recruiters at Employment Professionals Canada online or call 1-800-842-0421 today. We look forward to helping you achieve your recruiting goals.