The Key to Executive Retention

Before reading any further, here is a spoiler alert: There’s not one good solution to the increasing problem of executive turnover. When it comes to devising executive retention strategies, what may seem like a narrowly focused effort goes far beyond an ad-hoc cash bonus or one-time grant. Effective, long-term retention of your hard-won top talent requires a multitude of intertwined actions that ideally begin at the hiring stage.

The strategic and operational disruption—and often significant dollar amounts—associated with executive turnover is high. A well-rounded philosophy that incorporates both compensating and developing your leaders may be a novel strategic differentiator and more economical in the long run.

It should be noted that boards, and specifically compensation committees, are already doing a number of these important things: setting competitive pay, aligning incentive programs to the organization’s business strategy, and providing constructive feedback to the CEO. However, thinking more broadly about how executive compensation and leadership development programs can work together may offer a new, more robust approach to retention.

In this webcast with Pearl Meyer and the NACD, our presenters examine a flow from hire to promotion that illustrates the power of holistically designing and deploying your pay and talent management programs.