The Three Things Good Employees Want

Your may not be able to offer all three, but if you can deliver at least two, you'll retain top talent.

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

One of the underrated aspects of leadership and management is the necessary work of cultivating a healthy culture where good talent wants to work. I’ve been in both the position of a boss and the position of an employee (and often both simultaneously) for long stretches in my career. I’ve discovered, often through trial and error, what employees value. I also know what I’ve come to value in the places where I’ve been employed.

This includes nonprofits. Your organization may be a ministry, but that doesn’t let you off the hook. The mission statement on the wall, however inspiring, does not make your employees less human.

I’ve observed that good talent—talent you don’t want to lose—values three things. These values come in the form of questions we ask ourselves, and not necessarily, in this order: