Do you have what it takes to find, measure and retain winners?

''Winners have the ability to step back from the canvas of their lives like an artist gaining perspective. They make their lives a work of art - an individual masterpiece.'' ~ Denis Waitley, American writer

Talent rules the roost and young talent will help you establish the roost. Good employees come at a price and more often than not it isn't limited to the coffers of your company. To know a good employee from a mediocre one is a result of patience, practice and experience. A workforce with capable employees at its helm will bring you closer to your goal, but finding, measuring and keeping one can be the stuff of nightmares.

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Here are three practical ways to assemble employees who are capable to marshal the reigns of your company.

Look for leadership quality

“Look for the individuals who are natural leaders in their field. Those who will roll up their sleeves and get to work. Don’t be afraid to bring someone in on a temporary basis. Try them out for a few months, and see how they acclimate to your office.” Forbes

Hiring is akin to picking and choosing the perfect cogs for your wheel. If the cogs are not durable, the wheel will get affected, in turn affecting the journey itself. Hiring, therefore, is an act of practice and patience and cannot be conducted without focus.

Measure (employee performance) or perish

“Performance management helps align the daily work of employees - with the strategic goals of the business and supports compensation and promotion decisions, helps identify areas where skill development is needed, and helps monitor productivity and quality of work.'' Performph

Many businesses fail to take off or collapse mid-flight because they forgot or simply refused to periodically evaluate the performance of its departments and employees. For a business to fail, it doesn’t need a real big impediment, a poor performance that goes unchecked will do. Employee performance metrics inform top management about employees who pose a potential roadblock to the smooth functioning of their business.

Give retention your attention

''Failing to retain a key employee is costly to the bottom line, in addition to organizational issues such as training time and investment, lost knowledge, insecure coworkers and a costly candidate search aside.'' The Balance

If you lose out on a good, reliable employee, you’ll have no one else to blame but your own complacency. The market is rife with bait for talented and diligent performers. So losing out on a talent to your rival will pinch you where it hurts, as its more than losing a good hand, you have the fear of insider news and techniques being divulged.

Three of the most effective ways to conduct a retention exercise are -

- Offer a competitive benefits package that fits your employees’ needs

- Provide some small perks

- Conduct “stay” interviews

Finding good employees is like mining for diamonds, they're not easy to come by but when you do, polish and craft them into the centerpiece of your company.