"I have always known that if I meet expectations in my role then I will be able to gain opportunities," says Dalrymple, whose company offers incentives such as all-expenses paid trips to Las Vegas and Barbados for high performers.
"Incentivise your staff according to your current business drives and be proactive," advises Dalrymple.
"Identify the places you want a particular employee to focus on and then reward them when they reach their targets.
"Build incentives specifically for your employees and then constantly follow up."
However, he says employees need to be realistic and recognise the world is changing and people are more flexible than ever about their work.
"There are benefits to changing jobs relatively regularly," says Dalrymple. "That's a cultural shift and not everyone wants to stay somewhere for five to 10 years anymore. We no longer look suspiciously on a CV that has a person staying only a couple of years in each role; there's a certain advantage to that approach as well."
As the candidate market in New Zealand is tightening - as well as this cultural shift towards a more transient workforce - the spotlight for businesses is increasingly on retention of staff to ease turnover.
"A huge number of businesses are focusing on retention, as well as flexibility in their workforce, particularly to help parents," says Dalrymple.
Robert Walters offers a broader service to clients to help define retention strategies, including help with salary benchmarks so employers know they're paying fairly and can relay this information to their staff, as well as showing businesses how they can incentivise staff. "The bulk of the candidates we are seeing at the moment are looking for new opportunities that are not salary-driven," says Dalrymple. "An increase in salary due to changing jobs would be a bonus, but it's not the initial driver."
Drivers for change include wanting more flexible working arrangements, not enjoying a workplace's culture or environment and wanting broader experience.
Retaining these people is down to a combination of financial rewards, flexibility to their circumstances and benefits that are not directly paid in salary or bonuses, such as carparks or mobile phones, along with setting firm goals and expectations, while providing a healthy work culture.
Head-hunting is also a threat for employers as it becomes more commonplace with social media enabling recruiters access to a broader range of people.
"In New Zealand, who you know still counts for a lot and all social media really does is provide a connection. Face-to-face meetings are still highly valued," says Dalrymple.
At the end of the day, retaining staff has a lot to do with open communication channels.
"You don't want it to be a surprise when a team member leaves," says Dalrymple. "Especially a top performer. The more you communicate with your team, the easier it will be to know how to retain them.
"Don't wait for them to come to you. Be proactive about rewarding and recognising them as well as talking about their longer-term goals then put plans in place for them to achieve those goals.
"What's most important is open, honest, transparent conversations between management and staff. In reality, you're not going to keep staff forever, but the more you know about how they see their future, the longer you'll be able to keep them happy in their job."
Business leader and author Lee Iacocca agrees: "Start with good people, lay out the rules, communicate with your employees, motivate them and reward them. If you do all those things effectively, you can't miss."
