If you search for outside talent whenever your business needs change, you might be overlooking a rich resource much closer at hand: your own staff.

Think about it for a moment. You’re hoping to recruit a smart, creative, motivated and energetic mind interested in taking on the new and exciting challenge you have to offer. Someone, no doubt, who’s talented yet unchallenged in her current job, where her manager sees her as only filling a designated slot and accomplishing a narrowly defined task.

Could it be that this restless employee is on your own payroll?

That’s the argument that Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans make in Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em: Getting Good People to Stay. The authors enumerate 26 ways—A to Z—to enrich the work lives of your best employees. Central to the concept is nurturing and developing talent within your organization by offering stimulating challenges and an exciting workplace. Here are a few tips to mine the rich vein of talent already on your payroll:

Support Growth: It’s easy to believe that a team member’s value lies exclusively in doing a good job. But completing tasks effectively doesn’t drive the organization forward—nor is it ultimately very fulfilling. Consider tapping her ambition for yourself.

Show Respect: Do your best workers know that you respect them and their abilities and that you’re willing to trust them with new responsibilities?

Energize the Job: If you’re searching for outside talent, remember the other side of the coin: Your disengaged employees may be looking elsewhere for growth and challenge. Keep them stimulated with fresh new challenges.

Expand Options: Career movement doesn’t necessarily mean up or out, especially in today’s “flat” organizations. Consider other ways to satisfy your employees’ ambitions.

Mine Opportunities: When new opportunities surface—such as expansion or new markets—assign them to motivated employees.

Yield Power: For an entrepreneur, this is easier said than done, but delegating true responsibility, not just tasks, is the best way to energize your staff.

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