As more companies focus on employee retention and engagement, it is important to note that a new employee’s complete experience with a company starts at the very beginning, that is, the recruitment stage.
Without a doubt and as current trends in the talent space clearly indicate, the unprecedented need for growth after recession is now turning into a challenge for talent acquisition teams. In most cases, this means that meeting hiring goals and deadlines while identifying and attracting the best talent are now the most dominant human resource activities in growing organizations. How does this impact employee retention?
A recent article published by inc.com mentions highlights a few important facts on hiring. It also points out that success of organizations is directly related to particular hiring practices that they follow.
It is a known fact that that losing a seasoned employee can be very costly for a company. The reality is that actual costs are even higher when you factor in the time and money spent in finding a replacement and the resulting opportunity costs. Clearly, it is prudent to not only hire well but also to invest in the necessary recruitment processes and systems that would help in targeting, attracting and hiring the right person for the job. With the right recruitment system to help organize and streamline the entire hiring process, organizations can make sure that they give their talent acquisition process the attention it deserves. These good practices can eventually improve a company’s employee retention through better hiring.
There are myriads of reasons why an employee would want to quit a job but one thing is for sure – hiring the wrong person for the position could mean he or she would be leaving the company one way or another – causing various issues for organizations already fighting the challenge to bring more top talent on board.
With companies and individuals able to communicate, engage and share information in a whole variety of ways using digital media, it’s no longer enough to set up interviews or base your hiring decision on just an impressive resume and then cross your fingers and hope that you got this one right.
Employee retention isn’t about trial and error. It’s about keeping your eyes open to all possibilities and paying attention to your company’s specific requirements. At the same time you need a systemized way of assessing how well your candidates match the open positions you are hiring for.
Widen your network not just online but also in the community where your company is located. Local talent could represent a great pool of candidates to look into for some of your open positions. A lot of potential employees are actually influenced by location as a key factor for employment. Well-settled local employees may sometimes prefer proximity to alternatives even when some other competing opportunities come up, thus helping with the overall retention at your company.
Current market conditions combined with the economic upswing have brought about a market change in the current talent environment. Due to high demand and competition, top candidates are not easy to attract and hire. As a result, making a match might mean going above and beyond the call of duty to engage with your target passive talent who might be at another company or could be considering other options. Roger Mody, CEO of Signal Corp. says it pays to be flexible in scheduling interviews because recruiting is not a 9-5 activity.
The top talent you are seeking to attract, in most cases, have day jobs and would prefer to talk to you after work. They would also want to know quickly if what you are proposing or offering is worth their while. Having the flexibility to adapt to your candidate’s schedule can help start the process on the right foot while clearly showing that you have a strong interest in engaging with the candidate. Making the hiring process difficult to navigate for your candidates is a certain way to keep good talent away. Creating a good impression early on can certainly help with employee retention down the road.
One way to increase employee retention is through a systematic approach to hiring. When you have your job description down to the last detail, you will have a clear sense for the kind of employee you are looking to hire. In addition, getting organized with a complete recruitment management system can make a big difference. With that, you can easily streamline and automate your hiring workflow with next-gen applicant tracking, source talent with social recruiting, distribute your jobs via multiple channels and quickly screen thousands of resumes to save time and create a short list of qualified candidates.
Good communication during the hiring process is often underestimated, yet plays an extremely important role in making sure that your candidates stay engaged and interested. An integrated recruiting software system makes the communication process easier by enabling you to send automated as well as customized messages to your candidates ensuring that your candidates don’t lose interest as in often the case with companies where the hiring process includes minimum communication with candidates. Frequent acknowledgement of your candidates’ involvement in the process can go a long way in your hiring efforts and help in building a relationship to last.
By making your recruitment process seem less like a black hole and a robotic process, you are not only differentiating yourself from others but actually making a lasting impression on your chosen candidate. With this, you may soon find that applicants don’t need much convincing to go through an otherwise rigorous and intense recruitment process. Always keep employee retention in mind during the selection process.
According to Kelly Global Workforce Index on Employee Engagement and Retention 2013, about 43% of employees frequently think about quitting their current job and 38% look for work/life balance more than the monetary compensation. Make sure that you work closely with your team to offer a great compensation package. But most importantly, take the time to understand what motivates the individual you are considering for the position. If your candidates are genuinely excited about the work your company does, they are likely to want to love work here for a long time. In addition, what you can offer in the future in terms of interesting work and learning opportunities will go a long way in keeping them excited about what they do.
Some of these simple steps in the hiring process can possibly guarantee a good match and this can carry over to better employee retention past the recruitment process. When you hire candidates the right way and pay attention to these details during the recruiting process, the rewards definitely exceed the painstaking time it takes to actually convince the right person to join your company.
Better employee retention and engagement is another critical outcome of good recruitment practices. In addition, you will be saving your company a lot of time and money by putting solid recruitment strategies and processes in place.
Photo by Alex Kotliarskyi on Unsplash