Because it’s a candidate market, retention should be at your top of pile to-do item. The cost of hiring, on-boarding, and training goes just short of the disruption and distraction it creates within the work environment. If you’re like me, the first thing that comes to mind when hiring, is what strategy can be used to keep this one satisfied, productive and engaged…retention.
Make sure you take your time through the qualifying process. Better it to be a grueling process up front, than a regretful one on the back-end. It’s even standard now to perform your qualification session, have the hiring manager interview, and even then, have the candidate interview with potential peers and the leadership that would be the stakeholders to the function.
Understand their preferred path of progression within the company and create and monitor milestones aligned to it. Let them know you’re listening and supporting their growth and success.
Make sure the salary fits the skills/experience and the candidate fits the culture.
Are your company benefits competitive? Do they offer flextime or remote opportunities? Many candidates place Learning and Development up there with salary, so hopefully you have Training opportunities in check.
Are you leveraging your new employee to their fullest? Have you had the time for that “talk and listen” session? I’ve found out so many snippets of interesting facts about my employees, that I would’ve never known based on their resume. Resumes are almost always tailored to the job. Ask them, I’ll bet they surprise you! Talk and listen doesn’t just have to be when the employee is new, see what’s going on with them 6 months, 12 months, 3 years down the line. Incorporate it into your performance reviews or that spontaneous “let’s grab coffee” connection that is also an important gesture towards recognition…I see you. Ask them why they are still with you… It’s a great way to gather retention intel.
Fun Fact: In my early 20’s this large media corporation in LA put me through one of those 2-hour HR personality tests. They hired me, but it’s funny because I left before lunch hour on my first day, so obviously it didn’t work or they didn’t get the results back in time 😊