3 Strategies PROVEN to Increase Your Employee Retention
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you knew within a few months that your new hire was not going to work out? Whether they struggled to adapt to the job, had poor timekeeping, or clashed with the management team, you realized that their tenure would be short-lived. However, due to the investment of time, money, and resources in their recruitment, onboarding, training, and salary, letting them go would be a costly decision.
In reality, that bad hire likely cost your firm over £100K in direct and indirect costs. It’s clear that improving employee retention should be a priority to save both time and money.
- Move Away from Contingency-Based Recruiters
To enhance your hiring approach, start by shifting from using contingency-based recruiters to retaining a recruiter. Contingency recruitment means you pay a recruiter only if you hire one of their candidates, while retained recruitment involves paying a partial fee upfront.
Contingency-based recruiters often face competition from other recruiters for the same roles, leading to divided efforts. As a result, they may allocate only 20% of their resources to your assignment. By hiring a recruiter on a retained basis, you provide them with the financial stability to invest more time and effort in your recruitment process. This typically yields a shortlist of stronger, better-matched candidates, allowing you to choose from a pool of top-tier talent.
- Involve Candidates in the Process of Assess Commitment
Most candidates are typically involved in the hiring process through CV submission, conversations with recruiters, and job interviews. While these steps assess skills and experience, they often fail to measure a candidate’s enthusiasm for the role. Consequently, you may end up hiring someone who is solely motivated by a salary or title bump, only to see them return to their former workplace within a few months.
To evaluate candidates’ commitment, introduce additional steps in the application process. Asking candidates to complete tasks such as creating an introductory video, undergoing a behavioral assessment, or completing a competency questionnaire can provide valuable insights into their dedication. The level of effort they put into these exercises can reveal their true enthusiasm for the position.
- Utilize Behavioral Surveys Early in the Process
Many businesses focus on hiring based on skills and experience but often face challenges related to behavioral issues when it comes to employee retention. To mitigate this, consider incorporating behavioral surveys before offering candidates a contract.
It’s surprising that more employers do not utilize behavioral surveys, and when they do, it is often as an afterthought, too late in the process to have a significant impact. A proactive approach is to assess the behavioral profiles of your top performers in similar roles and create a benchmark profile against which future candidates can be evaluated. By comparing candidates against this benchmark, you can identify individuals whose behavioral traits align with your successful employees, increasing the likelihood of long-term retention.
Bad hires are not only expensive but also disruptive, and once they are in place, the problem is difficult to fix. By implementing these strategies, you can improve your employee retention, save costs, and create a more productive and harmonious work environment. For more information on how we can help your recruitment process contact us at +1 332 600 8926 or email as at [email protected]
