For years I have heard from business owners how challenging it is to retain and recruit good, hard-working and engaged employees. Let me share some strategies and tactics on both sides of the coin. You should be able to apply these suggestions immediately.
The most important thing any company can do is to retain the employees it does not want to lose. While I have given this advice in the past, now, more than ever, leaders need to take the time to actually write down the names of those employees that they want to stay on their payroll. A good approach to this process is to make three lists. The first is the list of those employees whose contributions are critical to the current and ongoing success of your company. In other words, identify your “A” employees. The second list includes those who the company would prefer to keep, if given a choice, but their loss would not be critical. These are your “B” employees. The third list consists of all other employees; let’s call these “C” employees. If employee retention is a priority for the company, it needs to be a priority for you. The amount of time actually spent on addressing this challenge will determine if it is an actual priority or just wishful thinking and idle chatter.
When it comes to retaining employees, continuing to do what everyone else in your industry does (and what your company has always done) yet expecting a different result is business insanity! You might want to make it a priority to learn what your employees are leaving to join. Find out why they have left or could be leaving you. We always think people leave for more money. That may be a reason, especially with the rate of inflation so high. My take is that people tend to depart places when they are not treated with dignity and respect, don’t see a path to become better at what they do or make valuable contributions to their employer, and, most important, don’t have confidence in the financial stability of their employer.
Retention Strategy
When it comes to retention, which is always less expensive than filling vacancies, I recommend making your two most important lists first. Your first list (“A” employees) should be obvious; and those on the “C” list should be clear to you as well. This is a task for the owner, but it is okay to ask for input in a generic sense, such as “What kind of team member and contributor is Mike?” This information will help you gain perspective on what names goes on which list.
Now that you have your first list, you need to sit down with the “A” players and have a conversation with them before they walk in and tell you they are leaving. You need to engage these employees. The cost of turnover has been determined to be up to three times the salary of the departing individual. That does not include the downtime that the company will have to deal with while filling the vacancy, nor does it include the ramp-up time it will take an individual to learn the job and the company before this person starts to make a contribution.
As for the “B” list, my question is how much effort will it take for you, and the team member, to move up to being an “A” player? Why take on this initiative? Why exert the energy for these people?
In my observational research, “A” players have the work ethic and can put forth the work effort of three to five “C” team members. Your goal should be to train, educate and coach your “B” players to move up to being better contributors.
Continual Recruitment
Every company in business today needs to follow a very simple rule: Always be recruiting. You can no longer wait until there is a vacancy before starting to look for talent. I am sure that you’re thinking, “I can’t hire anyone; I don’t have the money.”
I’m not asking you to spend more on payroll. I am saying that you need to be having conversations with prospective employees, and you need to be doing this all the time. The “help wanted” sign must always be up and the door must always be open to accepting inquiries.
Applications should be available from the receptionist for walk-ins. To that end, your website should have a way for job seekers to apply for future openings. Or, perhaps, even a separate website devoted to the openings, both current and future, that the company may fill.
Your company should have a program to pay employees for individuals that are referred to be hired. Consider the investment of time and money to have a constant presence on social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
If you’re looking for employees, market for them just as you would for clients. The one channel that many people ignore when it comes to recruiting is they fail to use their personal network. Get the word out to every company you write a check to that you are looking to hire. Today, great candidates are being hired very quickly; offers are being extended literally right after the interview concludes. It’s that kind of market.
Is there such a thing as a perfect candidate? No, it’s an illusion. If you were to ask 100 hiring managers if they were ever able to hire the individual who met every so-called requirement, the answer would be no. Your best bet is to hire someone who has most of what you need. Then, work with the new hire to close the gap on what is missing. Notice the difference?
Instead of hiring for what you want, you focus on what you need.
I’d start by going back to those candidates that you interviewed and left hanging. If some of those individuals are available, make them offers. If they are no longer in the job market, ask them if they know someone who is looking. Then, work on speeding up your hiring process followed by further clarifying what your minimums are for open positions. You don’t want to have to settle for that, but you should be prepared just in case.
This labor shortage is not going away; it will be here for decades. When it comes to retaining and recruiting employees, the choice is to continue to do what you and everyone else does, expecting a different result, or learn to market for employees, which holds the potential for achieving far different and better results.
