The Secret to Recruiting and Retaining Today’s Top Talent

The Gallop Job Creation Report released February 1, 2017 reveals that job creation was up +34 in January 2017.  The report further claims job creation has been in a steady upward trend since May 2016.  None of us in corporate America needed the report to tell us what we already know – companies are growing and desperately in need of new employees to handle the increased workload

The market has shifted and in this growing, increasingly more complex and competitive market, doing what you’ve done before no longer works. Supply and demand applies as much to employees as it does to markets.  Current employees are getting as choosy as new hires.

What does it take now to attract and hire the incremental talent you need, while also keeping your current employees engaged?

First, you’ll need to understand exactly how the market has shifted.

Key 2017 Employment Trends to Take to Heart 

• Poaching is on the rise. Glassdoor, in their 2017 Job Trends Report, noted, “Fewer available candidates — leading to today’s growing reliance on recruiting from passive, already employed candidates.”
• Top talent is garnering multiple job offers. Glassdoor observes, “Job interviews are taking longer than ever. That can lead to candidates being lost to the competition, or to lost productivity.”
• Employees expect more. Given the unpredictability of the job market, employees have learned to focus on meeting their needs.  They’re now in the best position in a long time to demand those needs be met.

How do you respond to these challenging new trends with winning, competitive talent management strategies?

Recruit to Win:

7 Recruiting Strategies to Implement Now 

1. Cater to job seekers.
   A CareerBuilder Harris Poll survey determined “Any barriers … between job seekers and employers will only drive job seekers to your competitors. Think about how you can treat candidates the same way you would cater to consumers. Candidates are increasingly adopting a consumer mentality and expect to ‘shop for’ jobs.” Make application easy and inviting.
2. Humanize your hiring process.
   Differentiate your company by giving candidates what they are looking for, suggests CareerBuilder in their Human Resource Trends report. Consider including contact information for a real person.   According to CareerBuilder’s 2016 Candidate Behavior Study, 81% of job seekers would like the contact information of the person who posted the job before applying, while 72% want to talk to a recruiter or hiring manager.
3. Shorten the hiring process as much as possible.
   Current research shows the hiring process is stretching out, while candidate’s patience is not.  Long hiring processes also negatively impacts company productivity.  It derails the interviewing team from the work they were hired to do, while delaying the pursuit of profitable new ventures while current staff is short-handed.
4. Be ready to make a quick decision.
   Snooze and you’ll lose the candidate to someone else who acted more decisively.
5. Be willing to hire a high potential candidate you can train.
   According to CareerBuilder’s Harris Poll survey, 55% of employers said they would train workers who don’t have experience in their field and hire them in 2017.
6. Provide competitive pay and benefits.
   Gym memberships, on-site massage and pets in the office make for great press, but today’s job seekers care more about fair, competitive pay, and more traditional paid time off. Per CareerBuilder’s Harris Poll survey,2/3 of employers plan to increase salaries on initial job offers; 30% of all employers will increase it by 5% or more. Provide competitive benefits that matter and meet or beat prevailing salary expectations. This is equally true for retention – keeping your current employees… your current employees.
7. Flex.
   Changes in employer and employee needs encourage adapting policy to embrace part time work, telecommuting, bringing back former employees, meeting temporary needs with contract employment. Over reliance on the “gig economy” will ultimately weaken a company’s ability to build and maintain institutional knowledge. 

Retention: 

3 Steps to Poach-Proofing Your Employees & Improving Your Operational Efficiency

1. Invest in employee development.
   It’s more cost-effective to train current and new employees than to get into bidding wars to hire scarce talent. Investing in your current employees also demonstrates your commitment to them and their role in your company’s future success. Remember to include leadership and management training in your Employee Development plan, as the #1 reason employees leave their job is because they do not get along with their boss.  Poorly trained managers costs companies money.
2. Make employee engagement a core, measureable value.
   Engaged employees are happier, more productive and less likely to leave.  New tools make it faster, more affordable and easier than ever to monitor what’s happening in the trenches.
3. Use technology to deliver on the right HR goals.
   Glassdoor advises “Using data science in HR to make even small improvements in recruiting, hiring, and engagement has the potential for huge benefits to organizations.”  CareerBuilder cautions, “Ensure you are gathering and analyzing the correct data points. Take a step back and evaluate whether you are paying attention to metrics that matter. Instead of focusing on big data, focus on rich data — or data that is used to predict behavior.”

Huffington Post reports: “Millennials are changing the hiring game…they are after fame and fortune. If a great company can offer both the money and the challenges, they will not move, as they want to feel a sense of purpose and build those connections.” As Bob Dylan crooned back in the ‘60s and is truer than ever, “The times, they are a changin.”  If you don’t step forward today, you may well find yourself left behind tomorrow.

The Secret to Recruiting and Retaining Today’s Top Talent

Connie Dorigan, Founder and Director of Recruiting, sees the food processing industry as the link between good living and good people. She’s the west coast’s most experienced and trusted food processing recruiter. She also provides Executive and Career Coaching and lots of free job search tools. Once you’ve connected with Connie, you’ll always be connected.

© 2018 Connie Dorigan. All rights reserved.

This is a general interest article and does not constitute specific or legal advice.