So, you’ve slaved your way through CVs, cover notes and applications. You’ve shook countless shaky hands. You’ve sat and listened to great and some not so great interviews. You’ve finally found the dream candidate and hired them.
But is that the work done? Absolutely not; the work is just getting started.
Challenge of Retention
Irish unemployment is at the lowest it has been in an awfully long time. While that’s great news for the country, it makes employers’ jobs that bit harder, faced with the challenge of attracting the best talent from their competitors, and once obtained, retaining them through a combination of work life balance, job satisfaction and loyalty.
With Millennials now a stalwart in the workplace, and Gen Z flooding into the Irish working population, more and more candidates feel less committed to companies, opting to jump ships several times, especially early in their careers.
This leaves Irish companies fighting amongst each other to coax the best talent to come to them, placing increasing budget spend on the candidate recruitment process and on workspace elements which will attract and retain.
Both costly and time-consuming, recruitment can quickly become a major headache for any business in the tight market that exists in Ireland currently.
How Can Your HR Team Help?
Getting the initial months right for a new recruit is key. They need to feel welcomed, invited and nurtured by all of your team. Depending on your business scale, that could mean their own narrow department, or it could mean the wider organisation. Regardless, ensuring that new recruits are transitioned smoothly into the workplace, grasp their basic tasks quick and that they feel welcomed by the company will make or break their loyalty and experience at your company.
From putting in place former mentorship programmes, 1-to-1’s with line management or providing internal and informal networking opportunities amongst staff will keep regular communication high on the agenda, and foster communication as a given for any staff member, not just a new recruit.
This will help staff feel valued, as well as feel they have the opportunity to learn and grow within their new roles.
While socialisation at work is important, fostering an opt in or opt out culture from the beginning of a new recruit’s journey will make employees feel comfortable to make their own decisions about what they will or will not get involved in.
Avoiding notions of judgement or peer pressure, new recruits will have the option to be as social as they want within the working environment.
Arguably, it begins during the recruitment process. A new recruit may have accepted the job, but were they satisfied with your company during the interview process? Or are they leveraging this opportunity to help them move up the ladder to the next?
Ensuring that new candidates agree with your brand values and feel comfortable and happy to work for your company will help with loyalty.
But, ultimately, fostering loyalty comes down to one thing: ensuring all employees have a reason to stay. Workers who feel appreciated, satisfied with their career development and enjoy a healthy work-life balance will have a reason to stay loyal to your company and to take their eyes off your competitors. After all, flashing the cash may distract for a while, but nothing can beat old fashioned appreciation and respect for hard work.
Foster loyalty in this way through your HR team and you won’t have to worry about retaining talent – the talent will come to you.
But is that the work done? Absolutely not; the work is just getting started.
Challenge of Retention
Irish unemployment is at the lowest it has been in an awfully long time. While that’s great news for the country, it makes employers’ jobs that bit harder, faced with the challenge of attracting the best talent from their competitors, and once obtained, retaining them through a combination of work life balance, job satisfaction and loyalty.
With Millennials now a stalwart in the workplace, and Gen Z flooding into the Irish working population, more and more candidates feel less committed to companies, opting to jump ships several times, especially early in their careers.
This leaves Irish companies fighting amongst each other to coax the best talent to come to them, placing increasing budget spend on the candidate recruitment process and on workspace elements which will attract and retain.
Both costly and time-consuming, recruitment can quickly become a major headache for any business in the tight market that exists in Ireland currently.
How Can Your HR Team Help?
- Introductions are Key
Getting the initial months right for a new recruit is key. They need to feel welcomed, invited and nurtured by all of your team. Depending on your business scale, that could mean their own narrow department, or it could mean the wider organisation. Regardless, ensuring that new recruits are transitioned smoothly into the workplace, grasp their basic tasks quick and that they feel welcomed by the company will make or break their loyalty and experience at your company.
- Regular Communication
From putting in place former mentorship programmes, 1-to-1’s with line management or providing internal and informal networking opportunities amongst staff will keep regular communication high on the agenda, and foster communication as a given for any staff member, not just a new recruit.
This will help staff feel valued, as well as feel they have the opportunity to learn and grow within their new roles.
- Opting In or Out of a Social Culture
While socialisation at work is important, fostering an opt in or opt out culture from the beginning of a new recruit’s journey will make employees feel comfortable to make their own decisions about what they will or will not get involved in.
Avoiding notions of judgement or peer pressure, new recruits will have the option to be as social as they want within the working environment.
- Foster Loyalty
Arguably, it begins during the recruitment process. A new recruit may have accepted the job, but were they satisfied with your company during the interview process? Or are they leveraging this opportunity to help them move up the ladder to the next?
Ensuring that new candidates agree with your brand values and feel comfortable and happy to work for your company will help with loyalty.
But, ultimately, fostering loyalty comes down to one thing: ensuring all employees have a reason to stay. Workers who feel appreciated, satisfied with their career development and enjoy a healthy work-life balance will have a reason to stay loyal to your company and to take their eyes off your competitors. After all, flashing the cash may distract for a while, but nothing can beat old fashioned appreciation and respect for hard work.
Foster loyalty in this way through your HR team and you won’t have to worry about retaining talent – the talent will come to you.
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