Here’s How Recruitment Can Guard Against Turnover

Guarding against turnover is a key responsibility of anyone involved in the recruitment process. Your job isn’t simply to find qualified candidates for open positions. You also need to find candidates who are likely to remain at your company for the long haul.

This can seem difficult, particularly in today’s environment. According to research, Millennials and Generation Z employees are more likely than past generations to hop from one job to another in order to find the ideal opportunity. You need to do what you can to ensure this trend doesn’t negatively impact your business. After all, consider that the average cost of turnover is $15,000 per employee. From a basic financial perspective, it’s crucial to fill vacant roles with people who aren’t going to leave the moment a new opportunity arises.

That’s why you need to ensure you’re making an open position seem as appealing as possible when recruiting new employees. If they join the team already having plenty of reasons to want to work for the company, they’ll be less inclined to leave it in the near future.

Luckily, this doesn’t need to be as challenging as you might assume. The following basic tips will help you achieve this goal.

Highlight Growth Opportunities

You certainly want to highlight a competitive salary, stock options, and benefits package when attracting new talent. Job candidates want to know they will be well compensated for their work.

However, these are not the only benefits worth discussing when speaking with potential new hires. You should also make a point of focusing on perks that other organizations may not provide.

For example, young employees tend to be ambitious now. They don’t leave companies solely in pursuit of higher pay — they want to work at organizations where they know they will have growth opportunities. With this in mind, you should let candidates know if your organization offers chances to learn and grow, whether that’s through a mentoring program, training and professional development opportunities, or a commitment to hiring from within for leadership roles. While it’s still important to offer competitive compensation, a job that pays slightly less than another but provides clear growth opportunities may still be more appealing to ambitious candidates.

Describe the Corporate Culture

Culture fit is easy to overlook during the recruitment process. That said, you shouldn’t neglect this significant detail. Finding candidates who will fit in with their coworkers and respect your organization’s values is essential.

It’s also a good idea to introduce candidates to the culture during interviews. This is yet another way you can make a job more attractive to the right people.

For instance, perhaps several candidates you’re considering for a position are young and have an interest in working at a company where people share a “work hard, play hard” mentality. Demonstrating that a company’s workforce embodies these values, and that the overall corporate culture supports them, is a smart way to let qualified candidates know that they will fit in.

Consider Flexible Scheduling & Remote Work Policies

Technology has made it easy for many employees to complete their work on their own time, in their own home or anywhere else they wish to work. This had yielded an increase in the number of people working remotely. Additionally, more and more employers are allowing workers who report to the office to come and go as they please, finishing tasks according to the schedule that works best for them.

Offering this degree of flexibility isn’t practical when employees need to collaborate, and it won’t work at all in certain industries. Still, if your organization does offer flexible scheduling or remote work options some of the time, these are important to highlight during recruitment. As these policies become more common, employees are placing greater value on them. An employee who joins your company with the knowledge that flexibility is a major organizational value will appreciate having the freedom to work on their own time. They may also be less likely to seek out work elsewhere.

Focus on Unique Perks

It’s also worth mentioning that some companies offer unique benefits that align with their brands and values. For instance, at Patagonia, where nature and outdoor recreation are important to the company’s identity, employees working near beaches are allowed to go surfing during work hours if they spot good waves and don’t want to miss out on ideal surf conditions. These are the kinds of quirky perks that give candidates and new hires a reason to stick around for the long term. Perks like these are an example of a company taking its values and mission seriously — something that talented candidates want to see.

The above tips can help you emphasize your organization’s strengths to employees even before they’re hired. Remember that it’s also necessary to reinforce a positive work environment and deliver on promises once a candidate actually joins the organization. However, focusing on such benefits during recruitment is also critical to attracting and keeping strong talent.