4 Ways to Lose the People You Hire

If this list describes your recruiting process, you may soon be looking for a new employee to fill the spot you think you  just filled.

For employers, those are shuddering statistics. Replacing employees is time consuming and expensive. When you bring a new person on board, the last thing you need is to be replacing that position again in the short term.  Yet, many employers find themselves in this time consuming and money-draining situation. Here are four ways to ensure that you’re not one of them.

The fact that you have a position to fill indicates you have an unmet need, so your haste to fill that need is understandable. But it’s not smart. If you rush the candidate screening process (or don’t have one at all), fast-forward the interviews without really getting to know your candidates, or extend an offer before giving the candidate a chance to meet the team, you will likely find yourself with an incomplete match. Culture fit is essential to the long-term success of your employees, and getting the right culture fit takes time. If you are simply focused on filling a seat, you’ll get exactly that – a filled seat (for now).

You found the person you wanted, extended an offer, and they accepted. Everything has been signed, and your new employee is walking in the door for their first day. Check the box! Recruiting is over, right? Wrong. The success of your recruiting depends at least as much on the onboarding process as the recruiting process. If you simply throw your new hire into the fray without the proper introductions, expectations, or the right tools to do the job correctly, you will lose the employee – mentally if he sticks around, and physically if he doesn’t.

Every company watches the bottom line; what are you doing to watch your people just as closely? They are more than just “equipment.” They have unique needs. They feel emotion. They want to know how they are contributing to the organization’s success. They want to enjoy coming to work. Too many companies forget to formally recognize their employees for jobs well done, provide ongoing personal/professional development opportunities, or offer regular feedback on job performance. These companies find themselves with dispassionate, unhappy, and unproductive employees. That’s because the best employees have already left.

Total compensation will always be a primary factor in employee satisfaction and longevity. We’re not just talking about salary, medical and 401k plans however. What kind of creative benefits (gym memberships, time off for volunteer work, flex work schedules, etc.) do you offer your employees? How flexible are you in accommodating their personal time? What opportunities do they have to participate in work outside their normal job descriptions? The cost of these types of fringe benefits is more than offset by the increased engagement and happiness of your employees. If they are not excited to work for you, they will find another business where they are.

Enough negativity. This list does not have to describe your company. With appropriate attention to the right details, you can hire top people and be confident that they will be with you for a long time. Brightwing is committed to helping you do that. We do more than just provide qualified candidates; we partner with you to make sure those candidates fit your culture and want to work for you. We’ll help you bring the right people in, then help you make them want to stay.