Retention Begins with Hiring

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Hanging onto good workers is always a concern for companies. When businesses find that their turnover is higher than they would like it to be, or higher than it should be, they begin by looking at ways of increasing employee retention. What they neglect to look at is the hiring process, which can have a big impact on retention.

The first thing to keep in mind when hiring is to make sure that candidates fit your company’s culture – the vision, mission and values of the business. These should be emphasized throughout the hiring process so that the candidate is well aware of what the company is all about and whether he or she would fit in with it.

To encourage retention, companies should also offer rewards and recognition to workers, have good communication among management and employees and provide a lot of feedback. The company should make job candidates aware of these things during the hiring process – both to show them the environment of the company and to make them aware that they will have to do their part to contribute to it.

Another way that employers try to find the best candidates — people who will perform and fit well – is to give them a business challenge during the hiring process. This is some type of problem for which they will attempt to find a solution. This goes beyond the traditional resume-interview process. It allows the employer to actually see how the candidate performs and how he uses his skills for the job the candidate will be doing.

Another thing employers need to work on during the hiring process is exercising due diligence when it comes to background checks. This includes verifying the information on the resume either by using social media, talking to the candidate directly, or going to the source of the information.

The same applies for reference checks. When making reference checks, employers are usually looking to have their good opinion of the candidate reinforced. Instead, they should be probing for more information about the candidate, details that may give them more of an idea of what the person is like and how they will perform.

If you need help hiring with retention in mind for your engineering, construction or architecture firm, contact the recruiters at RealStreet Staffing. Recruiting for the previously named sectors is all we do: We know where the good guys are! Contact us today.

RealStreet has proven to be a trusted resource for me for critical facility staffing needs. They strive to understand client requirements and resource them fully with a minimum of contractual actions to enable the support. I am quite satisfied with their services and give my complete recommendation.

Colonel Stuart Harrison, PE, USA (ret)

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