Don't let the best talent leave you

Posted by on

Hiring the talent that your company needs can be a tedious task but is not the most difficult one; retaining them is even more complicated.

According to recent research, businesses have just five days to impress new workers. This means that those probationary periods to check that new members are up to scratch could also be the perfect moment to impress the workers and convince them to stay.

The survey questioned over 4,000 employees on what makes them stick around or leave a new role. These were some of the conclusions:

  • 41% of new workers decide whether they want to stay or leave in the first week of work
  • 30% of new members of the team will leave if they are unhappy and find another job
  • 48% of people still looking for a job up to a month after starting a new role

Candidates have the power

In many sectors we are operating in a candidate-driven market which means that companies need to hire the best candidates quicker than ever.

It is estimated that hiring and training a new team member costs the company between 30-40% of that person’s annual salary. That’s why hanging on to these new recruits sounds quite reasonable -as long as they can do their job well of course!

How to welcome them properly

If we want to make our new recruits feel welcome during their first days of work we’ll need to provide them with the information they need about the role. These first few days are also a good opportunity for them to forge their first key relationships with colleagues.

“Best practices for retaining new employees” [link?] from the professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers contains key tips on how to tackle this. Some of these tips include:

-Communicating realistic expectations of the role

-Offering proper training to avoid new recruits becoming disappointed early on

-Assigning buddies to your new recruits so they can get used to your company culture

-Making sure work/life balance opportunities such as remote working and gym membership’s match with what new workers have been told during the recruitment process. 

Make yourself sticky for your employees

Have a think about what you can do and offer to make yourself more attractive  for newly-arrived workers.

In today’s market, where candidates have many options to choose from, it makes sense to do what you can to turn new starters into loyal, committed and long-term employees.