Attract and retain top talent in today’s workforce

What you'll learn

• The four things companies need to consider in order to be successful at recruiting
• The importance of emphasizing the candidate experience
• Five levers organizations can pull in order to retain talent

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

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“The war for talent rages on — and it’s getting worse, not better.” That was how Elliot Clark, the CEO of HRO Today, set the stage for a recent podcast, Catch, Don’t Release: A Workforce Optimization Podcast. He was joined by David Napeloni, Vice President, Client Services, at Korn Ferry, and Elise Freedman, Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry.

Observing that we are “in unprecedented times” with 40% of employees actively looking for a new job, Clark noted that there’s a lot of pent-up demand for new opportunities. At the same time, he argued there’s also a great deal of wage inflation. So, employers are facing a quandary: they can’t give people in white-collar jobs enough raises to keep pace with their competition.

Meanwhile, employees are suffering from post-pandemic burnout. They’re less connected to their employer than ever because they’ve been working from home. That makes it easier for them to explore new opportunities — and harder than ever for employers to hold on to good talent.

With these trends in mind, Clark asked Napeloni and Freedman for their thoughts on how to attract and retain employees.

What can companies do to attract top talent?

Clark commented that many companies are vying for the same job families and, within them, the top 10% of the market. He asked Napeloni for the key factors that make some organizations better at attracting and hiring talent than others.

Napeloni lamented that there isn’t a “secret sauce” to help companies gain footing in a fast-changing market. “Every six months to a year, there seems to be a new emphasis on what’s important to potential candidates that our clients are trying to adjust to.” Despite the disruption in the market, Napeloni said there are four general themes among companies that are more successful at recruiting.

Four considerations for successful recruiting

First, Napeloni said, employers should ensure they meet the market range for their positions. “The almighty dollar is influencing a candidate to listen to the potential proposal from a recruiter or a client or even allowing them on a Sunday afternoon to check the needs on different job boards.” But more important than that is the entire rewards package, including benefits and signing bonuses.

Second, employers should focus on work-life balance. Napeloni suggests balance should be viewed as a benefit. “It’s no longer a tertiary area . . . and it's very important to candidates to see that.”

Third, the company needs a strong employer value proposition. The company must have a clearly articulated, positive brand that resonates with prospective employees.

Emphasizing the candidate experience

The fourth thing to consider, Napeloni remarked, is that it all folds into candidate experience. “The idea of how companies are engaging a candidate — the process by which they're putting them through the days of multiple interviews — are over. It’s the idea of pitching to a candidate rather than being pitched to by the candidate. It’s a new world.”

As a result, Napeloni suggested that companies need to recruit candidates differently. Instead of leading with a job description, employers should start with the workplace culture and work-life balance. Napeloni suggested a selling proposition, such as “you get to change the world” or “we’re leading the industry with these types of products.” Basically, it’s a pitch to candidates to help them understand their purpose in the role followed by what they might do following later in the job description.

For companies that aren’t following this trend, they can still “buy” candidates, Clark noted. But they’re going to have to make a bigger offer. And then, the candidate is more likely to have a shorter tenure than someone who had a better, more positive experience.

He added, “We don’t want to be in the rental market for people. We’re not running the Airbnb version of employment.” He then asked Freedman for tips that organizations can use to improve employee retention.

How can companies retain talent once they “catch” it?

Freedman observed, “The power has shifted over the last two years from organizations to people.” Employees have stepped back to re-evaluate their work, consider what they’re doing and why. Many of these people, she said, have chosen to make job changes for reasons including wanting to be more fulfilled, to do something different or retire.

Given the variety of reasons for leaving, there’s “no silver bullet” for retention that Freedman offered, but instead of starting with a focus on money, Freedman advised that organizations should think longer-term. “It’s about the employee experience and having a really strong employee value proposition and an equitable rewards approach.”

Freedman recommended that organizations consider five levers to pull that will help them retain talent.

1. Play for a winner: Employees need confidence that the organization is well led and headed in the right direction.
2. Ways to grow: Employees need to have a positive view of their opportunities to learn and grow with the organization.
3. A fair exchange: Employees need to know that they’re valued as people and see a balance between rewards and contributions.
4. A sense of control and influence: Employees want authority that matches their responsibilities and an opportunity to shape how work is done.
5. Environment for success: Employees want efficient work processes and collaborative support from co-workers to allow them to perform at their best.

In other words, companies need to continue recruiting their internal people as they go through their career journey. Freedman gave two examples of this internal recruitment. One company struggling to retain under-30 talent invested in a development program that involved job rotations and skill building. Another created an alumni network so they could keep former employees connected to the company and aware of new opportunities.

Building a positive culture to retain talent

Clark summed up the call by suggesting that winning at talent acquisition and retention means that employers must offer candidates and employees a positive experience. All three speakers agreed that organizations must focus on building a positive culture that attracts people and encourages them to stay.

For more tips on how to improve employee recruitment and retention, listen to the full podcast here or contact us today.