Recruit to Retain in 5 Steps

Every good manager knows that retention is key. Replacing an experienced associate with a new hire can cost 25% of the position salary in upfront recruiting costs alone, and that doesn’t even include the costs associated with training, lowered production, the institutional knowledge drain, and the added slowdown in both internal and external business relationships as they are sundered and re-built with the new hire. Recruiting carefully and wisely and for the long-term is truly the most cost-effective choice from any perspective.

When you recruit to retain you are considering the long-term view of recruitment. You’re searching not only for the candidate who fits a skills list and has a decent employment history, you’re also searching for the candidate with a deeper, longer lasting fit. The candidate with longevity fits well into your corporate culture, is comfortable with the skills they need right now, has potential and interest to add skills and experience that will continue to benefit your organization for years into the future, and will invest in the success of their team and your organization. A search that goes this deep to find a long-term fit can take a little longer, but it pays off for many years after the initial hire.

What does Step Up Recruiting need to recruit to retain for your organization?

1. Knowledge. We need to take some time to understand your organization and the open position so that we can design a search for your ideal candidate. A deep dive into your corporate culture, your goals, and what kind of employee would complement and enhance both your team now and your organization over time. Patience with our questions can bring savings with increased retention, and even affect your bottom line when you take on employees who invest their careers in your company.
2. Knowledge again. We take the same amount of time to dive into our candidates. Not only do we check their references and match their skill sets to your needs, but we spend time getting to know the candidate and what they want from a job, what their career goals are, and what kind of corporate culture helps them to grow and thrive. This way, we can make a match that works well for both our clients and our candidates.
3. Partnership. We need to work with your Human Resources department. While we work hard to find the candidates with the best fit, and we do after-care that exceeds client expectations…the simple fact is, your HR department is going to be working with our candidates over many years ahead. We need to know what they’re looking for in a candidate, too. We want your new hire to fit every aspect of your company.
4. Listen. We work hard to give an honest, realistic presentation about the open position and your organization to the candidate so all of us (the recruiter, the client, and the candidate) feel comfortable and fully informed about this very big decision about fit. If you’re working hard to change something that isn’t working in your culture, hiring practices, or wherever you’re working to improve, tell us. If there’s something your company or team struggles with, we might be able to find a candidate with the experience or skills to help you grow and improve…or a candidate who is interested in being a part of the change you’re making.
5. Time to dive. We’re looking carefully at each candidate. There’s no such thing as a guarantee or a truly perfect fit, but we do our best. Sometimes, the best possible candidate may have to learn a new skill, have a 6-month gap in employment, and hits every right note but one. We are committed to honesty and integrity and you’ll be the first to know about that difference, but we’ll also be honest about what makes this candidate worth a second look beyond the first glance, too. We’re not throwing the first good resume your way. We take time to interview and vet candidates with the very best current and long-term fit for your organization after a deep and intensive search.

It takes a little more time and a little more effort to recruit to retain, but it pays off in lower HR costs, consistent productivity, and employees who are investing themselves in an organization that fits just right for years to come.