The world is going through a financial rough patch that has caused unprecedented layoffs. Salaries are barely keeping up with the increasing inflation. The employees’ expectations have changed and finding and retaining great talent is harder than ever before.
In 2023 the rules of the game are very different from before. Let’s go over some of these challenges and learn how you can tackle them.
Challenge #1: Attract talent
Most companies, including those in the tech sector are running their hiring process on an antiquated model. They rely solely on their Talent Acquisition (TA) team to do all the recruiting work. The TA team is supposed to use their limited social networks to the fullest and convince great candidates to come onboard even when the compensation and benefits are below average, the work environment is not that great or job security can’t be guaranteed.
In addition to the TA team’s struggle to work miracles and pull top candidates out of their hat, there’s also a big issue with the interviewing process. It’s not uncommon to build a bad reputation or to miss great talent due to a tedious and ineffective interviewing process.
Usually this is how it goes: the candidate gets interviewed by people who know very little about the job (and can’t answer most of their questions), then have to go through 2 or 3 more interviews, they are asked to handle time-consuming projects to prove their worth, to then be ghosted by the company they were so aggressively approached by.
Most often than not, the overall interviewing experience turns into a bad one for the candidate who will most likely share their feedback with their peers, hence shrinking your candidate pool further.
Solution
Build your talent acquisition process around employer branding and employee advocacy. Stop relying on your TA team’s efforts and limited social network, instead enable all your employees to spread the word on how great it is to work for your company. Also, review the candidate screening process and simplify it.
Start by writing your Employee Value Proposition (EVP): identifying what makes your company special, what sets it apart from all the other companies in your line of work. Are you running an attractive compensation plan that no one else offers? Are your benefits spectacular? Or maybe your company’s culture is employee-focused and sets a great environment for your employees to develop their skills? Take the time to figure out what makes your company great and build your brand around that.
Then, become active on social media and let the world know how great it is to work for your company. Share your company’s accomplishments, put your top performers and newly-promoted employees in the spotlight, and show the world how much fun your employees are having at work.
Identify your company’s ambassadors and incentivize them to promote your business. Create an attractive employee referral plan and have people outside your HR organization help you find great talent.
Make sure that the job post is clear and transparent – the candidate should have a decent understanding of your expectations for the role and must be aware of the compensation offered. Spare them from going through multiple rounds of interviews to then find out that your offer doesn’t match their expectations.
Ensure that the TA representative knows what the job they are trying to fill entails and that the questions they have prepared for the candidate are relevant. If you are hiring for a technical role, have the TA rep go through a basic technical training beforehand. One of the most common issues tech candidates complain about is that the TA team has no technical knowledge, thus making them unable to properly assess their skills.
Respect your candidate’s time. Typically 2 rounds of interviews is sufficient to make a call, so don’t drag them into conversations with stakeholders who have nothing to do with the job.
And lastly, follow-up with the candidate after the interview. Don’t ghost them! Keep in mind that a bad interview experience will build you a bad reputation and this will decrease your candidate pool, so treat all candidates as you would your clients.
Challenge #2: Employee retention & engagement
Let’s first define employee engagement. Employee engagement is the emotional commitment an employee has to their work and their company’s goals. How do we measure engagement? Quick answer: if your employees are engaged, the turnover rate is low and productivity is high over a long period of time.
In the past 2 years many companies have been going through “The big resignation”. A higher than ever number of employees have left their job in search of a work environment that is more in tune with their personality and goals. The mentality of the employee has shifted tremendously. Nowadays employees believe that you don’t have to dedicate your entire life to a single employer, and that in reality there are plenty of opportunities to choose from.
In an overly-competitive market, prioritizing employee engagement can give you a huge advantage.
Solution
If you are serious about keeping your employees happy, develop and maintain a positive, transparent and growth enabling work environment.
Train your management team. It’s a known fact that over 50% of job exits are caused by a poor relationship between the manager and the employee. Some of the most common complaints from the employees leaving their job is that their boss is disconnected from the day-to-day reality of the employee, that they are distant and unsupportive, and that they don’t communicate their goals clearly. Remember that the managers are the pillars of your business, so invest in their training!
Make sure that your compensation and benefits plan is competitive. If you want to hire and retain top talent, pay them accordingly! It is true that most companies are currently going through some financial difficulties, so if your company can’t keep up with inflation, then focus on the other elements that make a work environment great – continue reading to find out more.
Launch and support employee recognition programs. Make a habit of rewarding performance publicly. Also, build incentive plans to reinforce good performance and keep the team motivated.
Provide continuous training opportunities for your employees. Allow them to expand their knowledge and develop their skills so that they can grow professionally and, in time, take on more challenging and rewarding work.
Also, make the work environment fun. Hold themed days, team building events and corporate parties. And if your team works onsite make sure that you have a relaxation room that is equipped with at least a ping pong table and gaming console. Can you afford to provide free snacks and beverages once in a while? If you can, throw that in! The idea is to have your employees associate the workplace with more than just work.
Challenge #3: Employee wellbeing
As stated before, if you want to attract and retain great employees you need to meet their needs. Therefore, ensuring employees’ wellbeing is more relevant than ever.
The term “employee wellbeing” refers to behaviors that support the employee’s physical and mental health. The new generation of employees is no longer willing to put their job above their wellbeing; they are looking for meaningful work in organizations that value them as human beings first of all and that provide them work security, flexibility and a work-life balance.
Solution
Help your employees live a healthy life. Send a monthly wellness newsletter to teach and remind them to maintain and improve their health. Celebrate mental health every month and include access to health specialists in your benefits package.
If your team works remotely, schedule recurring social meetings, encourage group work, and facilitate access to communication channels for the team members to easily interact with each other.
Be mindful of your employees’ work schedule and refrain from having them work overtime unless you’re dealing with a crisis situation.
If your business allows it, provide additional paid time off for special events, and allow a flexible work schedule.
Conclusion
In 2023 we need to change our recruiting strategy and start focusing on employer branding and employee advocacy. Competition in the labor market is higher than ever so any business leader needs to harness as much of their human capital as possible to help with attracting top talent.
Also, the needs of our employees have changed, so we should prioritize employee engagement and wellbeing. Building an employee-centric business will surely increase your business’s chances to succeed long-term.