Cracking the code for successful recruitment is an ongoing challenge for every business. Of course, we’ve all seen the reports around the pandemic induced ‘great resignation’ and Australia currently has its lowest unemployment rate since August 2008.

The current demand for talent means that people have significantly more choice around where and how they work. When people’s values and expectations are not being met, leaving and finding another job is easy. Or, for the right offer, people are more easily swayed to leave. This puts more pressure on leaders to provide an environment where people want to stay.

Here are some of my lived and learned insights that you might find helpful in building teams that never want to leave.

Recruit the right people

• Encourage and reward your current team members for referring great people. Referrals from existing team members can attract some of the best people as they are already advocates of your brand and know first-hand what the job entails.
• Share the vision and values of your organisation in the recruitment process so that people can align with them. Be clear on the expectations of the role. Ensure those values are lived and demonstrated once team members start.
• Hire for attitude — teach the skills. You can teach someone about a product or system, but people skills, caring about the customer and being a great team player start from within.

Reassess your induction process

• First impressions count. Starting a new role can be daunting. Evaluate your current induction processes to ensure new team members feel welcome from day one. Do you have a system to ensure each team member feels supported and set up to succeed?
• Set expectations early and ensure you provide the right level of support and training so those expectations can be met.
• New team members genuinely want to do a good job. Give them constructive feedback early on about what they can do better and give positive feedback when they do a good job.

Identify future leaders early

• Focus on career planning by having career discussions early on when a new team member comes on board.
• Share the opportunities available and help them see what they can achieve.
• Share success stories of people who have made outstanding careers within your organisation — those who started as casual team members and are now senior leaders or moved into other parts of the business.

Understand why people are leaving

• Most organisations conduct exit interviews, however, the powerful information they provide is rarely shared with the right people and used as feedback to make changes. Look for common threads in the feedback and act.
• Share the information with the leaders who can influence change.
• Ensure that the experience matches what was communicated in the recruitment process. When expectations are not met, you are at risk of losing good people and damaging your brand.
• Understand that it’s not just about the highest salary. Salary becomes an issue when people do not feel valued, appreciated, or a sense of belonging to their team. When people are happy, they rarely leave, regardless of salary.

Now you’ve got them — keep them! Seek and listen to their feedback. Recognise their accomplishments and give them space to grow.