Hiring for retention rather than vacancy filling

Description

When an employee unexpectedly leaves a company, a sense of urgency often arises within the management and HR departments. Questions emerge regarding who will take over the departing employee’s responsibilities, where a suitable replacement can be found, and how to maintain normal business operations.

The company’s recruiter or talent acquisition team then takes action to fill the vacancy as quickly as possible. With the best intentions, they develop a list of requirements for potential candidates, including desired competencies, behaviors, and perhaps previous experience.

Surprisingly, the retention aspect is often overlooked. This is peculiar because, upon reflection, it seems logical that hiring for retention should be a priority.

Several factors contribute to this oversight. In many organizations, recruiters lack access to data from employee surveys, stay interviews, and exit interviews, which would provide insights into why employees remain with the company. Additionally, they may be unaware of who gets promoted and the reasons behind those promotions, as well as potential future opportunities within the organization.

Another contributing factor is the metrics currently used in recruitment. These metrics often focus on efficiency, such as time, cost, and the number of applicants. Instead, there should be a greater emphasis on ‘experience metrics,’ measuring aspects like new hire turnover, employee lifetime value (ELTV), and candidate job satisfaction.

A company’s recruitment process sets the tone for its future. Therefore, to recruit for retention, a significant change in hiring practices is necessary.

This leads to the final statement:

“Recruiters hire to fill vacancies while they should be hiring for retention.”

Moderated by Neelie Verlinden