Three Simple Ways to Keep Your New Recruits

Keeping new employees beyond the 90-day point is difficult. It is also discouraging when after investing time and money to recruit the right person, that person resigns in the first couple of months.  The “Great Resignation” has left many employers wondering, “how do we keep our people and keep them excited about being a part of our organization?”

First, it’s important to heed that advise of Jim Collins in his classic “Good to Great” and get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats.”  Make sure that you have a recruiting strategy that helps you get those right people and place them in positions where they are best able to use their strengths.  For example, a task-focused, analytical person will most likely not do well in a position that is focused on interacting with customers.

After investing in the process to hire the right person, how can you ensure that that person will stay with your organization.  This is the point where it can be tempting to pay new recruits a bonus for staying.  However, this approach often fails because money is not the best motivator.  People need fair pay, pay that will allow them to have peace of mind about paying their bills, but money alone is not a long-term motivator. Once you’ve hired the right people, for the right position for a fair wage, focusing on these factors will turn that new hire into a loyal and engaged participant in your organization’s goals.

Rule # 1  Beginning with the interview process, connect that position with the overall mission and vision of the organization.  How is this position important to the overall mission of your organization?  Explain to the candidate right away the value of what they would be contributing.  Reinforce this connection again after the hiring process is completed.  Find out what the new hire’s personal goals are and connect those goals to their position with your organization.  For younger workers this can be as simple as connecting their work and income to something as simple as saving for their own apartment.

Rule # 2 Assign your new hire a buddy they can go to daily with questions or concerns.  The buddy should be enthusiastic about working with your organization and understand how to help the new hire learn their new role.  The buddy should be someone with enough tenure to guide the new hire through any difficulties that may come up.  Research as repeatedly shown that people enjoy having a friend at work. Assigning a “buddy” will provide them with a friend starting on the first day.  

Rule #3 Provide your new hires with consistent frequent feedback. This feedback should be “short and sweet.” It should provide confirmation of things they are doing well and course correction where needed.  Feedback must also include the “why” for everyday tasks.  Once again, when providing this feedback remind each co-worker how their every day work connects to the mission of your organization. How does that work help clients?  Precise positive feedback keeps your people on course while making them feel valued regardless of their age.

Keeping your best recruits is a challenge and using these 3 rules will help you turn new recruits into loyal long-term employees!