Retention - Where does it start?

But I'd like to address the "roots" of retention; where does it start? In my opinion, it starts with your recruiting and interview processes. More specifically, it's in your messaging and how you articulate a specific opportunity within your organization to the target audience. I want to be clear that I am not saying recruiters are solely responsible for increasing retention rates. This is a collective responsibility amongst your recruiting team, HR team, and each individual hiring manager. But it starts on the forefront of the hiring process.

One of the biggest challenges recruiters face today is how to message an opportunity to the talent pool. They are challenged mainly because they're graded on things like volume of hires or time to fill, so the natural tendency is to "sell" a position to a candidate who may have the skills necessary to do the job. A hiring leader may also have the natural tendency to hire quickly as well especially if they own a P and L. But retention starts the minute you engage in conversation with the person you're recruiting. There must be a balance between "selling" a candidate on an opportunity and truthfully defining the culture of your company and expectations of the role within. If you describe your culture improperly, or don't set the proper expectations with a candidate prospect, it is very likely they will leave within the first 18 months of their tenure. Even worse, they'll stay and be completely disengaged, frustrated, and unproductive. Someone walking into your organization expecting one thing but getting a completely different thing is a recipe for disaster.

Some organizations are spending outrageous amounts of money in an attempt to increase retention rates. After all, no matter how you message opportunities while interviewing, if you don't have good recognition programs, career paths for people, strong leaders, or work/life balance then things likely won't get better. However, if you have strong fluid communication between HR, Recruiting, and your Hiring Leaders about what it's like to work at your organization, the culture within, the good and the "room for improvement", you'll at least have new employees who are informed and prepared with proper expectations set.