Hiring and on-boarding are time consuming. When companies have to go through these processes repeatedly due to frequent employee turnover, it can be costly. One way to minimize turnover is to nip it in the bud with effective screening aided by a recruiting firm. Recruiters can help companies find loyal employees who are a good fit for the company. While onboarding, effective communication, and employee benefits help to retain these employees, recruiting the right talent is a critical first step.
Why Hiring and Retaining Talent is More Difficult Than Ever Before
Due to low unemployment rates in recent years, it’s been increasingly difficult for companies to hire and retain top talent. The national unemployment rate has remained low for the second summer in a row. This past summer, it hovered around 3.7% — staying lower than it has in years.
While this is great news for most, it’s not an ideal scenario for companies looking to hire. There simply aren’t as many unemployed professionals looking to fill those positions. Especially for companies with high turnover rates, it has become increasingly difficult to close those gaps.
Low unemployment rates have also turned the tables for employees and businesses. Companies now compete for a limited number of unoccupied professionals, rather than the other way around. This puts companies, particularly small businesses, in tough position to obtain — and keep — talented professionals.
How Recruiting Firms Can Improve Employee Retention
How a company treats new hires goes a long way in determining how long employees stay at a company. However, no amount of onboarding or free snacks can make a flighty hire stick around. Strategic hiring is therefore the first step to ensure employee longevity. That’s where recruiting firms come into play. They can provide dependable professionals to save a company time and hassle in the long term.
Recruiters Save Time and Energy
Recruiting and onboarding new employees is costly in terms of time, energy, and money. Most HR teams and hiring managers don’t have unlimited time to devote themselves to the strenuous process.
Recruiting firms can lighten the load. They can network, sort through candidates, and take charge of initial screening. In short, they do the grunt work so that the company doesn’t have to.
Recruiting Firms Know Where to Look for Talent
With so many professionals already employed, qualified candidates might not be reaching out to you. You have to reach out to them. However, most companies don’t know where to look for this hidden talent. Recruiters do. They have pre-existing talent pools that they can pull from. In addition, they have networks of passive professionals who are open to new jobs despite not actively applying.
High competition with other companies looking to fill positions also makes it difficult to capture exceptional candidates. Companies have to work harder to network and appeal to potential hires. During these times of high demand, recruiting firms are a valuable asset. They know how to attract candidates, even in a competitive market.
Recruiters Can Evaluate Fit
Sometimes employee turnover can be attributed to something as simple as poor fit. If a hire doesn’t fit with the company culture, then they probably won’t stay at the company for long. Recruiters can help ensure better matches by choosing candidates with skills, interests, and values that align with those of your business. An effective recruiting company can help build a team of professionals who match your company culture and business needs.
Recruiting Companies Can Spot Red Flags
The hiring process is a company’s first chance to select employees who are loyal. Resumes, for example, can shed light on employee fidelity by indicating how long candidates stayed at past employments. Recruiters take this information into account during first round screening and pass on candidates who have histories of sticking around.
Recruiters also have in-depth knowledge of industry customs, so they know how long is typical for an employee to stay at a company. The general rule is two years. However, expectations are different for tech versus sales industries, for example. This is where it comes in handy to have a recruiter’s industry specific expertise. They know what to watch out for in a candidate’s employment history.
In addition, a knowledgeable recruiting company will be up to date on the current events in your industry. As a result, they know the deeper causes of short and long term stints. For example, they know if another firm was doing particularly poorly at the time of the candidate’s employment and decide if resume metrics were a reflection of the employee or the company. In general, they can evaluate industry patterns to see more than just numbers on a resume. Consequently, they’ll properly assess candidates’ longevity during the hiring process to minimize recurring turnover down the line.
While hiring managers are talented at selecting qualified candidates on their own, sometimes it doesn’t hurt to have aid from a recruiter. Especially at companies in which turnover has been a recurring issue, recruiting companies can bring in additional knowledge and strategies to select hires who are qualified, dependable, and a good match for your company. The result is improved employee retention and time saved for more important business matters than refilling empty positions.
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