Recruitment and Retention Under the Spotlight

A number of posts published recently have dissected how candidates and employees – new and not so new – are feeling about their experience in the workplace. Given that retention is a priority for many firms currently as an antidote to the candidate driven market, we’ve taken a look at the statistics on how we feel about our jobs. 

An article in The Independent shared that 1 in 6 workers over the age of 35 were unhappy in their jobs, over double the number that shared they were unhappy under the age of 35.  

Cited reasons include a more impersonal and tougher work environment that is performance driven to the extreme. As we get older, life expectations vs. where we’re at may eat away at us if we haven’t achieved the success we envisioned, or we may be burnt out if we have achieved our anticipated success. Taking care of the work environment and in particular workers that may be suffering from burnout could be a way to help companies get the retention they’re looking for. 

A report shared in the CIPD indicated that background checks of candidates are on the increase, however these are often conducted simply to meet compliance requirements as supposed to gain valuable information about new employees that could improve their hiring.  

This finding is surprising given the cost of starting again after an unsuccessful hire. It’s also worth mentioning that a high number of employees also look at new hires’ social media profiles when considering them for a position.   

This has been a gripe of candidates for some time. Some even feel that feedback after an interview should be mandatory – after all if a candidate has taken the time and energy to attend an interview or even apply to a job, not hearing anything back can be understandably frustrating. 

Lastly, the on-boarding process is something we feel can be improved. From having the position and all necessary admin prepared for when the new starter turns up for their first day to involving other staff to make the new starter feel welcome, these are simple things that can help with both retention and candidate experience. 

To conclude, there are a number of thoughts we have about our current work environments! From a dissatisfaction with our jobs as we move through the years, to a lack of feedback during the on-boarding process and tick boxing over real research, there is plenty of room for employers to get the retention they seek. At RR, we feel we can take care of the recruitment side of this challenge with our low cost model. Click here to find out more.