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Attracting
and retaining employees that “fit”
By Denise Trifiletti
Our experience in working with employers shows clearly
that the greatest challenge they face is attracting and retaining
the people they need. Employers know intuitively that their employees
represent their greatest asset. Yet many find it difficult, in today's
labor market to find employees that "fit".
We have found this is a continuous process, and starts well before
a hire decision is made. Pre-employment assessments of work-related
skills, personal traits, and workplace success skills become essential
first steps. Doing this is important not only for the employer,
but also for the prospective employee. Not taking the time to determine
whether a good match exists before employment all too often results
in people leaving, or worse, being dismissed. Losing employees,
regardless of the reason, costs much more in replacement efforts
than the cost of doing the job right the first time around (before
hire). It has been estimated this cost can almost double before
the new employee is productive. In other words, if the salary/benefit
package was $25,000 for the person leaving, it could cost up to
$50,000 before the replacement was fully productive.
Once a hire decision is made, employers need to be mindful of the
marketplace in terms of compensation, benefits, and training. The
goal is to meet, then to exceed, the competition. In order to make
this a viable strategy, employees need to be kept productive beyond
the productivity of the competition. Productivity is not merely
a function of technology and efficient work processes. It is equally
a function of attracting and retaining the highest caliber employees.
In fact, technology and work efficiency must rely on human potential.
Unleashing human potential in the workplace is done best when employees
are aligned with their employer's marketplace mission, feel they
are fairly compensated, and know they are given continuous skill-building
to carry out their work with confidence and quality. Finally, employees
want to know that growth opportunities are real, so they can look
at their work as a career, not just a job.
The idea of continuous skill building suggests that employers need
to invest in building the talent of their staff. It is no longer
enough to hire a particular skill set. The world no longer rewards
stagnant skills. In fact, skills do not stand still. They either
move forward or backward. When the skills of employees retreat in
relation to the marketplace, their employer's marketplace position
retreats also. The answer is to budget for continuous improvement
not only in work processes, but in talent as well.
A word about work place success skills.
We use this term to describe the range of human traits that fit
best with a work place, which requires a high degree of teamwork
and self-motivation. These include the ability to assume leadership,
being able to work well in teams, having effective communications
skills, and possessing a sound ethical base.
People in a modern workplace are required to exercise independent
judgement and decision-making. This requires the ability to engage
leadership. Teamwork is more about interpersonal relationships than
just carrying out tasks. The ability to listen, to empathize, to
align with emotions from complete indifference to total commitment,
and to understand when and how to make decisions are essential teamwork
skills. People must be self-motivated, and must have the knowledge
to carry out work without being micro managed or over supervised.
No longer is it possible to have your people check their brains
and hearts at the door. You have hired a whole person. Use the whole
person.
The lack of ethics in business is a growing and costly problem.
And it is not just a problem of white-collar crime. It is also a
problem of people on the front line not being ethical in their dealings
with each other, their employer, or their customer. And all too
often, employees are implicitly taught being unethical is accepted
behavior. The problem is, when a customer is dealt with in an unethical
manner, that customer will likely be lost to the competition. When
an employee is dealt with unethically, it is likely he or she will
be lost to the competition. When employees, at any level within
an organization, are unethical toward their employer, the eventual
result is not just dismissal - it also includes the cost of recruitment,
training, and time to full productivity.
These are the reasons Dynamic Destiny Partnerships has forged a
one-stop consortium of human resources businesses. From recruitment
to retention, from compensation and benefits to training, from H/R
administration to payroll services Dynamic Destiny Partnerships
approaches the marketplace in a holistic manner. Its goal is to
do the human resources legwork so employers can truly concentrate
on their markets.
Your can reach Dynamic Destiny Partnerships by calling 410-451-2198,
or email to info@d2partners.com
The call is free - the RESULTS may be your greatest H/R investment
to date!
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