Article appeared in the Professional Consultant Summer 2007 Newsletter

Is there a way to balance your efforts to recruit new staff members with your need to retain your best employees? Here are five principles of candidate recruitment and employee retention which, if observed, should help you achieve such a balance.

1. Seize The Initiative.

   In hiring, this means understanding the dynamics of a “candidate-driven” or “seller’s” market, and taking the extra steps needed to draw the best candidates into your fold. It means creating a hiring environment where all recruits feel welcome, and all are provided and shown a number of reasons why they should join your firm. In employee retention, it means taking proactive steps to provide the performance reviews, salary bumps, productivity tools and training your great employees need as a matter of course, rather than merely reacting when someone complains or resigns.

2. Sell And Reinforce The Significance Of The Position.

   Make sure, when speaking to a potential recruit, to focus on the importance of the job for you, your team, your department and your company. And make doubly sure, when speaking with your current employees, to let them know not only how well they are doing at their jobs, but also how pivotal the work they are doing is to you, your team, your department and company.

3. Get Involved.

   When hiring, make your presence known both formally and informally as the steps in the hiring process unfold. This means making sure the candidate is greeted properly and personally when he or she first arrives for the interview, and it also means briefly “popping in” from time to time as the candidate meets with others on your team. When working with your staff, demonstrate via your participation and interaction with them at “their” work-a-day level that you are vitally interested in what they are doing as employees and how they are faring as individuals.

4. Be even-handed.

   Fairness rocks. When meeting and speaking with job seekers, take the time to give them a fair hearing and to make a careful assessment of their skills, attitudes and potential. When working with your employees, avoid playing favorites and consistently focus dispute and problem resolution on the “right thing to do.”

5. Communicate.

   The reason why many people leave their companies is also the reason why many recruiting efforts fail – too little communication and feedback about where people stand and how they are doing. Take action to ensure that the candidates you may want to hire receive the information they need to feel comfortable with your company, your selling points and your hiring process. Likewise, keep your employees informed in as timely a manner as possible about key developments within your team, department, areas of responsibility and organization.

These five principles, along with the actions they engender, will help you develop a unified strategy for hiring your best candidates and retaining your best employees.