Employees are the first point of contact customers have with your business. They judge your company and your brand by that first interaction, and it’s hard to change their opinion once it’s formed. That means that the very first interaction needs to be a good one.

This is part of the reason why 71% of executives say that employee engagement is critical to the success of a company. When you find an engaged employee who fulfills the needs of your company, you obviously want to keep them.

Unfortunately, that can be the hard part. It’s difficult to keep an employee stimulated for the long term. Tasks that were once exciting become daily chores, and before long, your employees find themselves bored.

When employees aren’t challenged and fulfilled at work, they begin to look for other opportunities. That leads to a cycle of hiring, training, and replacing, which explains why 63.3% of companies say retaining employees is harder than hiring them. Allowing this cycle to continue leads to continued loss of time and funds to train new employees.

So how can you avoid the cycle? This guide can help you begin attracting and keeping truly outstanding candidates.

Simplifying The Search: Bringing Top Talent To You

The first step is to simplify the recruitment process. You want to be able to find an excellent candidate right when you need them, not six months later. The key to this is to create an environment that people want to work in so that they’ll come to you.

You may think that the secret is a bigger paycheck, but you’d be mistaken. 9 out of 10 people say they’d be willing to earn less money to do more meaningful work. In fact, money falls below several other factors when people describe what their ideal incentive is.

Overall, most employees say they want more respect, appreciation, trust, recognition, and continued education and mentoring. Offering these things is the first step, the second is making sure everyone knows you have them.

A team of recruitment specialists can help you tell the story of your company in a way that will optimize candidate attraction. As you show your unique brand to the world, you’ll attract talent that’s a natural fit for your company culture.

Having the right people come to you cuts down on the time and funds needed to employ the perfect workforce.

Difficult Decisions: Choosing The Best From The Rest

Once you optimize your recruitment process, you have to decide how you’ll go about choosing which candidates to hire. While it’s always better to have too many qualified candidates rather than not enough, it does require you to really decide what it is you’re looking for.

When it comes to qualities that make a good candidate, consider:

  • Applicants with a lot of relevant experience. They can fit in quickly and begin making an impact with little or no training.
  • Interviewees who have clearly done their homework. They know what your company is about, and what will impress you.
  • People who take obvious pride in what they do. They’re quick to tell you about the work they did to achieve their accomplishments, not just the accomplishments themselves.
  • Someone with a positive attitude and good communication skills. This type of person excels both in an office setting and on the sales floor.

These qualities indicate a team player who will be willing to put in the necessary effort to make the most of the position.

On the flip side, there are some types of applicants you never want to hire. Characteristics of this kind of candidate include:

  • An inability to follow instructions. If you ask for a cover letter and there isn’t one, consider that a red flag.
  • Only showing interest in the benefits of the job.
  • A history of short stays at various jobs with little or no explanation.
  • Seeming unsure of themselves. Instead of saying they can do something they say they “think they can” or “they’ll give it a try.”

If you see any of these warning signs, take the opportunity to move on to your next candidate. The goal is to find someone who will stay for the long term, and these signs don’t indicate that that’s on the table.

Retaining Recruits: Keeping The Perfect Employees When You Find Them

Once you find the perfect employees, you need to keep them. 50% of employees leave voluntarily in their first two years of employment. 46% of HR analysts believe this is due to employee burnout.

Those numbers help explain why employee retention is such a problem for so many companies. Fortunately, you don’t have to be one of them. You can keep your top talent happy by adopting a few simple practices.

  • Provide education and training on the job so your employees feel like you’re investing in their future.
  • Offer benefits like flexible work schedules, stock options, and financial rewards for employees who exceed performance goals.
  • Create open communication between employees and management. This allows everyone to express their concerns, share thoughts for improvement, and ask questions that clarify the company’s goals.
  • Acknowledge accomplishments and show that you value the hard work your team is doing to advance your company.

By putting practices like this in place, you can ensure that your employees have a long future in your organization.

By implementing a process like the one outlined in this guide, you can begin attracting outstanding candidates that will be assets to your business for years to come.