Written by Rob Symons, SmartRecruiters, General Manager EMEA
Gone are the days when stability, job security and high salaries ranked top in the list of job seekers’ desired benefits. Skilled workers today, especially in the emerging talent crisis, can already command high salaries and associated benefits. To many candidates, flexible working arrangements, professional/career development, corporate stances on diversity and inclusion and wellbeing are at the top of prospective talent priority lists.
With this shift in what the candidate wants throughout their journey as an employee, it’s necessary to be forward-thinking and display these elements from the beginning stages of recruitment. Doing so is a competitive advantage and ensures a business wins the war for top talent. Failing to do so could be irreparably damaging to recruitment and retention efforts.
Wellbeing – does it matter?
We are amid the Great Resignation where in April 2021 in the US alone, over four million people quit their job – the largest spike on record. Additionally, a recent Microsoft survey found that more than 41% of global workers were considering quitting or changing professions this year. Much of this change has come down to how employees have felt their employer supported them throughout the trials and tribulations of the pandemic.
We don’t have the same structured boundaries we used to before the pandemic. We are all guilty of checking work messages in the evening, early mornings, or on weekends. Throw in the fact that many organisations are working from home at least part time for the foreseeable future and the lines between work life and home life become blurred. If employees also feel they’re in an unsupportive or toxic work environment, it’s no wonder they’re searching for options elsewhere.
Some of the reasons candidates seek different jobs, not including salary, are better benefits, job dissatisfaction and improved flexibility and lifestyle. In recruiting a prospect, wellbeing might not seem like one of the most important things to highlight – but it’s a priority for many candidates. Emphasising wellbeing has a host of benefits for the business, too.
80% of respondents in a Deloitte study admitted employee wellbeing as integral to their organisation’s success. Having wellbeing benefits increases employee engagement, attracts talent, and helps retain current employees.
For senior-level recruitment executives who have the ears of the C-suite, pushing for more mental health and wellness support not only helps the overall recruitment and retention efforts, but also an organisation’s bottom line. According to the American Institute of Stress, job stress costs US employers upwards of $300 billion a year in absenteeism; turnover; diminished productivity; and medical, legal, and insurance costs.
So, whether it’s ensuring wellbeing is listed in job postings, career pages, social profiles, company websites, during conversations with candidates or all the above – making clear a company’s wellness efforts – as well as having these initiatives in the first place – tells a lot about its culture.
The smoother the experience – the higher the retention
In the journey of the candidate, once they’ve accepted a role, it’s essential their positive experience and opinion of the organisation’s commitment to them continue throughout onboarding. 22% of new hires leave the job within the first 45 days. Companies with an engaging onboarding programme retained 91% of their first-year workers. Furthermore, new hires with a well-structured onboarding programme were 68% more likely to remain at a company for up to three years.
We spend the bulk of our waking hours at work and ensuring people’s wellbeing and that they feel like they have a purpose within their role is essential when onboarding new people. Keep these things in mind when designing an onboarding process – what purpose is your company trying to achieve? What about with its wellbeing initiatives? Does your organisation have goals and projects to make that purpose a reality? What about driving awareness and engagement of the wellbeing programmes? Clearly communicating these with candidates with help ease them into the organisation and enhances their onboarding experience, increasing retention.
Synchronicity between the recruiting and onboarding process bridges the transition between the candidate journey and employment. Emphasising a future employees’ purpose in the organisation and the wellbeing opportunities a company offers throughout this process drives better retention and positively affects an organisation’s bottom line.
When executed well in conjunction with each other, these elements of wellbeing, recruitment and onboarding help facilitate an experience for the job seeker / soon-to-be employed that’s seamless, memorable, and positive. If mishandled, it creates a dissonant experience. One that might make a new hire question their decision to accept the job a company has offered them and leave for a new one, costing a company thousands of dollars in the process.
Therefore, to attract and retain top talent for any organisation, a comprehensive approach focuses on optimising recruitment and onboarding and highlights the business’ support for its employees’ wellbeing. Not focuses on these elements, especially in the wake of the war for talent, could be the difference between success and failure.
About the author
Rob Symons, General Manager EMEA at SmartRecruiters has over 20 years of recruitment experience and is currently responsible for managing the EMEA leadership team and growing the regional customer base.