HR Trends – Are You Keeping Up?
It used to be that when there was a job opening, a “personnel” manager could just post it in the paper, job seekers would look in the Help Wanted Section and the two of you would connect. The candidate would receive an invitation for an interview and if the candidate could walk, talk, and chew gum at the same time, he or she would be under serious consideration if not hired on the spot. Now HR and the organization must take a far more active role in recruiting, hiring, and retaining their workforce.
Before the Hunt Begins
In earlier times, an organization’s ad in the paper might be the only time a candidate even heard of a company. That trend is gone for both the candidate and the organization. Candidates today are savvier, and not only do they do research for organizations, but research each organization under consideration. Therefore, organizations must begin to establish their brand well before attracting good people. The Board and Executive Teams must ask what their brand stands for and what it means to those who spend their time working there. Can people trust your brand? Does your brand stand for something meaningful or is greed the standard bearer?
Recruiting
As in the hunt, recruiting begins before a candidate applies or meets with you face-to-face. Are you “selling” the benefits your company offers? Yes, this can include health benefits, 401Ks, and time off. However, what other perks such as opportunities to work in the community, career guidance, coaching, or a gym on property or even close by with discount membership could you be using to set your company apart from the competition to attract good talent? Are you keeping up with trends in attracting good people?
All Aboard!
Be sure your onboarding process is not just policies and procedures, rules and regulations. The onboarding process needs to be far more in depth that that and one day is not enough. Further, get new hires involved in brainstorming sessions as soon as possible. There’s nothing like fresh ideas to jump start a team into action. Get employees involved with new hires using a “buddy system” for the first 90 days.
Having a good onboarding program is not just pie in the sky. According to Korn Ferry, a good on boarding program is a key factor in retaining employees. Are you keeping up with trends in onboarding programs?
Retention
The trend once was to consider employees as just cogs in a wheel. They were bodies to fill a slot, do their jobs, keep their mouth shut, collect their pay and that was about it. Then came the trend of employees are your biggest expense, your biggest nightmare, and the cause of most if not all your problems. Today, the trend is that employees are your most valuable asset and treating them accordingly is smart. Nice.
It’s time to check the trend of your organization’s culture and where it might be heading. If it’s heading backwards toward management by fear, then it’s time for some serious change management. Nice is a nice trend to keep up with for sure.
Summary
Nothing in this article is rocket science, overly expensive, or impossible to implement. Keeping up with HR Trends is smart business! Smart business, now there’s where you need to be the trendsetter.
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Sources
Kurscher, T. (2017). Korn Ferry Futurestep Survey: Ninety Percent of Executives Say New Hire Retention an Issue. KornFerry.com
Graphic Credit: BigStock.com