There’s a lot of noise on digital channels – the great resignation, mass layoffs, hiring freeze.
It’s obvious that as an employee, we want to take a pause and introspect. What’s next for my career? Am I going to be the next to lose my job? What if there’s a recession or another wave of the pandemic?
These have compounded the problem of talent retention for business owners.
While everyone, including me, talks about employee rights and benefits, few offer the same comfort and platform to business owners and hiring managers.
As someone who works with small and medium businesses, I have first hand witnessed their challenges with recruitment and retention.
Many experts cite reasons for attrition. One that is not talked about is employees moving on to new jobs for nothing wrong with their current job.
Yes, employees do leave a good job in search of something better. The better is not always a higher salary or designation.
A few reasons why employees may resign:
- To spend more quality time with family
- Explore a hobby or creative streak
- Travel across the country or world
- Higher education
- Marriage or birth of a child
- Break from the daily stress
Hiring and Dating?
As employees are willing to move on to a newer job or even take a complete break from employment, businesses and hiring managers need to be on their toes to fill vacancies.
When there is no problem, there isn’t a question of fixing the problem. What do you fix when someone wants to take care of an ailing parent? Or how do you retain an employee who has saved for a year long international trip?
You simply cannot. Wish them luck and bid goodbye.
Employee retention is harder than ever before.
This is why I’d say hiring is somewhat similar to serial dating.
You’ve got to keep your options open or you’d be left streaming movies on Netflix with food from Swiggy on a Saturday evening.
You certainly don’t want that. You cannot let employee resignations disrupt business operations, customer service and key projects.
Do’s for small businesses:
- Keep a succession plan ready for key positions
- Identify talent on LinkedIn even when you are not hiring
- Track the career of these target prospects and connect with them
- Keep interacting with them – engage with them on LinkedIn and share tips and insights regarding career growth or industry news
How do these help?
These steps help you keep potential matches ready when you need to hire someone overnight or at a short notice.
Welcome to the employee dating era. Stalk potential hires on job and business networking sites. Keep them interested in your company by sharing tips and engaging with them. Woo them when you need to hire them.
You’ll get better with practice 🙂 There are plenty of right swipes in store. Need help? Send me a message. Let’s talk.
