With the unemployment rate at its lowest level since 1969, companies are struggling to fill key roles and retain key employees.
“Right now, we are seeing companies competing for new hires,” Emma Valdivia, peoplepath.io co-founder, said. “Not only do companies need to move quickly through the hiring process in order to not lose a qualified candidate to another suitor, companies need to look within for employees ready for promotions.”
One way to retain employees is to focus on their development and happiness. “Like all people, employees like to feel appreciated,” Anne Evans, peoplepath.io co-founder, said. “One way to do that is to invest in employee advancement by supporting training and educational efforts. Another great way is to recognize their accomplishments.”
A recent Curiosity at Work study found that 82 percent of employees consider recognition an important part of their happiness at work, and 63 percent of regularly recognized employees said they are unlikely to seek a new job.
“Hiring is expensive in terms of both time and money. Recruiting, hiring, and training add up,” Valdivia said. “But taking the time to recognize existing employees is relatively inexpensive.”
A culture of recognition is one of the goals peoplepath.io. “We use our Slack to host a Shoutouts channel, where all of our employees can celebrate each other’s accomplishments,” Evans said. “It’s not any one person or department in charge of appreciation. We are all in charge or appreciation. It fosters a culture of appreciation.”
What happens when a key employee leaves is not limited to a need to fill the role. “When people leave a company, they leave a hole in the team. People are not interchangeable,” said Valdivia. “In addition to having to hire a new person, you will have a team struggling to deal with the loss of a colleague and likely friend. It will take that team time to recover and perform up to their former standards. When you make the new hire, it will take time to incorporate the new person.”
The key takeaway here is: value and appreciate your existing employees. Investing in retention pays huge dividends in the long run.
Peoplepath.io delivers searches in engineering, product, and people leadership. We are a client-focused recruiting firm, and deliver top candidates quickly.