Employees are an organization’s greatest assets as they are the main contributors to business success. They are the cogs in the machine which ensure that companies deliver on their promise towards their customers.
Thus, like all valuable assets, one must ensure correct asset utilization to reap the promised benefits. But data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics show approximately 3 million Americans quit their jobs each month. A Bamboo HR study reveals that one-third of those surveyed left their jobs even before the half-year mark. Another study shows that 50% of all organizations have difficulty retaining their most valued employees.
These are some numbers that contribute to the HR nightmare of hiring and retaining the right employees. But hiring the right candidate for the right role is not always a smooth process.
Research shows that almost 50% of candidates misrepresent on their resumes. 30% of candidates also blatantly lie on their resumes. Misrepresentation is a big battle that HR teams have to fight continuously today. A Career Builder survey also points out the cost of a bad hire. 41% of companies surveyed put $25,000 or higher as the cost of a single bad hire.
Given the climate of constant change that propels continuous business evolution, it becomes imperative not only to hire the right employees but also ensure that you hire the right employees for the right role. So how can organizations ensure that?
Drive out guesswork
As organizations become more data−driven, HR also has to shift away from the archaic guesstimates that aided their decision−making process. Considering facts such as misrepresentation on resumes, the HR and hiring teams have to work towards data−driven decision−making processes.
Instead of depending on what the prospective candidate tells through resumes, companies need to rely on assessments to identify their skills as well as their personality types. This ensures that companies have the right person for the right role.
For instance, for a lead role, who should companies hire? A candidate brilliant at his/her job could also be a brilliant jerk with no capacity to lead teams. Assessments such as 16 Personality Factor (16PF) Assessment and Behavioral Skill level tests help in making the right decisions.
Proactive assessments
Businesses that are more proactive than reactive are more successful in today’s ever−changing business landscape. HR is no different. To ensure that the employees are on the right career trajectory has become more important than ever before.
Organizations can no longer settle performance assessments based on the year−end reviews. Employees need to know that their company is invested in their career growth,
and to ensure the same, it is essential to evaluate the employees’ strengths. It is even more critical to help them identify their weaknesses so that they can be mitigated, and they can progress on their desired career path.
By focusing on this aspect, organizations can help their employees grow and assist them in building their careers. By helping them gain a clear perspective on their development areas, both at a technical and a personal level will help in ensuring that companies have the right employee doing the right job. And there’s no time wasted in between.
Identify professional development needs
The Future of Jobs report shows that by 2020, more than a third of the desired core skill sets across occupations will comprise of skills that are not yet considered crucial for the job today. Another report by PWC shows 38% of CEO’s are extremely concerned about this chasm.
Quite naturally, reskilling and upskilling initiatives are on everyone’s agenda. However, reskilling initiatives adopt a myopic view and assume that technical knowledge transfer is enough. But it is also important to accommodate behavioral changes and help the workforce prepare for their new roles.
Step one here becomes identifying the technical reskilling needs of the workforce. Step two becomes to reprogram them leveraging strategies such as mentoring to help the workforce become future-ready. And the best way to do so is by using skill assessments.
Along with this, it also helps greatly to give employees a platform that they can use to evaluate their skills and gather insights into specific attributes, behaviors, and functional expertise areas in their areas of interest. Enabling employees to identify their improvement areas also shows where their interest lies and where they want to progress.
Armed with this information, HR leaders can then give them the tools that they need to succeed. A positive impact on the bottom line then becomes a consequence of these efforts as the employees remain more engaged, and hence, more productive at work. Saying goodbye to sleepless nights owing to the attrition worry also becomes a thing of the past.
Want to jump−start your employee engagement and retention initiatives? Check out NumlyEngage™ Enterprise, a purpose−led, employee engagement platform.
