Hello and Happy New Year to all of you!
Why all this attention on employee retention? Well, you may have begun to notice that it is harder to fill open positions and this trend will continue. Finding the right staff then keeping them is becoming two vital keys to business success.
Fewer skilled staff are available, whether you’re in construction or manufacturing, IT, transportation or the service industry. Automation is on the rise, but you still need staff who can be trained to operate the equipment.
Who do you hire for those positions? The technology is new, so the skills are not necessarily already there. The key is to find the right staff.
Knowing the specifics of what the job requires is the most important first step before seeking staff to do the job.
Are you able to describe all the processes and skills that a candidate needs for the specific job? This would be a good place to start your analysis.
- Does the job require an individual who is an independent thinker or take guidance well, like challenges or like repetition, be detail-oriented or like routine?
- Does the job require someone who is creative, innovative and a problem-solver able to tolerate a degree of risk?
- Does the job require a steady hand, meticulous adherence to specific procedures and have strong regulatory expectations?
- Will the job demand power and physical strength or a light, accurate touch?
Analyze the physical, psychological and mental demands of the job before posting the position.
A recent publication on this topic suggests that we are looking for the wrong people when posting jobs. I think this is correct. Do you really need a college graduate with an Associate or Bachelor’s degree? If your technology is industry-specific, you are going to have to do most of the training on site, so why not look for characteristics according to the components of the job?
For example, characteristics like the ability to learn quickly, enjoy being challenged or getting involved before knowing all the answers, being adventurous or enjoy high repetition. What other characteristics do your jobs need?
A surprising number of young people are not high school graduates, however have superb skills with technology and the ability to apply themselves when they feel like they are making a contributing to something they can align themselves with. Is your job posting attracting them by making your social mission and purpose visible to them? Do you brag about your company’s culture of inclusion and learning in a safe place?
How about your company hiring policies? Would they exclude someone who got bored at school and who started learning skills on line without ever getting a GED? I know young people like this who have gone on to excel in careers in spite of opting out from mainstream education.
Maybe now is a good time to scrutinize the vacancies you have, the talents needed and how to you display your social mission in job postings so that you truly find the most attractive candidates.