3 talent acquisition strategies to retain talent.

The cost of high turnover for Indian companies can run into several lakh while impacting employee morale, resulting in low engagement levels and productivity. According to a recent KPMG survey, the average voluntary attrition across sectors in India is 13.4%. What is the implication of this for companies looking to reduce employee turnover? They will need to trade a one-size-fits all approach for effective talent acquisition strategies that help find, hire and retain right-fit employees.  How can they do this?



While recruiting and retaining top talent, companies not only need to look beyond interviews but also take evidence-based decisions based on employee data. This will help identify candidates with high growth potential and create rewarding opportunities for the best and the brightest talent.

 

Here are three ways companies can leverage talent acquisition to boost employee retention:

1. Identify and leverage the right talent source: Organizations, especially in countries like India, receive a high volume of applications from every talent source. Sorting through multiple talent sources is critical to determining the robustness of a particular  source: whether it provides job fit candidates in a cost effective manner. This is where data comes in. Using data analytics can help understand where an organization’s most talented candidates come from and identify the sourcing pools where ideal candidates spend more time. In addition, organizations can also leverage proven recruitment platforms to improve sourcing and enable effective decision-making.
2. Play up your employer branding: Communicating a clear value proposition is essential to attracting the right talent. Marketers can help companies identify the right keywords that resonate with candidates and develop an employer-branding program that effectively communicates the company’s culture and values. The result: candidates better understand what the environment is like at a certain company and what work-life balance might look like.  At the same time, it helps organizations define work expectations and convince employees why choosing their organizations is the right career move, resulting in the onboarding of culturally fit candidates who help move the organization forward.
3. Turn inwards and nurture employees: Talent acquisition strategies that focus on hiring  right fit candidates externally can be detrimental to achieving organizational success by excluding qualified internal candidates. Highly qualified employees may already be available internally. A clear pipeline of ideas that foster a meaningful relationship with existing employees is essential to engagement and retention. This requires identifying employees with higher growth potential and mentoring them to climb the corporate ladder. When organizations pay attention to the training needs of their employees and practice the culture of meritocracy, it sends a message of employee empowerment, building trust and resulting in higher retention levels.

In today’s competitive talent markets, focusing on employee retention after a candidate is selected and on-boarded is not enough. It is important to make employee retention an integral part of the hiring process - from the very outset. This requires a systematic approach to hiring: leveraging effective talent recruitment processes, creating a positive hiring experience, and communicating frequently with the talent pipeline – both internal and external.

Source: https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/in/pdf/2017/03/KPMG-Annual-Com…