Companies who are serious about their talent need to deliver on their promises consistently. When a candidate goes to your careers website, it’s the first step they take in their research of your company. They are looking for information, drivers, and attractors that make your company a more intriguing proposition than others. Let’s say they decide to apply and they’re invited in for the interview.
From the moment they arrive at your office they are gauging if the company they saw online is reflective of what they see in reality. As you go further down the path of hiring someone, expectations continue to develop based on the information you portray to the candidate.
If the recruiter or hiring manager driving the interview process makes statements such as: “We have a strong work/life balance at our company” or “We believe in learning and development”, or “We have an open door policy in which management is readily acceptable,” then the organization better be prepared to deliver on those statements consistently.
Take the Gen X group and the Millenials. Both of these groups are getting a lot of focus from companies right now to ensure they fill talent gaps as boomers reach retirement. From our research, one of the key areas of attraction for both of these groups is learning and development. Another dynamic of these groups is a lack of long-term company loyalty. If your company states a strong position on learning and development online during the interview process and on-boarding, and then you don’t deliver on that promise; then these groups will leave quickly.
Some best practices to address this are:
- Make sure that the messages you state on your website, during the interview process, and beyond are consistent and truthful.
- Ask the employees what they think about their experience on a frequent basis through focus groups or employee satisfaction surveys.
- Use realistic job previews on the careers website.
- Make sure the candidate has a chance to see the work environment and talk with prospective peers as part of the interview process
- Train recruiters and hiring managers on interview practices
By following some of these steps and others you’ll experience higher retention rates and employee loyalty as the key results! Contact me with any questions or to discuss how we have worked with clients to bridge this gap.