A Reason to Join AND a Reason to Stay By Sue Fudge, Idaho AGC Senior Health Plan Director
I
n a world where Walmart and Target are paying $15 an hour to start and 100 percent college tuition for their employees, companies have no choice but to find creative and innovative ways to attract candidates for open positions. An employee’s experience, in the first 90 days of employment, will determine if they stick around or seek another job elsewhere. Setting your company apart from your competitors may not be as hard or expensive as you think. In fact, by making, a few changes within your company you can differentiate your company and start attracting top talent by giving them a reason to join and a reason to stay. 42 BUILDING IDAHO • 2021 FALL/WINTER
It is no secret that turnover, recruiting,
combat high turnover rates among new
and hiring has cost impacts for every
hires. Hiring candidates that are a good fit for your organization can slow the revolving door to your company. Review the job description, making sure it accurately reflects the position. Be transparent with your candidates. If the position requires working in harsh conditions, tell them during the interview. Set the candidate’s expectations and help them decide if the position is a good fit by being honest about the type of work they will be performing. Full disclosure of the good, the bad, and the ugly will save new hires from feeling surprised — or worse, deceived — by the company.
business, but losing a new hire within the first 90 days is worse than it may at first appear. A business can expect to spend from 20 to 200 percent of an employee’s annual salary to hire and train a replacement. Hard costs associated with turnover include administrative work, temporary workers, overtime, recruiting, interviewing, and selecting replacements, onboarding, and training. The soft costs are loss of production, missed deadlines, disruptions,
loss
of
expertise,
and
damaged team morale. Luckily, there are simple things your company can do to
