HUMAN RESOURCES
TIPS FOR ATTRACTING AND RETAINING TALENT By Kristin Scott, president, Scott Human Resources
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very employer is facing recruiting and retention challenges in this current labor market. It is a far cry from when it was an employer market; today’s applicants have many opportunities to choose from and can request higher wages. Honestly, the labor market overall is exhausted and fatigued, particularly human resource professionals and business leaders, as they have been making policies on the fly for the past 18 months and rushing from one deadline to another. Business leaders have only been able to do what has to get done versus what they would like to do, such as spend quality time with the current staff to learn of successes and challenges. On top of the stress, it has been challenging to even bring staff together for events and any other team member activities. The first step to address this turnover tsunami is to retain current staff. The key to retaining (and attracting) staff is different for each individual and depends on the personalities you have on staff. Recently, the Topeka Independent Business Association hosted a lunch and learn with a panel of Forge members and others from the younger generation to learn what they want from an employer. A few of the key takeaway items shared are: • Benefits are not one-size-fits-all (Employers should customize benefits based on the stage of life the individual is in). • Be open-minded to offer remote work options, even if is it only for a portion of the workweek. • The younger generation desires unique work experiences and growth opportunities (What is a career path they can have with your organization?).
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• Allow a couple of days a year to donate time to community projects as paid time. • In general, most all team members want clear expectations and to know if they are not meeting performance standards (“Just tell me!”). In a recent SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) webcast, “The Great Resignation,” the following are interesting statements for organizations to consider: • Re-skill, up-skill and learning new things is the focus for retaining talent. – Focus to attract talent by having a sophisticated training and development program. – Attention was brought to horizontal capabilities as much or more important than vertical capabilities. – The new name for soft skills is “Power Skills.” • Staff may be in the workforce for up to 50 years and simply cannot continue to do things as we always have. • Industry and technology continually change and to stay abreast one must intentionally invest in themselves. • Internal mobility: Allstate Insurance is going to “mirror the market.” i.e., no requirements to be in the job for a specified period and no requirement to notify/ask the current supervisor before applying for a different position within the company. • Companies are working to remove barriers to expand applicant pool and broaden diversity. • The reasons most employees state they leave companies is due to the inability to go anywhere and feeling like they are not progressing. www.ksaenet.org
