How to attract and retain great employees

First published: August 10th, 2021

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Building a team that works well together and helps your business grow takes time and quite a lot of planning.

Of course, success doesn’t happen overnight but when things do begin to go well, you’ll want to keep your team together. 

Attracting great employees, and keeping hold of them, requires you to think outside the box. For instance, are there particular benefits you can offer? Should you provide varied working arrangements? How can you deter employees from moving on? These are important questions to ask…but what are the answers?

Recruitment options for selecting and hiring staff

Before you begin the recruitment process, decide which is best, to select people from within or outside the business.

When doing so, consider the below.

External recruitment

• A non-selective external recruitment process is often undertaken when looking to hire low-skilled employees at low wage levels. Here, recruitment is carried out in a casual manner.
• Selective recruitment is undertaken where there's a demand for skilled and motivated employees who can undertake their role immediately with little need for training.

Internal recruitment

• Internal recruitment provides an excellent opportunity for you to emphasise ongoing personal development and the progression of employees. Employees tend to be happier and more diligent when they can identify potential career progression.
• Employers who prioritise internal training tend to be more focused on employee development. Emphasis is placed on viewing employees as a long-term business asset.

Ways to attract new staff

Employers and employees alike have seen first-hand how much the way we work has changed over the past 16 months.

Where businesses had to adapt to continue operating, employees settled into arrangements such as hybrid working and remote working. And now, as we ease out of the pandemic, many employees are looking to maintain their work from home arrangement ─ and you can benefit from this. 

Before implementing either of these arrangements, do your research and plan accordingly. That includes assessing all HR and health & safety risks as it’s your responsibility to ensure your employees have a safe place to work, even if it’s a home office.

Not only will these working options appeal to job seekers, but your existing employees will benefit too. Having a better work-life balance makes employees happier as they have more time to enjoy their personal lives.

Ways to retain staff and stop an employee from resigning

Employee resignation can be down to several reasons, some of which you may not be able to deter. For instance, an employee who works a job that requires quite a lot of physical exertion may resign for health reasons.

If instead an employee indicates they intend to resign for reasons such as lack of progression or training, you can help. Below are four tried and tested options to deter resignation and retain great staff:

• Career conversations. Talk to your employees about their career aspirations and goals. See how they align with your business and what you can do for them. Plotting a clear path can convince an employee that your business is the best place for them to flourish.
• Create opportunities for employees to develop. Training, educational courses, and freedom to move within the business can all improve how an employee feels about their role.
• Let employees lead themselves. Employees much prefer to have their say in their work and how they complete it. This method is proven to improve job satisfaction.
• Introduce wellbeing initiatives. You may already have wellbeing practises in place but if not, consider doing so. An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is a great place to start.

If these seem like simple steps it’s because they are. There’s no need to overcomplicate how you go about improving employees’ working lives or the workplace environment. Being smart, and involving your employees from the outset, will reaffirm your dedication to them and offset the chances of employees resigning.

Avoiding resignations and attracting new talent guide

For guidance on attracting and retaining top talent, download our guide which covers essential areas such as:

• The differences between external and internal recruitment.
• How to attract great employees.
• Ways to deter staff from resigning.

Download the free Avoiding resignations and attracting new talent to your business guide today. 

Looking for further advice on attracting and retaining staff?

Call our 24/7 helpline for instant advice on how you can attract and retain employees who will help your business grow. To speak to a HR expert now, call 0818 923 923.