Employee retention: the key in the overheated labor market!

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In this tight labor market, recruiting and retaining employees is more challenging than ever. Increasing the engagement of (potential) employees in your organization is an important 'driver' to fulfill that challenge.

What is striking is that, even in today's tough labor market, organizations are not very concerned with their employer brand. The focus is mainly on marketing their product or service and not so much on who they are as an employer. But potential employees are just as important as potential customers, because the success of an organization depends largely on its talented employees! Yet we see, even with the largest brands, that their employer brand is a neglected child. As far as we are concerned, a missed opportunity!

Employees want to be able to identify with their work.

When organizations have a clear proposition on the labor market, this results in motivated and involved employees who identify with their employer. Furthermore, a strong employer brand contributes to the image of organizations and that is essential in the current labor market where the 'war on talent' is the order of the day.

In our ideal world, organizations would have a clearly formulated Employee Value Proposition (EVP) and a strong employer brand. With the right employer branding, you know how to get and maintain a preferred position in the mindset of your employees and new talent. It is the familiar story: What do you tell about your employer at a birthday party? A clear EVP ensures that people can talk about their employer with pride and positivity. Not unimportant in this market.

To achieve this you will need to invest – but perhaps not as much as you might think – the following 5 tips will take you a long way!

1. Make your vision clear

Write a paragraph or two about what you do, why you do it, and why it’s important. Sharing your purpose gives employees and candidates a reason to identify with your organization. Don’t just explain what the company does, tell how it benefits others, what it enables them to do. Talk about the passion of your own people. Use emotional language. Speak from the heart.

2. Provide a clear “Give-Get statement”

The essence of a good EVP: We can give you something special as an organization if you (employee) bring something special. It is the promise that you make as an employer to your employees. In return, they give their talent. A good EVP is a short promise that summarizes the offer as authentically as possible. It is a 'personal' statement from a company. And you can hold everyone to that.

3. Ask your own employees for input

They are on the work floor and understand the culture of your organization. Use this to write a few paragraphs summarizing this in a way that resonates with like-minded people. Quote them if possible – it gives the whole piece more authenticity.

4. Use real life images

Stock photos may look slick, but they are never authentic. If possible, take photos and videos of the workplace, the teams and the different functions.

5. Adding People Profiles

Ask for quotes, photos and short bios from your employees and post them on your career pages. They give potential candidates valuable insight into the company and the type of people they will be working with.

If you feel like your career page needs more or you're ready to really transform your attraction and recruitment, ask us how we can help!

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