A recent report released by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has uncovered some eye-opening statistics for human resource employees. Over two-thirds (68% to be exact) of HR professionals are reporting that they are finding the current talent market recruiting conditions to be challenging. The health, social assistance and manufacturing sectors were at the top of sectors struggling to land the talent they sought after. This is an interesting shift in the market which presents unique problems for HR teams in those sectors.

The Hiring Problem

While many sectors reported trouble with finding proper talent for job openings, they specifically struggled with finding qualified applicants. Those applying to positions simply did not have the desired work experience and expertise. Many HR professionals also reported trouble with being turned away by candidates who were not interested in their compensation package. This leads to a frustrating dilemma for HR teams around the country. Do they hire an underqualified candidate which will set the company back temporarily, or do they overspend their budget? As you can imagine, the former option is usually what ultimately happens.

The Solution: Retention

Hiring a new employee is exciting! However, it’s a lot more exciting when you are hiring an employee because your company is growing than when you lost a good soldier to another company or industry. A key to overcoming the hiring problem is to reduce the amount of new hires needed. Of course, all hires which come from company growth is positive. But many times hiring is necessary because employee retention wasn’t handled properly. As an HR professional, some things are out of your hands, but by putting an emphasis on improving areas under your supervision which contribute to employee retention, you will save yourself trouble by potentially eliminating new hires.

Boosting Employee Retention

There are many factors which go into employee retention. Here’s one that you can start implementing with your next hires. The connection between employee onboarding and retention is becoming more researched and accepted, as this brilliant essay explains details. Here are four tips you can use:
• Clarity makes a huge difference to new employees, before and after hiring
• Onboarding starts before the employees show up for their first day
• Don’t waste your new employees first few days or week getting them set up (prepare their work station, and have introductions, orientations, etc., scheduled before they arrive)
• A good onboarding plan lasts more than a few weeks. Think about their needs in 6 months.

We strongly adhere to this philosophy at SmarterHR and have put tremendous effort into creating a fluid and stress free onboarding process. We believe this is an incredibly important role of HR which must be properly addressed. Similarly, finding the employee with the right values might be as important as having the right skills.

At SmarterHR, we are not only passionate about the onboarding process, can also help with time and labor management, payroll, talent, and HR management. If you are struggling with hiring, finding the right talent, or setting up proper onboarding, you would be well served to talk to our team in Westborough, MA. We would love to help you uncover new and exciting HR best practices and ways to use technology to your advantage.