Many companies act like hiring is such a simple thing to do. They believe that replacing their best people is easy, especially in this global economy where there’s no shortage of human capital.

How wrong they are!

Great businesses understand the value of a recruitment and retention specialist. With one, they don’t have to constantly replace workers because they prioritise keeping the ones they have.

What is employee retention?

Employee retention is your company’s ability to convince your workers to stay. It’s usually expressed as a statistic. For instance, if your organisation retains 8 out of 10 personnel a year, it has an 80% annual staff retention rate and a 20% annual staff turnover rate.

Why is employee retention important?

People resign for all kinds of reasons so a moderate level of turnover is normal. In fact, it can be good for your business as it means fresh approaches and ideas.

However, this doesn’t mean you should just let your workers walk out the door. Do what you can to stop them from leaving you for another employer. Here’s why:

Turnover rates are increasing

Separation rates vary by occupation, location, and industry but LinkedIn reveals in a 2018 survey that it’s over 10% worldwide.

Mercer states that the national average for total separations was 20% in the US. This number is expected to rise as over 50% of employees in North America plan to look for a new role in 2021.

People want new opportunities

The 2021 Pulse of Talent by Ceridian states that 67% of the workforce in the US, New Zealand, Australia, UK, and Canada are open to new career opportunities. The same report shows that 30% are willing to consider a new job if approached.

A recent Retention Report by Work Institute also discloses that over 37% of hires leave their employer within a year. If they exit within the first 90 days, a company would make little-to-no return on their investment.

Separations cost a lot of money

Voluntary turnover cost businesses over 630 billion USD in 2019. To elaborate, replacing an hourly worker puts you back an average of 1,500 USD. Technical roles cost up to 150% of the worker’s annual salary.

Recruitment advertising isn’t cheap either, especially for targeted audiences. For example:

• Indeed charges anywhere from 10 cents to 5 USD per click even if a job seeker doesn’t submit an application.
• ZipRecruiter runs on a subscription model with prices starting at 249 USD per month.

Hiring is a complicated process

There are numerous steps involved in filling just a single position. You have to craft and post a listing, screen and interview applicants, perform background checks, complete legal paperwork, extend a job offer, and train your new hire, among other things.

Lever reports that it takes around 29 days to hire one person and around 2.8 hours of that is spent on interviews. Additionally, it takes more than 20 qualified candidates for you to make an informed hiring decision, regardless of occupation or location.

Losing people affects the team

Gallup reports that women who have a best friend at work are 63% more likely to be engaged and productive. Meanwhile, 70% of employees say that friends are crucial to a happy working life. The problem is that it’s hard to build friendships when people keep leaving.

Good working relationships also encourage people to stay with their current employer. Research by Olivet Nazarene University reveals that 10% of workers left a job because a friend did. People are twice as likely to think about quitting their jobs because they’re lonely.

What are the benefits of employee retention?

Apart from reducing or eliminating the issues mentioned above, you may also enjoy:

• Increased productivity
• Increased revenue
• Increased employee engagement
• Increased employee satisfaction
• Increased customer service quality

87% of HR professionals are already making improved retention a high priority over the next 5 years. We recommend that you follow in their footsteps. Begin with hiring a recruitment and retention specialist.

What is a recruitment and retention specialist?

They act as an ambassador to current and existing staff but are separate from recruiters, recruitment marketing specialists and the like. Their main goal is to align all recruiting activities with company goals for hiring and retention.

Necessary skills and knowledge:

• Verbal and written communication skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Emotional intelligence
• Counselling and coaching ability
• Proficiency in recruitment-related software
• Knowledge of employment techniques
• Knowledge of human resources or labour law

Recruitment and retention specialist job description:

• Conducting and analysing surveys and interviews to gather quantitative and qualitative data.
• Identifying gaps where additional training is needed for supervisors and management.
• Ensuring the onboarding process is welcoming while incorporating the company culture.
• Coordinating and conducting training and career development programs.
• Making changes to the system to help your business adjust to shorter-term employees.
• Improving your employer brand and reputation within the professional community.
• Implementing appreciation and recognition programs across the company.
• Creating messages that impress your core values and mission to your workforce.
• Determining ways your leaders can be more transparent with the rest of the team.
• Providing a more realistic view of job opportunities towards candidates and job seekers.

To summarise, a recruitment and retention specialist gives information and support services in all stages of the employee life cycle, from job posting to career development.

Why you need a recruitment and retention specialist

You’ve exerted much effort in finding and nurturing the right people for your team. To get the best possible return on your investment, you need to create a work environment they want to stay in. But it’s challenging to craft a great employee retention plan on your own.

Many organisations make the mistake of getting another recruiter to retain staff. While recruiters are certainly capable of improving the hiring process, they lack the skill and knowledge in resolving internal issues and conflicts.

The above recruitment and retention specialist job description gives only a peek of what’s involved in employee retention. There’s more than enough work to justify creating a special position dedicated to handle such responsibilities.

Remote Workmate can help you find an employee retention specialist who suits your needs. We understand that regular recruiters won’t suffice when dealing with high turnover rates and will endorse the best candidates to you.