How can you make your employees stay longer?

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics confirms that the average turnover rate is approximately 3.7% per month, or that two-thirds of all hiring decisions fail within 36 months, and that is everyone from senior level executives to entry level laborers. You could say that one-third of people are in the wrong jobs, or are not a cultural match for their company, and more than one-half of employees are not properly trained for their current position, or for the company’s future needs.

In times when, globally, we have to become more productive in order to dig ourselves out of a planet-wide recession and find a better future, we could be doing a better job of simply ‘Working’.

So, how have we reached this situation within the hiring process? Let’s start with workload: Human Resources – along with all other Managers – are over-worked, with the hangover of working with new technologies adding to daily stresses rather than decreasing them. They have relied more and more on other people’s input to filling positions, rather than relying on their own skills, and tend to fall into the same traps repeatedly when hiring employees. 

Let’s get back to basics and follow a few simple rules:

1. Know exactly what you want in an employee. And don’t settle for anything less than exactly what meets your needs.
2. Does the candidate have a value system similar to yours? Cultural conflicts and value differences are the leading causes of employee failure. If you highly value quality don’t hire someone that depends on speed to get the job done. 
3.  Hire the ‘Best and Smartest’. We have gotten used to ‘hidden potential in employees. But – really – If you want your business to improve you need better, smarter people and – probably – people smarter than you.
4. Don’t JUST trust the resume. Verify and, if you can’t (Be Honest), hire someone to do it. Eliminating one hiring mistake will more than pay for the professional interviewing.
5. Use high quality assessments to get at the core issues. They are predictors of peoples’ behaviors, motivators, skills, and natural talents. In the hands of a skilled professional the use of assessments can greatly improve the quality of new hires. In most cases the cost for the assessment products will be less than the weekly salary of the person you seek to hire. 

So, hire the people you want, make sure they can do what you want – both now and in the future – and ensure that they can fit into your corporate culture now, and lead it into new fields, check they a retelling the truth, and assess them properly. As for staying longer, this article doesn’t only mean employees will be relied upon to stay with you for a longer time period. If they fit the points laid out below, they will be the type to stay late, voluntarily after 5.00 pm, too.