The hiring process is a lot of fun. If you agree with that statement, then you probably don’t have to read on. It’s also not without large monetary costs. The Center for American Progress puts the figure at roughly 20% of salary: that’s how much it roughly costs to fill a position. So this means you want to do it right the first time. And once you’ve hired the right person, you have to keep them in their seats.

The First Year

Employees who leave in the first year mostly cite that the job wasn’t what they expected. This means you didn’t hire the right person. The tasks required of the position or the culture of your office likely wasn’t as advertised. This happens when managers aren’t more closely involved in the process. It typically happens when you’re in a rush to fill a position because you have all this work you need to get done. Don’t be short-sighted. Be as transparent as possible about your office and the majority of work that you do. If say 90% of the job is designing banner ads, but you get to do one really special showpiece a year then don’t spend 90% of the time talking about the showpiece. Talk about the banner ad work you do.

Mentor

Try to find a like-minded veteran to pair with new candidates. This isn’t always easy. Sometimes the person with the most useful knowledge has a personality that’s completely opposite your new hire. It’s OK to pair them, but this is where you have to do your due diligence to make sure nothing is going sour. The new hire is not likely to complain or even communicate a problem if one exists. That means, in this scenario, you have to work harder to make sure things run smoothly.

Onward!

For all employees, but especially new ones, keep tabs on what’s working for them and what’s not. You want to make sure that the processes aren’t grinding them down and are actually making everyone’s work better. For engagement levels, surveys can be an effective tool. They’re not as personal, but they tend to track things better.

The hiring process is constant. Nothing stands still, or at least nothing should stand still. To stay competitive you need energized and engaged teams carrying out your mission. This doesn’t just happen unfortunately. But it’s also something you don’t need to do alone. A recruiter can help.

About NextGen

NextGen is the brainchild of longtime telecom professionals with nearly 50 years of experience and millions of dollars in Telecom Recruiting Services. We focus on establishing long term relationships with our clients and candidates so we can recruit the best and the brightest in the telecom industry. This ‘quality over quantity’ approach is at the heart of everything we do and has resulted in successful job placements at Fortune 1000 firms worldwide.