The recovering economy and healthy job market has brought about a wealth of available talent with the potential to help your company realize its success goals. We believe hiring and retaining good employees are actually two complementary processes, each one designed to help employers reach their business goals. Here’s how to utilize each process to identify the employees you need, and retain those employees once they are hired.

How to Find Good Employees

To help expedite the process of hiring external talent, take time to evaluate and identify each of your internal employees as either “high-performance” and/or “high-potential.”

• High-performance employees are easily recognized for consistently delivering quality work. They are the “go-to” people in your organization to get a task done quickly and on time. But while high-performance employees exhibit a high degree of skill in their core competencies, they may not have the potential or the desire to excel in a high-level role.
• High-potential employees generally exhibit strong learning capabilities and the potential to grow into more complex roles, including positions in management. They seek out opportunities to utilize their skills to benefit the team, and are eager to show their ability to lead.

While both your current employees and potential hires will exhibit some combination of high-performance and high potential attributes, it is not uncommon for an individual to exhibit one set of attributes over the other.

Employers may not know exactly who or what they are looking for in a new external hire, and as a result, will focus on the more easily discernable attributes of high-performance individuals. While it is much easier to recognize the traits of a high-performance candidate, traits based upon performance, certifications, and/or project deliverables, neglecting to consider the value of a high-potential hire can negatively impact your company and its bottom line.

Instead of looking to for someone who “checks all the boxes,” focus your search to find an individual with the high-performance and/or high-potential skills and traits to resolve your department’s particular needs and complement the attributes of your existing team. In short, it’s not advisable to repeatedly hire and employ individuals with the same attributes.

How to Retain Good Employees

So how do you reward and encourage employees to give their best, and provide them with an ideal work place in which to do so?

As an employer, regardless of whether or not you are looking to hire someone, ask yourself the following questions:

• Do your employees feel connected? Do your employees like each other? Do they feel as if they are a part of and working for a team? Employees will remain with a company if they like and feel invested in the people they work with.
• Do your employees feel challenged? Are your employees excited about their work, and are they stretching and learning in the process of getting things done? If their work provides them with a sense of meaning, your employees are likely to stay with you.
• Are your employees given opportunities for growth? This is especially relevant to high-potential employees. If you can’t offer your employees the chance to develop new skills and grow into new roles, they will look for other career opportunities.

To put it simply, when talented employees are challenged and given room to grow to the benefit of your company, it’s a win-win for everyone, and good employees are happy to stay on board.

Help With Finding Great Employees

Primary Services’ recruiters know where to find the right employee for your particular business needs. Whether you are hiring one person, a whole team, or want to implement a flexible staffing program, we can connect you to the right employee or employees for the results you need. Have a position to fill? Submit a job request with us today.