A couple of months ago recruiter asked me to write an article on the current hot topic of talent management; a constant challenge for any ambitious recruitment organisation in today’s business economy.
Yet managing talent is only one side of the equation; what about engaging the staff you already have?
The whole engagement piece is significant when it comes to business growth. I am often asked; “so what is the return going to be Nicky, if I focus on this?” My answer is always huge. Let me give you the evidence around the certainty of my response.
10X YOUR TEAM’S OUTPUT
“Your team does a lot of work – but they could do better. “
Gallop uncovered the power of staff engagement many years ago when they revealed that employee engagement boosts organisational performance. In 2012 they wrote a follow up research article that confirmed what many recruitment managers intuitively know that; organisations with high employee engagement essentially double their odds of success.
Add into this the Towers Perrin research that highly engaged employees generate 19% higher operating income and the value of focusing in this area screams out at you.
Success does breed success. When we are engaged in what we do we become more successful, as we become more successful we become more engaged; and so the cycle continues.
Engaging staff involves implementing a few simple systems; that are proven to work. Here are the two main areas to make a start.
New hires
The whole hiring process is another key area for discussion and one that some recruitment companies don’t place enough emphasis on. Rushing to fill an empty desk ASAP is never a good idea. Make sure that you identify the individual in question who can demonstrate the right ‘attitude’. One that ticks the boxes when it comes to both a role, and organisational fit.
Once you have the ideal candidate in place you then need to put them through an induction programme that is thought through with; training inputs, relevant milestones, training outcomes and plenty of support and practical mentoring.
This starts the whole experience of working with your organisation off on the right foot. This is especially true if you are going for newer trainees who are part of the gen Y generation.
Current team members
Engagement needs to be a culture that permeates throughout the whole organisation, from the greenest resourcers to the big biller M.D. with his or her vision of success.
Though it takes constant work there is a huge payoff for all concerned. The thing is engaged employees rarely go ‘off the boil’ for long. If they do you will know about it quickly. Why? Because you will be in dialogue with them, consistently. Organisation where engagement doesn’t happen generally have poor communication channels. Then tend to be top down-“get on with it or get out”- rather than; “this is what we need to achieve as a company and I need your input on the best way forward”.
10X YOUR TEAM’S OUTPUT
“Your team does a lot of work – but they could do better. “
From my own observations over a number of years working with recruitment organisations large and small, engaged recruiting teams have the following things going on.
- A vision that they know and understand-that has been communicated
- Structured training, development and feedback that happens; consistently
- Great working environments where the work gets done and people have fun along the way
- Old fashioned values where people appreciate one another and say thankyou
The challenge is to stand back and look at your organisation. How are you engaging your staff? What systems do you have in place now, or planned for the future?
Warmest regards,
P.S. If you want to learn how to set up your business, so that it stops under-performance once and for all, then join my free webinar: The 5 Secrets Our Clients Use to Build 7 & 8 Figure Recruitment Businesses
