So, what can financial services HR leads do to try to attract and keep the best people?
Talent acquisition software is a great solution. It’s come a long way in recent years in terms of functionality, usefulness and accessibility so now is a great time to look at what’s available.
And consider these three top tips too:
TIP 1: Get your existing employees to help
Most of us want to work with colleagues who are positive about the company, their colleagues and their role. Employee engagement scores are a good indicator of how well your business is doing. Also, think about what the company culture is like. If it’s good too, then why not harness some of that positivity and use it to boost your recruitment and retention strategies?
How? You could encourage staff to celebrate the great things about working in your business, to spread the word internally and externally about what they like about their jobs and the company and share their experiences. Social media is a perfect outlet for this – so, for example, why not ask your people to post on sites like Glassdoor which is a magnet for jobseekers checking out their next employer. Alternatively, some companies feature employee case studies on their website or as part of their recruitment drive. Hearing from real people working in the business rather than just the ‘corporate message’ is compelling for prospective employees. And for your existing ones, it’s a nice compliment to be asked to feature too.
TIP 2: Offer more of what staff actually want
In a competitive talent marketplace, HR must ensure its offering is one step ahead of the rest. One benefit that regularly features at the top of the ‘wish list’ (particularly for Millennials) is flexible working. If you have this in place already, make sure you promote it in your recruitment campaigns; if you don’t yet offer it, take another look at how flexible working could be introduced for your staff. It is guaranteed to be popular with existing employees (and therefore another reason to stay put) and it will also be effective in attracting the attention of the best talent out there.
You could also consider doing a staff survey (there’s great software available that can help with this) and find out what your current workforce would like to see. You might even discover some interesting ideas that HR haven’t thought of but that could work well in the business.
TIP 3: Keep the best with robust succession planning
Have you done everything you could do on succession planning? Again, good HR software should help you do this properly. But bear in mind that succession planning is not just about putting continuity in place for key roles, it’s also an excellent motivator for those on the development path within the business and therefore also a good reason to stay.
Need more fresh ideas? Read about HR quick wins in compliance, engagement and value-add services in our FREE guide. HR in Financial Services: New ways to address your core challenges