BACK TO THE LIST100 Tips From Experts on Retaining and Recruiting Talented Employees
With the great resignation on everyone’s minds, it’s more important than ever to make sure you have a solid plan in place to retain and recruit employees. No longer is a good salary powering employee satisfaction at their workplace. A team of talented employees can make all the difference at the businesses they work for. Without good staffing, businesses are failing every day.
Here at Overit, we help our clients recruit and retain talented employees so that their businesses can thrive. We’ve consulted 100 experts for their tips on the topic and we encourage you to connect with them on LinkedIn as they always have good information to share.
Offer More Than Just a Good Salary
Of course your employees care about salary, after all, a bunch of “great work” praises don’t pay a mortgage. But employees also value other perks of a company. Keep in mind, a little can go a long way.
Julie Titterington from Merchant Maverick “The best way to recruit high-quality employees in this economy is to offer a competitive benefits package. That doesn’t just mean good health care and a matching 401K, those are standard accoutrements these days. Millennial and Gen Z employees have come to expect a certain amount of freedom in their work routines. That means offering at least some form of a work-from-home option, either full-time or hybrid, and a certain amount of flexibility in vacation days, personal days, and mental health days. Salary is still vital – after all, money pays the bills – but more and more people are focusing on other elements that provide a high quality of life.” Connect with Julie on LinkedIn.
Nelson Sherwin from PEO Companies “The best way to recruit and retain talented employees is to be competitive with your compensation and benefits, because ultimately, people work to make money to create the life they want. Secondly, hire employees who have a passion for the vision and mission of your company. Creating a connection between the employee’s skills and the mission of the company will motivate them to stay with your company.”
Mike Brown from Breeze “If companies want to retract and retain the best talent, they should consider offering paid parental leave as an employee benefit. 90% of working fathers said it is important for an employer to offer paid parental leave if they are looking for a new job. 86% of millennials are less likely to quit if paid parental leave is offered as a benefit. 74% of women would have no savings left after 8 weeks of unpaid maternity leave” Connect with Mike on LinkedIn.
Iqbal Ahmad from Britannia School of Leadership and Management “It is imperative to understand what exactly motivates each staff member individually, rather than adopting a generic one-strategy-serves-all approach. For example, some employees are motivated by financial rewards and some by appreciation; you have got to meet their individual motivational needs to be able to have a highly effective team.” Connect with Iqbal on LinkedIn.
Gerry Finn from BeeLine Healthcare “Our owners take a familial interest in the staff and construct tailored rewards depending on individual circumstances (has included help with getting a mortgage, flexible working hours, sending gifts to kids for Easter). People stay because they feel appreciated and respected and are surrounded by colleagues with shared values who become friends. This approach is obviously dictated by the inherent personality of an owner.” Connect with Gerry on LinkedIn.
Miranda Morin from Clearcover “Creating a culture of trust is essential to maintaining a productive remote-first work environment. To support our employees, Clearcover offers a variety of unique benefits including: monthly snack allowances; in-depth mental health sessions and individual support; virtual daily yoga sessions; unlimited PTO; flexible Fridays; multiple employee resource groups (ERGs); the Equity, Inclusion & Diversity Council (EIDC); and more. We also recognize that now more than ever, employees prioritize having more freedom to work where and when they feel most productive. We have a flexible, remote-first work model which means less time commuting and more scheduling options to give our people more time to recharge and do the things they love.” Connect with Miranda on LinkedIn.
Tiffany Payne from Replace Your Docs “There is no way around the fact that employers must assume greater responsibility for the mental health of their employees. Burnout is a major component of attrition. According to Gartner, one-fifth of HR leaders believe that turnover that was halted during the pandemic is a significant cause of attrition.. Leaders must directly address employee fatigue. Some options include providing flexible work hours and locations, encouraging the use of paid time off (PTO) to promote a healthy work-life balance, and expanding training and development opportunities for employees.” Connect with Tiffany on LinkedIn.
David Reischer from Legal Advice “I have found that providing coffee and donuts in the morning is a good motivator for increased performance from our sales team and also long term employee retention. Sometimes motivation is very simple and doesn’t require complex incentive structures. Employees just want to know that they are appreciated by the company and food is always a great way to increase employee loyalty. We also do catered lunches for the major holidays and our employees definitely appreciate it.” Connect with David on LinkedIn.
Daniel Foley from Daniel Foley SEO “Benefits are a method to keep your staff and entice new talent, as you are probably aware. The objective is to set yourself apart from other businesses and from your rivals. A few years ago, parking spaces and lunch coupons might have sufficed, but today’s young professionals demand more from their employers. You can provide health insurance, assistance for parents with children, and strategies for juggling work and personal obligations. For instance, provide childcare services and attractive health insurance contracts with extensive coverage (since all employees now have health insurance plans, and you need to stand out!). Employees are especially grateful for these benefits.” Connect with Daniel on LinkedIn.
Calloway Cook from Illuminate Labs “Granting talented employees equity in the business that will lead to life-changing money if the business exits is the best way to retain these employees. Granting equity aligns incentives across the organization, and provides a strong disincentive for leaving the business. Every member of our team has meaningful equity in our business, and not one of them has left since I began granting equity as part of the compensation plan.” Connect with Calloway on LinkedIn.
Cody Candee from Bounce “We spend so much of our lives at our offices, but oftentimes businesses solely focus on their financial benefits when trying to attract and retain candidates when they should be placing equal attention on the office’s physical layout. Creating an enjoyable workspace with open floor plans, places for recreation, and fully stocked break rooms, not only makes the environment more attractive but productive as well. In concentrating on the physical workspace as much as the compensation and benefits, you can attract and build a place where people want to go to work.” Connect with Cody on LinkedIn.
Rhett Stubbendeck from Leverage RX “To retain employees, I suggest providing employees with creative freedom for the tasks assigned and paying heed to their imaginative thoughts that might benefit the company. Employees should also be given perks if the company’s profit margin increases and they should be given temporary leaves to ease the work load burden.” Connect with Rhett on LinkedIn.
Sai Blackbyrn from Coach Foundation “Many companies invest considerable effort and resources into creating a work environment that is appealing to potential employees. The process of “selling” your firm should never end if you want to retain the best staff. The ability to communicate effectively and provide an alluring workplace setting and compensation package are constant requirements. It’s important to constantly remind staff of the advantages of working for your company over others by sharing the numerous positive aspects of working there.” Connect with Sai on LinkedIn.
Communication is Key
It’s crucial that employees understand a company’s vision and that requires consistent communication. Whether it’s through weekly meetings, persistent emails or simply checking in with your employees, don’t be afraid of “over-communicating.”
Davis Nguyen from My Consulting Offer “Communicate, communicate, communicate. One difficult lesson I’ve learned is that team members need to know what’s going on ‘behind the scenes’ in order to feel good about where they work and how their job fits into company plans. It’s important for management to convey a clear message about the direction of the business as well as its growth potential, especially when those things change with time (which they undoubtedly will).” Connect with Davis on LinkedIn.
Nathan Liao from CMA Exam Academy “Replace internal email communication with Slack. I did this and it has dramatically lowered the amount of emails my staff had to deal with on a daily basis. Instant messaging in apps like Slack will improve the speed of your enterprise’s internal communication, boost employee engagement, and lower email fatigue and overload.” Connect with Nathan on LinkedIn.
Leanna Serras from Fragrance X “Ask your employees what would make them feel happier at work and what they would do to improve the company. Evaluate their feedback, and show them that their opinions are valued with a feedback implementation process based on their suggestions. Keep everybody updated by issuing regular progress reports throughout the process.” Connect with Leanna on LinkedIn.
John Simmons from InboxAlly “When I think about recruiting and retaining talented employees, the first thing that comes to mind is the importance of having an open-door policy. When I was a new manager, I would make it a point to walk around my office and talk to people every day. I know that sounds like common sense, but it’s easy to get caught up in your own head and forget. Talking to your employees not only helps you build relationships with them, but also lets them know that they can come to you with any problems or questions they may have.”
Teri Shern from Conex Boxes “The key to recruiting and retaining talented employees comes down to transparency. You want to make sure that, throughout the hiring process and even after the hiring process, you’re clear about what you want from your employees, what the potential of the role is and the future for employees, and much more. High quality employees appreciate transparency because it helps them to align your business goals with their own goals and shows them that there are no hidden messages when they’re looking for a job. Sure, laying everything out clearly might mean that some employees might not apply for the job, but that just means that they probably wouldn’t have lasted long in the position anyway.”
Mike Murphy from Fluent in Coffee “The most important thing hiring managers need to do to successfully recruit and retain talented employees is to show them they will be working in a positive working atmosphere. During the recruitment process that means responding to candidate e-mails in a timely manner, respecting the time of the candidate, and showing positivity through the interviews. If the candidate chooses our company, we try to carry on with a positive impression in our workplace as well, showing the employee that they are a valued part of the team.” Connect with Mike on LinkedIn.
Eric Jones from Couture Candy “It is essential to keep an open communication line between the seniors and the employees. It gives employees a voice which can lead to a positive organizational environment. You can even consider conducting a regular survey among the company that allows the staff to get feedback on business outlook, office culture, career satisfaction, and career development. Acting on the survey and using that data to improve employee experience can improve our organization.”
Andrew Gonzales from Business Loans “Exercise full transparency. The best talent on the market is already busy with other work, and inundated with offers headed their way. Needless to say, they don’t have time to chase you up for more information about a role.To capture their attention, volunteer as much information as you can upfront. This includes the role’s salary range, benefits, location, and responsibilities. By being forthright about the opportunity, it allows candidates to make a prompt, yet informed decision on whether to move forward with your company.” Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn.
Ian Wright from Business Financing “Companies can seek to individualise their talent retention interventions. That way, each individual in the workforce is empowered to be proactive in communicating what the company can offer that would boost the chances that they’ll stick around for the long term. Not only does this mean the intervention is bespoke to the individual, but it also serves as a fantastic demonstration that the company values the individual, and listens to and acts upon their unique situation and desires.”
Mike Bayes from People First Companies “Businesses who excel at attracting and retaining talent are observers who have a grip on how their employees feel about their position. The most beneficial practice a business employer can implement is stay interviews. Conducting a stay interview while an employee is still employed allows for a better understanding of any issues or concerns they have about their role, leadership, workplace culture, benefits, and colleagues, allowing employers to address them immediately. Taking the pulse of your employees before they leave sends the message that their input is valued and that you’re genuinely invested in their professional growth.” Connect with Mike on LinkedIn.
Andreas Grant from Networks Hardware “Be precise about your Employee Value Proposition (EVP), make it part of the job description. EVPs give employees a clear idea of what to expect if they are willing to put in the hard work. The idea of getting rewarded for your work is still valid to this day and works for both recruiting and retaining talented employees. You don’t feel like walking the extra mile if your company is not willing to do the same for you.” Connect with Andreas on LinkedIn.
Jonathan Zacharias from GR0 “When it comes to retaining talented employees, remember to always take team feedback to heart. Provide ample opportunities for your employees to educate you on where you might be falling short as a leader. Having this awareness will help you adjust your approach and make sure you are providing the best employee experience at your organization.” Connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn.
Dan Close from We Buy Houses in Kentucky “Host a meeting, also known as a “stay interview,” to learn more about the employee’s preferences, the aspects of their work they like and dislike, their experience working for your company, their future career goals, their interests in training and development, and any assignments or responsibilities that might be of interest. These honest discussions are occasionally required because they let workers express what they enjoy and dislike about their work and the company. This knowledge helps you understand what your workers desire. Make changes for the better using the knowledge you gained from these discussions.” Connect with Dan on LinkedIn.
Celebrate Your Employees
Don’t just assume that employees know they are valuable assets to your company. When an employee does a good job, always sing their praise.
Thomas Samuels from Cardinal Expo “A great tactic for both recruiting new talent and retaining high-performing employees is to share the outstanding work that your staff is doing. You could write case studies and employee spotlights for your website, for example, and share those as well as other photos, videos, and updates about staff accomplishments on your social media channels and in your company newsletter. Not only does this show appreciation for your staff and remind them about all the amazing things they’re accomplishing with your organization, but also it can attract new hires who are impressed with your work and want to get involved themselves.”
Temy Mancusi-Ungaro’s from Reachdesk “In today’s day and age, work from home is more popular than ever. Staying connected and creating a genuine, positive work environment are extremely important. New and interesting ways of connecting with colleagues can include sending thoughtful gifts for various reasons. From an employee’s first day of onboarding to celebrating work anniversaries, promotions, new life accomplishments, and more, taking the time to share a meaningful gift is one unique approach that I have loved to do at Reachdesk. This is a great way for employers to show that they care about their employees as humans, and truly care about their employees’ work experience.” Connect with Temy on LinkedIn.
Ashleigh Droz from Linnea Consulting “An often overlooked tip to retain talented employees is to become deeply familiar with and celebrate their unique strengths and how they contribute to the team’s mission overall. As a career counselor, I see many managers make the mistake of believing they know the best way to accomplish a task and dictate that it must be done a specific way, but that way may not be comfortable, easy, or productive for an employee with differing-yet-still-valuable talents. If instead managers focus on articulating the overall goal and trusting their employees to accomplish that goal in the way that they work best, the goal is still met and the employee stays engaged. Think of it like forcing someone to write a sentence with their non-dominant hand just because that is the hand that you write with; if the goal is to end up with a legible, well-written sentence, the way to produce the best result is to let the writer write it how they were naturally born to!” Connect with Ashleigh on LinkedIn.
Nick Castello from New Heights House Buyers “I learned the hard way that top talent will leave for greener pastures unless I regularly acknowledge and reward high performers. Salary increases and bonuses are the most obvious way to do this, and I’ve found that these don’t have to be large to be effective. However, some high performers will also value opportunities for career development such as special projects, specialized trainings, or being given more responsibilities.” Connect with Nick on LinkedIn.
Barry Maher from Motivational Presenter “We all know our people can achieve more than they believe they can achieve. So build them up. Show them the vision you have for what they can become and what they can accomplish: a vision you may have helped to instill but one you’ve worked out with them so it encompasses their hopes and dreams. If they think you have a high opinion of them, it’s amazing what they will do to maintain that opinion. And the more they respect you the harder they will work to hang on to your regard.” Connect with Barry on LinkedIn.
Bill Snow from Rad Air “Make it about the employee, always. Celebrate birthdays with cake and work anniversaries with gifts and make these celebrations public. Focus on the culture (people choose culture, real or percepived, over almost anything else). Show them their career path and discuss it monthly.” Connect with Bill on LinkedIn.
The Onboarding Process is More Important Than You Think
Having a streamlined onboarding approach when you hire a new employee is key. Make sure they’re filled in on things like your position in your industry, your goals, technology your company uses, etc.
Ethan Drower from CiteMed “Use personalized videos for onboarding. No employee likes to feel like a cog in the machine. Even if your company is large, personalized touches like a welcoming Loom video from directors/team members will go a long way in making a new worker feel like they are a part of a team. Recording and sending videos also reduces the ‘intro’ friction on your existing team members, as many are likely already too busy to try and coordinate a non-essential call during their workdays. Videos keep the burden on your current staff low, while still making the new staff feel welcome and valued.” Connect with Ethan on LinkedIn.
Rahul Vij from WebSpero Solutions “Create a winning onboarding and orientation process for your employees from the start. You will get your new hires up to speed faster if you invest time in developing onboarding materials. Employees will feel at ease in their new role because they have a better understanding of the organization. Company swag and personalized welcome emails from coworkers are also easy ways to make someone feel like they’re a part of the team.” Connect with Rahul on LinkedIn.
John Crowley from Sense HR “Have a smooth onboarding process. Believe it or not, many companies lose talented new recruits due to their poor onboarding practices. They sell prospective employees a dream, but then fail to live up to it – e.g. by dropping communication once the job offer has been made; or failing to introduce them to their new team; or never sending their new equipment in advance. Remember that even during the onboarding stage, your new employees will still have other job offers ringing in their ears – if you don’t show them that you’ve got your goals together, there’s a high chance they’ll jump ship before they even start.” Connect with John on LinkedIn.
Company Culture is Crucial
As we mentioned previously, the modern-day employee looks for more than just a good salary. Company culture is a huge component of employee retention and recruitment.
Patrycja Karwowska from hiJunior “Creating a company culture before hiring any employees will assist in determining the right fit for your company as early as during the hiring process. Talent is not everything! Focusing on hiring individuals with a growth mindset will ensure that people working in your company will constantly learn and try different ideas. Stay away from those simply looking for an income opportunity, as they will quickly experience burnout and quietly quit. Individuals with the drive, motivation and constant need of exploring new ideas will guarantee the continuous growth of the company. Invest in the development of your employees, organize workshops and give opportunities to climb the corporate ladder. Research your competition and offer better benefits and flexible hours, which are especially significant to the younger generation.” Connect with Patrycja on LinkedIn.
Natalie Fell from Step By Step Business “Many of today’s top candidates are looking for authenticity in the workplace, cultures that foster well-being, and organizations that put mental health first. Benefits like unlimited PTO, a remote working environment, and flexible schedules help employees maintain a strong work-life balance so they can show up to work energized and productive. The pandemic made many job seekers reevaluate what an ideal working environment looks like, and for many, that means a company with strong human-centric values.” Connect with Natalie on LinkedIn.
Guna Kakulapati from CureSkin “To combat feelings of disconnectedness, I’ve found that peer mentorship is a helpful way to ensure the employees can make a meaningful connection with a team member. It is important that employees feel comfortable being supported by their teammates, and building a solid relationship with at least one peer can be a new employee’s best route for building further relationships. Our peer mentorships often last 3-4 months, with employees meeting bi-weekly or sometimes once a month, depending on what works best for each individual.” Connect with Guna on LinkedIn.
Brittany Mendez with The Florida Panhandle “Maintaining a great company culture is key to recruiting and retaining talented employees. Employees care about the atmosphere that they are in. When you put your efforts towards a great company culture that thrives in communication and care for their other employees, then potential employees can see that their efforts will be valued and appreciated. Not only will potential employees see that when interviewing at a company, but current employees will feel acknowledged and that will show in their productivity at work.” Connect with Brittany on LinkedIn.
Piotr Sosnowski from Life and My Finances “If a company is looking for great talent, they have to showcase the company culture, competitive advantages, and how they invest in the learning and development of its employees. Younger generations, especially, expect their employers to aid them in developing their skills and climbing the corporate ladder. They want to learn and put a lot of emphasis on their own skills but also choose their companies on how ‘good’ they are. This includes benefits, work-life balance, flexible schedules, and learning programs.” Connect with Piotr on LinkedIn.
Pavel Bahu from Trevolution “A lot of people believe HR is there to only hire people and deal with the ones who are being let go. In reality, HR is responsible for growing the organizational capacity and creating meaningful work lives. To recruit people properly, HR team has to know the organizational design, and how to ask questions with different techniques. As an HR, you have to know what the values of the company are, and what is the cultural fit of an individual you are trying to recruit. To retain employees, they have to be engaged and motivated. They have to be seeking autonomy, mastery and purpose, and the workplace shall provide that.” Connect with Pavel on LinkedIn.
Gavin Hammar from Story Prompt “We like to give candidates a sense of our company at the moment they first come across our vacancy. Candidates are skimming many job descriptions and we want ours to stand out. So, we embed an interactive video introducing them to the hiring manager and the team they’ll be joining. We use it to ask a couple of pre-screening questions for the candidate to respond to over video. In return, we receive a video cover letter from the candidate. Often, if the candidate gets hired, we’ll share that video with the team. It’s a fantastic way to help them get to know their new team member.” Connect with Gavin on LinkedIn.
Kristin Stump from MyEnamelPins “What is causing you to leave your job? It’s possible that it’s your corporate culture. Failure on the part of management, pettiness in terms of issues, and a lack of appreciation are all factors that contribute to poor employee retention. The general attitude of your employees and managers is determined by company culture. Just like anything else, company cultures need to adapt over time so they can remain appealing to newer generations of employees. If a company culture becomes outdated, the business may struggle to attract new talent.” Connect with Kristin on LinkedIn.
Jim Reynolds from Sofia Marketing “Divide working employees into smaller teams. This can encourage employees to become closer and create closer bonds between them. Perhaps you can divide them up by the department they work in, the projects they’re working on, or even by the group of people they’ve become friends with. As a smaller group, they can check in on each other, depend on each other, and create a better atmosphere for work.” Connect with Jim on LinkedIn.