Creating and maintaining employee—employer bonds.
Hiring new staff is an expensive business, not just in terms of budget, but also in terms of the time and human capital it requires. In addition to the cost of advertising positions, organisations also need to invest HR resources to interview and perform competency tests on potential candidates. Successful candidates must then be put through the induction process, and receive training and mentoring before they begin to find their feet with their new employer.
New hires are often required urgently, and the ensuing war for talent puts even greater pressure on HR to make quick hiring decisions. Yet the enormous cost to business of making poor recruitment choices is one that is all too easily overlooked by organisations.
Industry research shows that when a company hires, inducts and trains a new recruit at a starting salary of HK$30,000 it incurs an overall cost of just under half a million dollars—which equates to 15 times the candidates starting salary.
The problem is exacerbated when high job turnover is added to the mix. In good times, Hong Kong is well known for its notoriously fickle job market. As the local economy continues to rebound from the financial crisis, it has become of paramount importance for HR managers to make savvy recruitment decisions. This means not only finding individuals who are a good fit for the company, but also ones who are likely to stick around for long enough to repay the time and energy invested in training and developing them.
Acknowledging the dilemma HR faces in securing and keeping talent in an improving economy, HR Magazine spoke to Audrey Low, Country Manager and Cherry Tsang, Project Manager-Training & Development Division from Adecco Personnel Limited.
Precision crucial
Being precise and careful in the recruitment process is crucial to ensure a smooth transition for employees joining new employers. Tsang recommended assessments and competency interviews, as they set measurable standards by focusing on behaviours, working styles and leadership skills.
The advantage of psychometric assessments is that they are systematic, unbiased and provide useful statistics. Interviews are more subjective, but also very important as they help organisations gauge the overall person, providing a window into a person’s personality and how they express themselves.
Once an employee has been placed, the recruitment process is still far from complete. It is then essential to help organisations bond with their employees so they are more productive and engaged.
Maximising induction efficiency
At the opposite end of the spectrum are orientation programmes—essential because first impressions are rarely forgotten and they provide engagement from an early stage. On this note Tsang pointed out, “If you have a good induction programme, new employees will feel important, welcome and respected.”
Often large companies invest heavily in recruitment. However, if the induction programme is not effective, such investment may go to waste. Frequently, line managers are simply too busy operationally to take proper care of monitoring and mentoring new staff. This situation can also arise when line managers expect staff with prior experience to know exactly what to do when they first join the company. HR can help significantly improve the effectiveness of induction programmes by making sure line managers know what resources and support mechanisms they have.
Open meaningful dialogues
Performance management is important for all companies, no matter what their size, and should be a continuous process. It is essential for managers to relay staff expectations and this requires a comprehensive and systematic performance management programme with a strong framework so that KPIs and competencies can be clearly mapped out. Appraisals are only one part of this process and ongoing monitoring also helps managers motivate staff and manage their expectations appropriately. Low underlined the importance of communication, especially for managers. She said, “It must be two-way communication. Managers should not dominate meetings, and avoid starting them by highlighting what staff are doing wrong and what they need to improve upon.”
Tsang reiterated these sentiments, and added that when meetings begin with negative comments, employees can quickly become defensive and then are less receptive to suggestions. Instead meetings should be seen as a chance for staff to relate their expectations to managers, and for staff to come to their own conclusions regarding what they need to do. Managers should be there to offer guidance and communicate expectations. If there is no positive feedback at all for certain staff, then you may need to look at replacing them, or they may come to this realisation themselves in light of lackluster appraisals.
Prioritise candidate needs
Achieving job satisfaction for employees requires a proactive approach by the HR team, which is also instrumental in providing well-defined career paths and effective training. Unfortunately, companies often fail to provide adequate training or subsidies to encourage self-study because the HR team is busy with more immediate operational issues such as payroll and benefits.
Low explained the importance of fully understanding an organisation’s philosophy and their needs, so that when talking to HR a customised, tailor-made programme can be developed. The bigger the budget, the more long-term and comprehensive the programme can be. Some companies may want to review leadership or management style, so it is important to draw up customised questions for employee surveys. These surveys can then be put online, allowing employees to fill them in at times most convenient to them. The surveys should be non-compulsory and anonymous–with employees only being required to list their department, rather than individual names.
The next stage is examining the findings and analysing them to provide recommendations based on staff expectations. Continuous training and development programmes can then be implemented and mapped out on calendars. Low suggested that this calendar is then posted on the intranet so that employees can either opt in themselves to attend training, or line managers can assign specific staff to attend programmes.
Often a lack of leadership or poor management style is highlighted by such analysis. For example, the organisation may have good development plans but the management and systems are not properly aligned, or the managers are not competent enough to execute them and therefore unable to help staff optimise resources.
Learn from mistakes
When an employee chooses to leave an organisation within the first one to two years it is important to find out more about why the individual came to this decision.
Low and Tsang were in accord on the importance of gaining meaningful information from exit surveys. Similar to employee engagement and satisfaction surveys, employees are more at ease talking to an outsider. Otherwise they may give the standard responses like: ‘I’ve had a better offer’ or ‘It’s for personal reasons’.
These are of little value to HR as they do not give any insight into what the company could do to better retain its staff and what issues they may have with the company. This goes hand in hand with knowing your employees and engaging and developing them.
Succession planning
Training and development is central to succession planning and is a long-term investment—it also lowers the need for investment in recruiting. Low explained that succession-planning strategies, although not particularly innovative— deploying more traditional methods such as group assessments—can identify employees’ strengths as well as potential leaders. In order to identify leaders, you must identify what skills and competencies are necessary. Suitable candidates can be identified with the help of a range of tools including capability assessments. Having identified potential leaders HR can then offer suggestions of how to nurture this group and provide extra development.
Demonstrating ROI
In terms of evaluating ROI, Low conceded a recruitment decision can be difficult to absolutely quantify. The results are not immediate and organisations often look for financial metrics. However, results are often more evident in company culture and the happiness of staff, which in turn effects productivity. Mid-term, she explained, you might be able to measure ROI through the turnover rate and seek to minimise it accordingly—not always an easy proposition in Hong Kong’s volatile job market.
Outsourcing
HR Magazine asked why a company would choose to outsource when they usually have the resources required to undertake their own staff recruitment.
Low explained that it was sometimes easier for a neutral party to obtain an honest dialogue between candidate and prospective employer. A total HR service company can provide an integrated plan and fill in all the gaps.
“It is important to provide a bridge between management and staff. Employees find it easier to speak to and be honest with someone external,” she observed.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
