Why Can’t Some Recruiters Recruit Their Own Talent ?

According to XPertHR, the average turnover of staff at companies in the UK in 2013 was 9.3%.  Specific figures for the recruitment industry are hard to find, but Globalrecruiter.com estimates industry figures to be between 25% and 35%, possibly even being as high as 40%

Whichever way you look at it, those figures aren’t good. If you have a high staff turnover, have you stopped to think why?

Of course, using the services of a specialist rec2rec agency will ensure a good supply of quality candidates, but that’s only part of the solution. What are you doing to make your agency appealing to the industry’s brightest applicants?

The vast majority of people you will be recruiting will be what are known as Generation Y (Gen Y), also known as millennials or the digital generation. Gen Y candidates are those people born approximately between 1980 and 1995, the ‘internet generation’.

Born into a much different world than their predecessors, their motivations and drivers are much different than the previous generations. It’s crucial therefore that you appeal to their specific wants, need and motivations to ensure you are attracting the cream of available talent…

Spread the word and engage

Shout and be proud about your company’s achievements, and share them socially. Word of mouth is much more important to Gen Y candidates as social media facilitates such communication. As well as your company’s social media channels being utilised, have your staff use theirs wherever possible.

You want to convey that there is always something going on at your company, that there is a real buzz about it and that it is never ‘just another day at the office’. Don’t forget to engage as well. Social media is a conversation, not a soapbox. Reach out, share, engage and enjoy.

Consider your company’s social and environmental impact

Whereas for previous generations, it might have been all about the money, for Gen Y candidates there are a multitude of other factors that they consider. Social and environmental impact is one of them. Now of course, a recruitment organisation isn’t a heavy engineering company and so your environmental impact will be reasonably low by default. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t have an impact in other ways.

Giving employees a day off occasionally to work on local environmental or social projects can have a range of benefits, from team building to being great PR to share socially. But the main benefit is that it makes Gen Y employees’ jobs more than just one dimensional tools to make money. It gives their job more meaning, which is something that appeals to Gen Y’s social conscience.

Salary

Gordon Gekko’s ‘greed is good’ mantra may have been the sort of thing that appealed to potential recruitment consultants in the past, but as we’ve seen, today’s modern generation are driven by so much more than money.

However, that doesn’t mean that salary isn’t important, it means that it isn’t the only consideration. According to the Institute of Fiscal Studies’ ‘Payback Time?’ study in 2014, UK students will now leave universities with debts averaging more than £44,000. A competitive salary therefore is a must, and a challenging but ultimately realistic commission structure will be appealing to help them pay down their mountain of debt.

Work/Life Balance

Work/life balance is Gen Y’s key driver according to PwC’s #NextGen: A Global Generational Study’.  71% of millennials found that work interfered with their personal lives, so if this is something you can try and engage with, you could be well on your way to appealing to Gen Y’s elite candidates.

Have you considered flexible working and even the occasional day working from home? These are all highly prized benefits to Gen Y candidates, and could seriously set your company apart in attracting the very best staff.

By engaging with the key motivations and drivers of Gen Y candidates, you can make your agency a company of choice and a desirable place to work. Do this, and you will see a significant improvement in your staff turnover.

Till next time,

Cheryl