We were thrilled to see such a strong and engaged turnout for our recent Breakfast Brief, Recruit to Retain: Enhancing the Candidate Experience for Long-term Success. Led by recruiting experts Chelsea Livingston and Jenn Bradford of KMA, the session offered insightful and practical strategies for improving the candidate journey, from job posting through onboarding.
Chelsea and Jenn kicked things off by discussing the current recruiting landscape. With many job seekers feeling less optimistic than in recent years, and employers encountering a growing skills gap, the need to rethink recruitment practices has never been more urgent.
Flexibility continues to be a top priority for employees. Even in roles requiring in-person presence, incorporating creative scheduling solutions can help meet this need and increase applications and retention.
The presenters also emphasized the value of a positive employer brand reputation, and advocated for managing how the brand is communicated across all platforms.
Another major them of the presentation was the importance of onboarding – starting before Day One through the first year of employment. A few sobering statistics highlights the need for improvement:
- Nearly 1 in 5 employees quits during their first week
- Another 17% leave after the first month. The honeymoon period is getting shorter!
- Mismatched expectations and misaligned company culture were identified as key drivers of early turnover.
A lively Q&A session reflected our audience’s enthusiasm and curiosity. Topics included:
- How to boost both the quantity and quality of candidate applications
- Ideas for spreading the word about job openings
- Strategies for improving the chances that candidates show up for interviews
- Incentivizing employee referrals
- Using surveys to understand desired employee benefits
- Best practices for conducting performance reviews
Attendees also shared their own success stories, making it a collaborative and community-building event.
Thank you to everyone who joined us! We look forward to continuing the conversation in future Breakfast Briefs and webinars. Stay tuned for upcoming events.
Food for thought, check out this article by our partners at Mineral, Welcoming a New Employee
As always, reach out to the team at KMA for guidance on recruiting, managing and retaining your employees.