Leveraging Employee Engagement To Attract & Retain Top Talent

As the pandemic begins to wane, leaders are making decisions about the future of their workplaces, and whether returning to the office full-time, part-time, or not at all makes sense for their business.  Against this backdrop, we are witnessing an increasing “war for talent” as labour shortages are putting more power in the hands of the employees.

Some leaders are selecting the stick over the carrot approach when it comes to returning to work. Apple CEO Tim Cook faced a spirited backlash after he shared the company’s plans to require employees to be in the office three days a week, on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. In his letter to employees, Cook said he “missed the hum of activity” and surmised that he “is not alone.”  However, Apple employees reacted swiftly, citing that they “often felt not just unheard, but at times actively ignored” and “there is a disconnect between how the executive team thinks about remote / location-flexible work and the lived experiences of many of Apple’s employees.”

Other companies are using the carrot – and in some cases, they are making huge investments in their workspaces in an attempt to lure workers back and attract new talent.  According to Raconteur, firms are adding in-house gyms, steam rooms, reading rooms, yoga studios, sleep pods, game rooms, and cinemas to their workspaces. One is even crowning its roof with a forest!

Clearly, leaders need to use everything in their power to attract and retain top talent – after all top talent can be eight times more productive than average workers – and they’re more engaged too. Plus, the advantage of remote working means that businesses now have infinite opportunities to find the best talent anywhere in the world – and conversely it broadens the prospects for job seekers too.  And given that, 41% of employees plan to leave their current employers this year post-pandemic re-staffing, means companies are doing more recruiting than ever.

So, what can organisations do to stand out and position themselves as employers of choice? We explore four ways employers can improve recruiting with the tools and data they already have at their fingertips.

Engagement is a powerful tool employers can leverage in their recruiting efforts, chiefly because a strong employee engagement strategy will speak to the factors people weigh up heavily when evaluating potential employers - namely the opportunity for growth and development, culture and purpose, and whether the employer creates a sense of belonging.

1. Align your brand with engagement. When someone hears or reads your company’s name, what impression comes to mind about what it’s like to work there? Branding can be critical to attracting top performers, who know their value and have the luxury of choice when it comes to employers.

Make sure that your branding reflects your culture and values. If you’re not certain you have this culture thing right, ask your employees. Start with a survey and address concerns quickly. Engage your employees in the process of cultivating the kind of culture they want to work in and that new talent is attracted to.

2. Share employee engagement stories, internally and externally. Stories have the power to both encourage current employees and entice potential talent who are looking for companies they can flourish in.
3. Set up an employee referral program – or remind staff about an existing one. You’ve carefully vetted and hired your employees and they are connected to a lot of former colleagues, as well as people they have met at industry events. That’s a powerful network you should tap into.

According to LinkedIn, the #1 way people find new jobs is through referrals and employers can expand their talent pool ten-fold by leveraging current employee networks.  However, your existing employees will be brutally honest about their current experiences so make sure that you are clearly addressing current concerns about remote working, flexible working and career path development.

4. Create an engagement cycle. When you relate a story of genuine engagement to your current employees, it creates trust and reaffirms their sense of well-being. People want to feel good about their employer and co-workers.

When you share those stories with job candidates it can inspire an emotional reason to want to be part of your team. People want to work where they feel they belong, can thrive, and create their own stories.

The engagement cycle picks up momentum when new employees become engaged and create their own stories, inspiring your workforce and attracting more new talent.

With employees more than ever craving a sense of belonging at work, engagement tools provide a way to really listen to what the team need and then respond appropriately, and it’s the same with potential employees too. They want to know that they will be joining an organisation that respects them, listens to their opinion, and provides career advancement. This is the power of engagement, as its benefits are multi-faceted.

Please let us know how you are planning on winning the war for talent in your industry?