Susan Fronk
President and CEO, MRA - The Management Association

I've heard the recruitment process described as a courtship. To those candidates with the right skill sets and attitudes, companies present the best they have to offer: an inspirational mission, growth opportunities, evidence of teamwork, community involvement initiatives, proclamations of a fun environment, and more. Pictures are painted and promises made. Once candidates become employees, this "selling" process sometimes stops - and it shouldn't. How do you continuously "re-recruit" your existing employees to reinforce that this is where they should choose to remain? If you don't, rest assured that other companies are out there waiting with their own pictures and promises.

In the retention equation, there are many variables. There are fundamentals such as compensation and benefits, personal development plans, managers with the skills to offer assistance in those plans, and so on. But it’s also critical to examine the larger picture of your company, the picture you offer to candidates.

Think about how you speak to candidates. What is it you frame as unique and interesting about your company? How do you continue to focus on and present proof of those claims to your current employees? If your company puts a stake in the sand and states that corporate citizenship, for example, is a key attribute, how do you continue to bring focus and vigor and proof to this claim? Talking about the existence of a community outreach committee might be enough for candidates, but to the employees who latch on to this declaration, more is required.

Our 2008 Best Places to Work survey report underscores that employees want an identifiable culture that synchs with their values - and they keep looking for reassuring evidence of what their company purports to be. Continue to actively talk about and present those elements that make your company unique. Never consider the sale complete. Some organizations focus on integrating customer stories into what they do so employees feel a connection to something larger. Others select a few key brand attributes and create a matrix that details how the company is living what it says it is.

The overall candidate pool continues to shrink and employee replacement costs continue to rise across every dimension. Thus, it is critical to “re-recruit” your current employees over and over again. How well would your employees say you deliver on the picture you paint for candidates? Vigilant focus on current employees can help to decrease the number of candidates you need to pursue.