Across the generations, happiness at work means different things to different peopleThirty-three percent of US employees are engaged at work and love their jobs, 16% are actively disengaged and miserable, and the remaining 51% are “just there.” The first group who are both engaged and love their jobs are the group that hold the most promise as an extension of your talent acquisition team.
Here are the 3 key ways that engaged employees can improve your recruitment program:
- Engaged employees make stronger referrals
An engaged employee is likely to be more eager to share potential jobs within their network connections and are more keen to make good introductions. This is because they truly love their jobs and genuinely want to help their employers to hire top talent. This is key, as 71 percent of candidates said they utilise referrals from current employees of an organisation in their job search, with 68 per cent saying they utilise family members or friends.
- Engaged employees strengthen your employer brand
As advocates for your company, engaged employees actively contribute to creating a positive employer brand. They will go above and beyond to write strong employee reviews, and will want to help produce testimonials that you can use on your website and social media profiles. Seventy-eight percent of job seekers say they are influenced by employee ratings and reviews when deciding where to work, so good, strong reviews from engaged employees are absolutely crucial.
- Engaged employees lead better candidate interviews
Interviewing candidates is a two-way street: they are evaluating you as much as you are evaluating them. An engaged employee’s passion shines through during the interview process, which helps you sell your opportunity to the candidates you’re meeting. Many top performers will have several opportunities they are considering, often including their current role, and a gentle nudge from a highly engaged employee can make a strong impact. Eighty three percent of candidates say a negative interview experience can change their mind about a role or company they once liked, while 87 percent say a positive interview experience can change their mind about a role or company they once doubted.
Here are a few important things you can do to improve employee engagement:
- Build a great candidate experience
Treat them well from the start, from the very first point of contact at application stage. Every step of the way should help you build a stronger relationship with you candidates.
- Don’t over promise and under deliver
It’s easy to keep a candidate engaged if you promise them everything they’d want in a role, but you won’t be able to maintain that engagement if you can’t deliver. It’s important to clearly listen to what your candidates want, and honestly communicate what you can offer them in return. Otherwise, you are sure to have disengaged employees who feel that they had the wool pulled over their eyes.
- Ensure a good culture fit
An employee who is a good culture fit will share the organisational values, and believe in the company’s mission. This will usually help them to feel proud about their job and that the work they are doing is meaningful, this in turn leads to employee satisfaction and engagement.
- A strong onboarding program is essential
Get this right from the start and you’re on a positive road to success. As soon as the offer letter is signed, send a welcome letter and encourage existing employees to personally welcome them to the team. Help to get the new hire settled on their first day, and check in with them from time-to-time to see how things are going. They will appreciate that the person who guided them through joining the company still cares about them once they’re hired.
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