One of the most important aspects of growing great teams is keeping them together – retention.

I recently realized that many companies don’t fully grasp the retention challenge. I asked ‘When does retention at Company X start?’, and the answers ranged from ‘What retention process?’ to ‘The first meeting with their manager, after getting hired.’ I thought that last answer was the best of the bunch, but they still missed the point.

The retention process starts during the first contact between the employee and the company, before the first interview takes place. Why? Because the candidate is, at that point, forming their first impression of your company! We’re well aware of the power of a good (or not so good) first impression, but few companies incorporate that fact into the hiring process. By the time the new employee shows up for their first day on the job, their first impression bucket is mostly full. What did you fill it with?

• A prompt, professional response to their application?
• A sense of urgency?
• Value for the applicant, as a potential new employee (team member)?
• Did everyone who interacted with the applicant conduct themselves professionally? (Read the resume, had an interview plan, managed time well, communicated results clearly?)
• Was the candidate secured, prior to investing the interview teams time?

I appreciate that HR groups are facing many challenges – but if candidates are treated as just one more resume in a stack, that makes an impression. Another way to look at it is that _this_ resume could be the next great employee to join your company. How would you like them to remember the hiring process? Would that memory be one that contributes to retention? I recently asked a newly-hired engineer if she had any friends or colleagues who would be qualified for our other open position, and she replied that she wasn’t sure she’d want to put anyone she knew through our hiring process! Bad sign!

Another way to look at the issue is to ask ‘Are our core values reflected in the way we treat prospective employees?’ If we profess to have a high degree of care for our employees, and for our customers, how does that square with mediocre treatment of an applicant – someone who might turn out to be both an employee and a customer? When does ‘care for our employees’ start? On their start date? When the offer is extended? At the interview? I think that the best answer is that our portrayal of our core values should be consistent from the first contact to our last interaction with the individual, hence the statement that the retention process starts during the first contact with the employee (applicant).

What do you think?