The real competitive advantage that many companies have is their employees. Innovation, marketing, delivering and differentiating…those things do not get done without employees. To replace a single employee, the average cost of turnover is 20 – 200% of their annual salary. Employee turnover cost companies billions of dollars every year. It could be much lower. Effective management of Stage 2: Recruitment in the employee life-cycle, will significantly increase employee retention, and retain the top talent to remain competitive in your industry.

Recruiting to retain begins by asking two questions “What does someone need to be successful in this position?” and “What type of person fits here?” This focuses on the core personality, skills, and abilities the ideal candidate should possess. If they do not have what it takes, and they will not fit in with others, they certainly will not last very long. Recruiting to retain means keeping many candidates in the pool, and few in your pipeline. It is protecting the investment already made in your current dozens, hundreds, or thousands of employees. Recruiting to retain is never hiring in desperation. How often did that work?

The two questions should be asked for every hire, every time. As an organization evolves and grows, the needs, wants, and expectations evolve as well. As do the needs of candidates. Your company reputation or the market conditions may get candidates to join, but employees won’t stay unless their values are aligned with the organization. Checking in before every hire helps to ensure that natural evolutionary changes are considered. Recruiting to retain takes more time up front. It pays off in the long run when you can spend your time innovating, marketing, and delivering, instead of replacing, re-hiring, and re-training.

Guest author Chason Hecht is an innovator, speaker, and leader in employee retention strategies. As an expert on reducing employee turnover, Chason founded Retensa (www.retensa.com), which now helps organizations on 5 continents and in 9 languages to retain employees and address the social and financial impact of staff turnover. Follow him @retensa.