Struggling to Retain Finance Employees? “Re-Recruitment” May Be the Strategy You’re Missing
Today, it’s becoming more common for finance employees to experience customer outbursts as Americans deal with unique financial situations amid high inflation and economic turbulence. These customer situations, while understandable as many grapple with financial hardship, create significant stress among finance employees, which depletes job satisfaction, employee morale, and ultimately longevity.
This loss of morale is causing employers to rethink and ramp up their retention efforts. As we learned from the Great Resignation, to keep staff around, employers must address employee concerns and dissatisfaction. One way to do that is through re-recruitment, which involves employers proactively showing their appreciation and commitment to employees, and encouraging them to stay in their current roles. Here are some examples of re-recruitment and ways it can be implemented in the workplace.
Breaking Down Re-Recruitment
Re-recruitment is the idea that employers should be putting forth the same effort and resources into employee retention as they do into hiring. For example, finance employers may try to attract candidates through different perks, such as wellness stipends, company outings or free lunches. But those initiatives aren’t always well received by employees, especially since eLearning Industry found half of American workers don’t believe their leaders understand what makes up a strong company culture.
Instead, re-recruitment encourages employers to concurrently ask tenured employees which perks matter most to them and ways they can improve culture and/or compensation. This is especially important today, since most (82%) accounting and financial hiring managers say talent retention is challenging.
By initiating these conversations, finance employers can ensure they are up to date on what employees want from their organization, and can more proactively implement those changes to keep employees in conjunction with their organization.
Why Re-Recruitment Matters
Although thousands of jobs have been added to the financial sector in recent years, employers are struggling to find the right talent to fill them. Between the banking and finance industry’s 19% turnover rate and 40% of financial professionals wanting to leave their roles, hiring is in high demand.
And while hiring is in high demand, the time between the departure of an employee and hiring a new employee can create added stress for existing staff. During employee turnover, existing staff may be expected to pick up the work of colleagues who left their position, which can further strain mental bandwidth and morale. This increased pressure to do more with less could certainly cause employees to explore new job opportunities if their needs aren’t reasonably met and employers don’t pay attention.
Re-recruitment efforts help provide that attention. By increasing re-recruitment efforts, like helping employees better manage their responsibilities, providing continuous rewards for their contributions and more, employees are likely to feel more valued for their participation and that they’re part of a healthy working environment, all of which can steer them away from quitting.
Examples of Re-Recruitment in Finance
Re-recruitment can vary between organizations based on culture, people and resources. However, one of the most important aspects of re-recruitment is offering continuous, personalized employee feedback to help staff stay engaged, motivated, and empowered to improve and grow in their role. Not only does this build a stronger workforce, but 70% of employees say they want meaningful feedback to help expand their personal growth and development, and 60% want to perform at a higher level.
When employees receive routine feedback, they can also set realistic goals for themselves and track their progress in real time, which can be one of the most motivating aspects of employment. In fact, employees are 3.6 times more likely to feel driven to accomplish outstanding work when their manager provides daily feedback instead of just annual reviews. Additionally, sharing continuous feedback shows that leaders are invested in employees’ professional development and progress, and want to see them reach long-term career success.
Another important aspect of re-recruitment is offering performance-based rewards. Considering 65% of employees prefer bonuses based on their personal productivity, these rewards allow employees to feel recognized for their contribution and motivated to keep up their performance. This is an essential part of job satisfaction for 82% of employees, but a whopping 81% of executives say their organization doesn’t prioritize it. Since compensation is a top component for finance employees, employers should look to provide monetary rewards for their productivity to keep employees actively working toward those rewards and making progress in their role.
Without ongoing support and recognition from their employer, finance workers are more tempted to leave their current role, especially amid a shaky economy and increasingly distressed customers. Through re-recruitment strategies, employers can offer tremendous support to employees, helping them progress in their careers and recognizing their contributions -- a win-win for all.
About Author:
Aisling is the Chief Customer Officer at beqom, a total compensation and continuous performance management software provider. Her career spans over 25 years in HR where she has led several change initiatives in the areas of performance management, talent management, and cultural change. She was the former CEO and co-founder of Our Tandem (acquired by beqom), as well as the former HR Director for O2 Telefonica and, prior to that, the HR Director and Board member for SAP. She was successful in establishing and leading Telefonica's first shared services organization in Europe, and she and her team won the award for the most innovative product for the future of work at the HR Technology Congress in Paris for Our Tandem. While pursuing a research master's degree in performance management, Aisling spent several years consulting with top international organizations. She has leveraged her professional and academic career to change performance practices by bringing tailored, novel, and practical approaches to the world.