How the Retention journey begins at Hiring

The bottom line of why an employee is willing to go above & beyond to attain excellence in their work is "Purpose". As long as there is an inner drive and an understanding that their work leads to something impactful, an Organization need not look for disparate tactics to boost productivity and reduce exits. A clear purpose of the role alone however cannot combat exits until they are aligned with the employee's career aspirations and expectations. To achieve this alignment, a lot of onus is on talent acquisition and talent management. Strategize hiring people for fulfilling mutual goals, not positions in the Org chart. However, the journey doesn’t end here. 

Once on board, it's essential to foster open communication and illustrate each employee's long-term trajectory within the organization. The most common and silly thing to do is to not make clear communication about the role’s expectations through a job description and then later upon joining. JDs can be more artistic, creative, and witty in design to attract talent (which is a crucial part of employer branding these days) but should also describe what is expected out of the role as well as the values the Organization believes in, in order to attract the right talent.  JDs will never be an exhaustive list though. It has to be weaved in together with the goal setting/career planning through conversations and mentorship upon joining. 

Here, HR leaders play a pivotal role in spearheading this approach across the organization. By facilitating collaboration among department heads and championing a unified strategy all across, HR can ensure consistency and alignment throughout the hiring process that stretches up to onboarding.

An organization that prioritizes purpose-driven hiring and strengthening the restraints before the employee starts their ride gets more closer to building robust, high performing teams.