An astonishing 70% of new hires leave in the first year. I came across this figure years ago and checked it again today; sadly, it’s still the same.
40% of new employees leave in their first 90 days!
However, only 12% of Vinehouse new hires leave during their first year.
What accounts for this difference?
Thorough and careful work.
I was recently told by an “expert” in the field of hiring and recruitment that we shouldn’t be reviewing so many candidates for a Virtual Assistant role because all those roles are pretty much the same, and there are plenty of good candidates.
Yes, there are lots of good candidates, but sadly, only a few of them had the very specific skills required for the role we were filling. I knew if we recommended one of them to our client, they would not last long (they would contribute to the 70% who leave). So we held on till we found someone who did have what was required. It took longer than just sending someone who would be “satisfactory,” but we’re not interested in just “satisfactory.”
We want to find someone who will perform exceptionally well and stay.
You need to do three things to ensure you don’t hire one of that 70% who will leave.
- Identify exactly what duties you need your new employee to do – don’t just go with a standard job description.
- Be very clear in your advertising, ensure you include the details about the role and that they are accurate, and don’t miss out on key parts of the job that some candidates won’t like.
- Check very carefully that your candidates really have the skills and experience you need.
This all sounds very obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many people aren’t clear on what they need their new employee to do and who just copy an old job description or advertisement instead of checking it’s up to date.
I once had a client who hired a driver and didn’t check that the candidate had a driving licence. He didn’t have one.
Checking candidates’ skills and experience carefully is a time-consuming process, but given the costs of getting it wrong and the enormous benefits of getting it right, it’s worth the effort.
If you’d like to discuss this or any other issues, please book a slot with Nancy here: https://go.scheduleyou.in/GJwevE
