Determine requirements and competencies

- Retaining the best employees is one of the greatest challenges in business today. No matter the industry, we all want to know the secret to long-term retention. Well, there is no secret. Employee retention begins with the recruiting, interviewing, and hiring process. As a recruiter you want to attract the right people for the job, so it's important that you offer to help the hiring manager write or revise a job description, which clearly differentiates between minimum requirements and core competencies, which are two separate areas that need clarification. Minimum requirements are your GPS to a successful recruit and should be agreed upon by everyone in the interview process. Each time a job becomes available the requisition needs to be updated to include current minimum requirements. Are they mandatory or preferred? Think about the last job you had and how different it was from your first day of employment to your last. As your manager realized you had additional talents and capabilities you were given additional responsibilities. Most employers use all the talents of the people they employ, but they forget to update the job requisition when that person moves on. This can be very frustrating to have your candidates screened out in the final interview, because the hiring manager wants skills not listed on the requisition. Ask the hiring manager to review the requisition and determine what percentage of the time is spent on each area of responsibility. If a specific skill or experience is utilized less than 5% of the time this should be part of their wish list rather than a required minimum skill. Finally, determine if additional minimum requirements need to be added to the requisition due to upgrades in technology, changes in priorities, or new management. If the hiring manager requests additional skills or experience they may need to consider a higher salary range. Core competencies, on the other hand, are a company's unique characteristics or capabilities that provide a competitive advantage in the marketplace, deliver value to customers, and contribute to the organizational growth. Individuals you recruit must identify and align with the company culture, values, and current team so they can thrive. The key is to match your candidate's core competencies with those of your company. For example, if your company is known to hire individuals who are problem solvers will your candidate be able to determine appropriate solutions, identify cause and effect, and focus on solutions versus problems? If a core competency is adaptability will your candidate embrace change? Will they deal effectively with diverse people? I've put together a handout that outlines the 10 most commonly recognized behaviors that are critical for an employee to be successful. Download and review the list to determine which align best with your company's core competencies. So, before you begin your recruiting process take time to verify the minimum requirements and core competencies of each requisition. This will greatly enhance your ability to recruit, interview, and place the candidate with the right skills and experience, and retain them for long-term.