Upon completing a successful selection process, the next challenge a hiring manager will face is finding ways to ensure that all the time, effort, and money spent does not go to waste by firing or having their top talent leave for greener pastures. Below is a look at some of the common challenges faced by hiring managers in trying to retain their staff.

Employee disengagement is one of the challenges facing hiring managers when it comes to the retention of staff. In fact, a Gallup study has shown that as many as 70% of the workforce is disengaged.

Mismanagement is another retention challenge, with research carried out by Target Training International showing that over 95% of all people stated that they have been mismanaged. As a result, they will attribute their below par performance at certain periods during their employment as having stemmed from this mismanagement. Eventually, those interviewed gave their reasons for leaving the company as being because of one reason: mismanagement.

Being unclear about job accountabilities is another retention challenge facing hiring managers. This is best illustrated by the fact that the common reason why most people get fired is because of a disagreement on what constitutes "superior performance."

When the individual's talent is not being applied (bad talent/job match) or when they are not rewarded by job (bad talent/job match), these scenarios can also pose a challenge to successful retention in a company. However, both these issues are easily eliminated when the talent of the candidate and the talent requirements of the job are well matched.

Another challenge facing recruiters in successful retention is conflict within departments or teams. However, occurrences of conflict within a team or between two employees may be avoided completely, or significantly improved once the talents of each individual involved is recognized and understood.

By accurately measuring talent and thereby understanding each individual's talent, recruiters will be able to tackle the challenges that hinder successful retention in a company. What the recruiter needs to do is to get the individual to answer "yes" to the following Gallup questions relating to retention. Below are the questions and what every hiring manager can do to ensure that their staff answers them in the affirmative.

* Do I know what is expected of me at work? For a "yes" answer, be sure to inform your staff about what is expected of them at work in the most effective way for their particular style of communication.

* At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? Give every individual the opportunity to do what they do best at work every day, based on their particular talent strengths.

* At work, do my opinions count? Give the individual an opportunity to voice their opinions, while providing them with opportunities for growth based on their particular strengths.

* Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person? In order to enable the supervisor to create a powerful working relationship with the individual, ensure that you provide them with sufficient key talent information.

We have the tools necessary to accurately measure all of these areas for each candidate, employee, and the requirements of these for the job itself. Contact us today! t

~ Written for us by our associate Gary Sorrell, Sorrell Associates, LLC. Copyright protected. All rights reserved