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How To Engage Your Employees + Reduce Your HR Recruitment Costs

Is your company spending millions on recruiting new employees? Inflated recruiting budgets can be a red flag to HR professionals that investments need to be made in workplace culture, argues GlobalGiving’s Ben Litoff.


 

Before coming to GlobalGiving, I worked in recruitment marketing and advertising. My job was to manage portfolios for clients who spent millions of dollars in annual media purchases to advertise open positions at their company.

Some (not all) of my clients were companies that, we’ll just say, did not have the highest Glassdoor rating. It became clear that there was a correlation between poor workplace culture and the amount of money a company had to spend advertising job openings. In other words, low retention hits HR budgets hard. Budgets that are already spread thin.

According to Glassdoor, the average cost for hiring a new employee is around $4,000 per hire. And the cost of a “bad hire” can be upwards of $25,000.

This data highlights just how important retention is for your organization. Employee engagement and charitable giving can improve office morale and can motivate employees to stay. Employees want to experience a sense of purpose in their employer and to find meaning in the work they are performing.

So, how can HR professionals and fellow corporate leaders give employees a sense of purpose and inspire them to stay?

Alignment, a participatory culture, and plenty of opportunities in your charitable programming are three solid solutions.

Alignment goes a long way.

Can HR managers put headlines such as “we’re changing the world” or “leading the way for good” on their recruitment materials? Sure, that can be done. But will it be effective? Probably not. That’s a type of stock copy candidates and employees hear all the time from every type of organization.

I had a retail client once tell me, “We’re not curing childhood cancer. We sell hammers.” Alignment with your core operations is important because with it you can more effectively showcase the social good you are doing.

This same client worked in a geographical area where unemployed seniors, who did not have quite enough in their savings to retire, had trouble finding stable income. This company made a conscious effort to hire seniors and provide benefits. This authenticity was easy to showcase with their recruitment efforts and work culture because it was woven into their day-to-day operations. [Learn more about how to build your CSR strategy around your company’s core competencies.]

Let employees shape your charitable giving.

There is a huge difference between being an active participate or a passive observer. My team surveyed more than 50 professionals responsible for corporate social responsibility, and 84% of respondents said their companies involve employees or customers in charitable giving decisions. Corporate-led giving can make a social impact, but it does not inherently give employees a chance to participate or let their voices be heard.

Provide opportunities for them to donate and contribute. Let employees refer nonprofits to your grant program or launch a charitable gift card program. This level of involvement with employee engagement can help retain talent and save your budget. [Think about ways to inspire your employees to participate in your giving program.]

Support disaster relief efforts.

Similar to the last point, this gives employees a chance to be active. Natural disasters can wreak havoc and, when they do, the trauma ripples. If your employees or partners were affected by a disaster, let everyone know how your company is providing them support and how coworkers can contribute. Give employees an opportunity to support survivors. [Download GlobalGiving’s checklist to proactively plan your corporate disaster response strategy.]

Learn more about how GlobalGiving can support your employee engagement efforts.

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Featured Photo: Provide Solar Power and Solar Jobs to Veterans by Global Diversity Foundation

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