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Hiring the Right Fit, Caring for Employees Crucial for Growth

Utah was recently named the top state in America for business by CNBC. This recognition is the culmination of a number of honors for the Beehive State over the years and cements our reputation as the nation’s leader in entrepreneurship.

According to CNBC, Utah receives high marks across the board, including cost of doing business, education, cost of living, and access to capital. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges facing Utah’s booming economy.

When business is good, it can be incredibly tough to find enough talent to keep up with the growth.

Take our tech sector as an example. Over the last two years, Utah companies have raised more than $1.5 billion in venture capital funding. Companies like Skullcandy, Vivint, Domo, Qualtrics and Pluralsight have built impressive brands and have become leaders in their industries. Unfortunately, many Utah tech companies are experiencing serious shortages of skilled talent and some are being forced to relocate or open secondary offices outside the state to ensure they can fill key roles.

We’re facing the same challenges at CHG Healthcare. As the competition for talent heats up, we can expect an even more intense battleground for attracting and retaining talent to develop over the coming years.

With a more competitive job market, companies will need to go beyond just compensation and perks and have a long-term vision of culture to ensure they are attracting and retaining the right employees. When it comes down to it, it’s all about putting employees first and seeing employees as people not dollar signs.

Here’s how your company can come out on top in the battle to attract and retain top talent.

Hire for Culture

Hiring for culture fit, from interns to the C-suite, is essential to the sustainability of your culture. At CHG Healthcare, we incorporate culture-related questions throughout our interview process to help us determine if job candidates are the right fit. For instance, an open-ended question like “Tell me about a time when you helped a co-worker in need,” gives us insight into the candidate’s character and whether or not he or she lives our core value of Putting People First. Look at what’s important to your culture and tailor your interview questions to allow candidates to speak to those topics.

Equally important is being completely honest with candidates about your culture from the beginning of the hiring process. The interview process is a chance to determine if the job is the right fit for both of you. Be transparent about your culture, the job requirements and expectations, and avoid anything that might be considered a misrepresentation. You’ll only end up breaking the candidate’s trust, which will negatively affect your culture and cost you your top talent.

Plan for Growth and Development

One of the biggest motivators for employees is the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally at a company. According to a Jobvite survey, over a quarter of job seekers view their current position as a stepping-stone and see their jobs as a growth experience rather than an endgame.

If you want to retain your top talent, invest in a well-rounded learning and development program that gives employees the chance to grow their skillset. You’ll also need to define the career path for each role within your organization, giving employees a clear understanding of what it will take to get a promotion. Defining clear expectations and mapping the steps your employees need to take to achieve career advancement will not only set them up for success, but improve your employee retention.

Take Care of the Whole Person

Work/life balance may seem like just another corporate buzzword, but it is important to the engagement and happiness of your employees. Gone are the days of people making their jobs the sole focus of their lives. Instead, there’s an emphasis on creating a balance between their personal lives and work lives. And it’s not just millennials who make work/life balance a priority. All generations are embracing the idea of bringing your whole self to work.

Here are a few ways to take care of your employees and increase their engagement:

  • Volunteer time off — Designate company-paid time off hours for employees to volunteer in the community throughout the year. Not only does this have a lasting impact on the community, but studies have found that it positively impacts our health, too. According to the study, people who volunteer have lower mortality rates, greater functional ability and lower rates of depression later in life than those who do not volunteer.
  • Connect to a purpose — Employees want to know that their jobs have more purpose than just impacting the bottom line. They want to know that their work has meaning and that they are valued by their employers. Connect your employees’ work to a higher purpose and show them that they make a difference.
  • Flexible schedules —In today’s technological age, giving employees flexible schedule options is easier than ever. Allowing employees to find a schedule that works for them—whether it’s coming in early to leave in time to pick up kids from school, working from home, or having a compressed work week—not only increases their engagement but their productivity and loyalty to the company as well.

Utah is a great place for business. The state has all the pieces in place to help companies be successful—except for an overabundance of workers. The companies that will continue to thrive here are those who can attract and retain top talent by creating a strong company culture and caring about their employees.

Christine VanCampen is the culture director at CHG Healthcare Services.