3 keys to recruiting and retaining the best employees

How can you find top workers and keep them at your company? Theresa Sweeney Kwayi, Chief Human Resource Officer and Vice President of HR Consulting at CBY, has the answer.
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With over 30 years of experience in human resources working with multibillion-dollar companies, Theresa Sweeney Kwayi knows a thing or two about recruiting and retaining the best employees. Her background in HR gives her insight into the challenges that many companies face as they try to hire and maintain a solid team.

“You don’t have a business without people,” Theresa says. “How you treat your people, how you grow and provide opportunities to your people, all are critical to running a successful business.”

Theresa is Chief Human Resource Officer and Vice President of HR Consulting at CBY Professional Services, which provides human resources services and cultural assessments to help organizations identify their strengths and opportunities. She specializes in assisting companies find and keep top workers through three key steps.

Key 1: Recruit with an Employee Value Proposition

An Employee Value Proposition (EVP) essentially outlines, above and beyond wages, why an employee would want to work for your company.

Theresa encourages HR departments to ask themselves three questions when putting together an EVP:

  1. What are the core components of your business: your mission, vision, values?
  2. Why would someone want to join you in that mission?
  3. How are you connecting your recruiting efforts to that messaging?

“Most companies don’t have EVPs,” Theresa says. “Most have values and a strategy, but how is the people side of your business lined up to your strategy?”

Key 2: Recruit and retain with an Employee Referral Program

An Employee Referral Program can be paid or unpaid, but realize that a bonus of $200 or $250 for a referral is a small price to pay for gaining a quality employee through an insider’s recommendation.

“If I’m a current employee, I know and understand the business,” Theresa says. “The person I’m referring already has a heads-up about what the company’s like.”

The Employee Referral Program is also one of the best ways to retain employees, Theresa has found. She and her team put that to the test in their recruitment campaign for their large motorcycle organization during the COVID-19 pandemic. They were seeking both skilled and unskilled people for their hourly workforce. While many companies were losing employees left and right or shifting to remote work, their referral program kept employees engaged while working elbow to elbow with hundreds of fellow masked employees and no options to work from home.

“The culture of the organization was understood by the people that were there and they were referring people who would work well in that culture,” Theresa explains.

Key 3: Retain by encouraging feedback

Have conversations with employees about their goals and how they can improve. Once you receive feedback, act on it. Without a mechanism for listening to employees, a company might be addressing the wrong issues.

“Don’t be afraid of the challenges of HR,” Theresa says. “Embrace them as an opportunity to make your business a better business.”

With a team of senior-level experts and over 100 years of combined experience, CBY is a valuable resource for any size organization looking to take its business to the next level.

Learn how CBY can help your business grow.