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A short story about hiring and keeping employees

Sample Corp was growing, and more support was needed to provide the kind of customer service that was expected of John and his department. Because John had structured his department to it’s optimal, it was easy to add an additional person, both logically and physically. John updated the job description and put an ad in the local paper and online for a Tier 1 data repair technician. He was so excited to add another person to his head-count; he ended up hiring one of the first people he interviewed. This person had the right skills and seemed like a good enough person, but after just three months of employment, the new employee quit.

John was upset. It cost the company time and money to bring in a new employee, not to mention the time and money invested into all of the training that was needed. John thought, “What kind of person starts a new job and quits after just three months?” He decided to investigate to see where he went wrong and if there was anything to learn from this poor hiring decision.

John pulled out the employees resume and quickly spotted that this person jumped around between companies more than he had realized. In just three years, this person had five different employers and the reason for leaving was because a better offer was made. To make things worse, John did not call any of the previous companies or references for employment verification and character assessment.

From that point on, John added job history and time at each company into his new hire checklist. He knew that it was pretty easy to spot someone with the right skills, but it was harder to spot someone who is still searching for what they want out of their career. He also made it a point to call references and verify employment.

It also made John realize that if his existing staff sees people leaving for other opportunities, they might leave as well. Luckily, he already had a motivated staff, due to setting clear expectations along with recognition and rewards in place. However, he just knew not to take that for granted. He decided it was time to discuss some new retention ideas with his fellow managers and upper management. After a few meetings, they came up with a new vacation policy that rewarded those who stayed with the company for over four years, with 4 weeks of vacation (the previous policy was 3 weeks). It was also decided to provide tuition reimbursement for job related studies. Just these two changes greatly reduced attrition, not just in John’s department, but also throughout the entire company.

Epilogue: You have to really do your homework when it comes to hiring a new employee. You not only have to look at their skills, aptitude, and attitude, but that they will be around for the long run. Always look for ways to retain your employees and do not be afraid to discuss ideas with upper management. The points discussed in this lesson should help greatly when it comes to hiring the right person and keeping your employees for many years to come.