Solving the Perennial People Problem: Insights from Elevate
One of the biggest challenges businesses face today is the ongoing struggle to attract, recruit, onboard, and retain top talent. This was the focus of my panel discussion at Elevate last year, where I was joined by four outstanding industry leaders: Eve Sukhnandan, Catherine Ferma, Maddie Cummings, and Craig Jones. The panel was titled, Solving the Perennial People Problem.
Rather than taking the usual approach of discussing job ads and hiring strategies, we took a deeper dive into the root causes of why companies consistently struggle with people-related issues. We broke it down into four critical areas:
- Attraction - How do you draw the right people to you business?
- Assessment & Recruitment – How do you effectively evaluate and select candidates?
- Onboarding & Training – How do you ensure new hires feel engaged and prepared?
- Retention – How do you keep your best people and help them grow with your business?
Attraction: Are You Bringing in the Right People?
Attracting top talent isn’t just about posting a job ad. It’s about crafting an irresistible proposition that makes people excited and WANT to join your team. Here are some key considerations:
- Is your job advert compelling, or is it just a copy-and-paste template?
- Are you advertising in the right places? Have you analysed where your best hires have come from?
- Does your business have a strong employer brand? Consider your Google ratings, social media presence, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives—these all impact candidate perception.
- Do you clearly communicate the long-term opportunity? People aren’t just looking for jobs; they’re looking for careers.
Assessment & Recruitment: Are You Hiring the Right People?
Once you’ve attracted interest, how do you identify the best candidates? Many companies fall into the trap of rushing the process or not assessing candidates thoroughly enough. Often there is a mindset of just keeping doing the same process because it's what has always been done. Key points to consider:
- Do you have a structured assessment process? Is it one stage? Two? Are video interviews being used effectively?
- Is your process too fast or easy or too complicated or slow? Finding the right pace, speed and challenge is key.
- Are you ignoring red flags? It’s easy to be eager to fill a position, but hiring the wrong person can lead to long-term issues.
- Does your process excite candidates? A dull or disorganized interview process can turn great talent away.
Onboarding & Training: Are You Setting New Hires Up for Success?
Hiring the right people is only part of the equation. A poor onboarding experience can undo (and often does) all the hard work you’ve done in attraction and assessment. Common mistakes include:
- A lack of preparation – Does your new hire feel expected and welcomed on their first day?
- Broken promises – If you’ve promised training and support during recruitment, are you actually delivering on it?
- Lack of structure – Is there a clear plan for their first few months?
- Having to wait for documents, even contracts, can be needlessly frsutrating for a new starter and can erode the early excitement so fast.
Companies that get onboarding right create engaged employees who hit the ground running. Those that don’t? They find themselves back at square one, hiring for the same role again.
Retention: How Do You Keep Your Best People?
The final piece of the puzzle is long-term engagement. If you’ve done the first three steps well, retention can come naturally - but you still need a strategy and a culture to ensure employees feel valued and motivated to stay.
- Are you providing clear career pathways? Employees should understand their growth opportunities from day one. This should be consistently referred to and openly communicated.
- Do you have a culture of development? Investing in training and upskilling helps retain top talent.
- Is leadership engaged? Are your leaders great examples of the retention you are seeking to have? Do they believe in it?
The Key Takeaway
The Elevate panel discussion highlighted one fundamental truth: companies that excel in talent retention don’t just do one or two of these things well—they master all four. Each stage builds on the next, creating a seamless journey for employees that leads to long-term success for both individuals and businesses.
If your business struggles with a perennial people problem, take an honest look at all four areas and ensure each has a clear strategy in place. The companies that get this right don’t just hire well—they build teams that thrive.
What’s your biggest challenge in hiring and retaining talent? Let’s continue the conversation. 🚀
