How to Get Started with an Internal Talent Marketplace?

Organizations worldwide are searching for innovative ways to develop and retain valuable talent. Among such ways, the internal talent marketplace has gained significant traction in recent years to harness the full potential of the company’s workforce. It fosters a culture of talent mobility, agility, and continuous learning.

An internal talent marketplace is a centralized HR platform that allows employees to showcase their skills, interests, and career plans within the organization. Companies provide this marketplace to their workforce to let them explore cross-functional projects, concepts, and assignments and grab the right opportunities.

This talent marketplace is a platform to optimize the company’s talent management and increase employee engagement. Engagedly, a leading performance management organization offers comprehensive solutions to cultivate an internal talent marketplace. How does the internal talent marketplace work? If you want to boost your company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion with an internal talent pool, scroll down now!

Best Practices to Launch an Internal Talent Marketplace

Best Practices to Launch an Internal Talent MarketplaceAn internal talent marketplace can be a game-changer for companies to optimize their talent management process. It fosters career growth and ensures the organization’s success by showcasing workforce skills. How do you develop an internal talent marketplace? The following are the best practices for setting up an internal talent marketplace:

Setting up a Team

Successful implementation of the internal talent marketplace requires a leadership position within the organization to take care of the related duties.

A project manager in the marketplace should act as an external consultant or professional to take care of the initiative. The IT leader handles the design and integration of the platform, while the HR manager can ensure the employees follow the company’s policies. The team members ensure effective communication and coordination within the marketplace, liaising between departments and employees. It facilitates information sharing and feedback in a collaborative environment where employees can grow professionally.

The marketplace’s dedicated team helps nurture organizational talents by closely monitoring employee performance. It identifies potential individuals for specialized roles within the organization, helping retain valuable in-house talent.

Moreover, the team members are responsible for conducting workshops, mentorship opportunities, or training programs that enhance employee satisfaction. It powerfully conveys to all employees that their skills and knowledge are valued and essential for the company’s growth opportunities and success.

Also read: 5 Employee Engagement Statistics You Should Be Aware of in 2023

Appointing a Marketplace Leader

A managerial leader has a precious role in setting up an internal talent marketplace and driving organizational change. They ensure that the marketplace integrates entirely with the company culture and process. The leader helps employees understand the organization’s changes and addresses their concerns. They work closely with the senior leaders to understand the higher-level objectives so that the marketplace supports the company’s overall vision.

The internal talent marketplace encourages existing employees to develop new skills and experiences. Marketplace leaders increase visibility and opportunities for internal employees, improve employee retention, and maintain a high-performing workforce.

Moreover, the internal talent marketplace relies on technology and data to match employees with the right projects. The leader ensures all the necessary technology infrastructures are in place and the marketplace utilizes data-driven insights. It helps in efficient resource allocation and improves the potential of the marketplace.

Considering the Company Culture and Hiring Vendors 

Company Culture and Hiring Vendors Launching an internal talent marketplace can be expensive or time-consuming for some organizations. HR departments can hire a vendor to guide them through installation and integrate HR applications like authentication, human capital management, and learning systems.

Employees need clarification about how to proceed in the marketplace because it gives them different career choices. Companies can offer career coaching programs with their internal talent marketplace to help managers craft job postings. It helps employees create personal profiles, articulate individual goals, and pursue development programs.

Organizations must be mindful of their culture and boost managerial knowledge through the internal talent marketplace. The vendor providing the platform for the internal marketplace must match the organization’s values. Moreover, training can also help sustain a learning culture in the workplace. Promoting communication solutions will make employees feel valued and prepare them to use the marketplace. Companies can conduct live Q&A sessions for the staff to make them understand the significance of this marketplace.

A digital internal talent marketplace through a vendor like Engagedly helps smooth the process. The platform assists employees in finding part-time projects, which reduces skill gaps. It connects employees with online courses and development programs, leading to career advancement. A primary agenda of this marketplace is improving remote workers’ career growth because they miss out on announcements of internal opportunities.

Also read: 5 Best Tips to Reduce Employee Turnover

Maintaining the Psychological Safety of Employees

Psychological safety in the work environment ensures employees feel safe handling risks and expressing opinions. It helps them contribute their ideas in the workplace without facing criticism. HR departments should communicate the benefits of the internal talent marketplace to the employees. It includes opportunities for career development, exciting projects, and other skills.

The marketplace should store employee information with confidentiality and privacy. There should be strict data protection or measures to build trust and avoid misuse of information. Moreover, managers are responsible for teaching employees how to use the marketplace, from creating profiles to networking.

Companies should not discriminate against certain employees or promote bias in the marketplace. Opportunities should be available equally for all employees to encourage diverse perspectives and create a vibrant and inclusive talent pool. Feedback mechanisms must also encourage all employees to provide input and share their experiences.

Companies should recognize employee contributions and highlight their accomplishments to motivate them and their peers. This recognition boosts a positive environment and encourages other employees to participate in the marketplace.

Psychological safety also includes regularly adapting and evaluating the internal talent market. Managers and employees should undertake necessary adjustments to make the platform successful and updated. 

Benefits of Setting up an Internal Talent Marketplace

Internal Talent MarketplaceWhat is internal talent? These talents comprise the organization’s current employees. Developing and promoting internal talent has several benefits, like the following:

Empowers Employees

Internal talent marketplace gives employees control over their department by making them understand the department’s objectives, cognition style, and work preferences. Top performers from the department get motivated to learn new things and from different leaders. This way, employees feel more engaged, boosting the retention rate and company culture. Though implementing the marketplace changes seems challenging, vast career choices await talented employees.

Retains Employees

Most employees leave their organizations for better opportunities, salaries, and perks. However, flexibility and career development plans are also important factors. An internal talent marketplace is a centralized platform to retain employees. This practice takes a considerable approach toward internal mobility, developing employees’ skills, offering competitive compensation, and increasing engagement and retention. Employees get new and different work or learning opportunities and new gigs, projects, and roles through an internal talent marketplace.

Increases Engagement 

Internal talent marketplace and internal mobility go hand in hand to boost employee morale. These practices improve the company culture from within by showing a clear commitment to supporting employee development. The marketplace can be optimized for new roles or training opportunities because of its transparent and navigable nature.

Also read: How Can Setting Employee Goals Help Your Organization?

Summing Up

In conclusion, setting up a marketplace can be a highly effective internal talent strategy for organizations looking to optimize their workforce and unlock their potential. Companies can foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning through this platform, where managers can quickly identify and deploy talent. However, it is essential to recognize that implementing an internal talent marketplace requires careful planning, effective communication, and ongoing support from leadership. Organizations can create an environment that promotes employee growth and development with the right approach and commitment to nurturing talent.

Engagedly specializes in employee performance management software, providing a comprehensive platform to manage and improve employee performance, engagement, and retention. We offer several talent management features, including goal setting, continuous feedback, performance reviews, and learning management. Engagedly’s software is designed to empower employees, foster a culture of continuous improvement, and drive organizational success. With its user-friendly interface and robust analytics, Engagedly has become a reliable partner for companies looking to enhance their performance management processes. Book a demo today!

Talent Management Software


Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What makes an internal talent marketplace succeed?

Ans. The booming internal talent marketplace requires HR departments’ or managers’ potential thinking skills. Its success depends on employees’ skills, knowledge, and upskilling of existing courses.

Q2. Are there any benefits of talent reviews?

Ans. Talent reviews are one of the strategic tools in a company that encourages employee feedback. It takes place laterally between managers and senior leadership. It provides a centralized platform to discuss employee performance reviews and direct departmental reports to support the future of work.

Q3. How does talent mobility help companies grow?

Ans. Talent mobility increases employee retention rate and continuous learning and development within the organization. With the career developmental options, employees get vast choices to excel in their fields. Having highly skilled and knowledgeable employees helps the company grow in the long run.

Navigating International Relocation and Global Talent Pool

In today’s globalized business world, the talent search has extended far beyond local borde­rs. Recruiters are now targe­ting the global talent pool of candidates from various geographic regions and diverse cultural backgrounds. Tapping into this global tale­nt pool allows recruitment teams to stre­amline their hiring process and reduce costs. It also grants organizations complete control over crucial processes such as onboarding and HR administration.

However, expanding business into international markets comes with both opportunities and challenges. Learning compliance and regulations associated with the international payroll system and building global teams can be complex and time-intensive. This blog aims to understand the purpose of a robust global staffing strategy and ways to implement it effectively.

What Is the Global Talent Pool?

what is Global talent poolA global talent pool offers companies the opportunity to diversify their team. The talent pool comprises candidates from different countries and ethnicities interested in working with the organization and willing to relocate. Hiring and maintaining a global workforce helps companies strengthen their diversity and inclusion practices while enabling them to operate beyond their local boundaries.

Candidates belonging to the global talent pool possess the relevant skills and experience to live and work in different countries. For example, someone in the US might apply for a project manager role based in the UK. Jobs with flexible working arrangements often depend on a global talent pool for smooth business operations.

Also read: 8 Best Strategies To Improve Global Remote Employee Experience

Navigating Global Staffing Challenges

International business expansion is exciting. It enables businesses to access new markets and increase their revenue. Additionally, global mobility helps businesses gain competitive advantages in new markets, such as hiring top international talent, reducing operational costs, and saving taxes.

The benefits of tapping into the global market are indefinite. However, there are roadblocks along the way that can slow down global mobility and expansion. As organizations begin expansion beyond their local boundaries, one of the major challenges they face is navigating global staffing. Global staffing presents some of the following major challenges:

Finding the Right Tale­nt

Talent sourcing involves identifying, re­searching, and attracting highly skilled candidates. It can be a challenging process, especially in the global recruitment landscape­, where competition, language barriers, and cultural differences come into play.

Conducting the Re­cruitment Process

Conducting the Re­cruitment ProcessWhen conducting virtual interviews, the hiring team may face challenges in assessing a candidate’s qualifications and cultural fit. While technology has bridged some of these gaps through video confere­ncing, evaluating soft skills and determining if a candidate­ aligns with the company culture can be challenging.

Compliance with Local Laws

Different locations will have varying regulations regarding employment. The recruitment team should be trained on how to approach these legal obligations. An organization must know the following laws of the land:

  • Termination laws
  • Time-off policies
  • Visa and work permit requirements
  • Overtime rules
  • Contractual or full-time employment laws

One way of eliminating the compliance risk is partnering with local HR experts (Employers of Records or EOR).

Culture Awareness

Awareness of different cultures is crucial when dealing with a diverse group of candidate­s in the global talent pool. It’s important to acknowledge cultural differences and provide employees with training on cultural awareness.

Additionally, it’s essential to establish effective communication channe­ls for managing teams from various cultural backgrounds. Disrespecting or offending any culture can result in a disappointed or disengaged workforce and poor communication.

Differences in Time Zones

Although having a global team can help organizations expand and enhance their productivity, managing teams working across different time zones can be difficult. It makes scheduling meetings, asking for closing updates, organizing team engagement activities, and making dispersed teams work on a project challenging.

Here, an effective internal communication platform, frequent dissemination of information, flexible working hours, and regular reminders can be effective measures to mitigate the challenge.

Also read: The Essential Guide To Employee Productivity In A Hybrid Setup

International Relocation

When relocating an employee to a new country, the company must train the employee to cope with different customs, dialects, and environments. For a seamless relocation of employees, the recruitment team must assist their staff with acquiring visas and acclimatizing appropriately to the new culture. Additionally, companies should ensure establishing compliance with the new country’s initial immigration requirements, labor laws, and tax laws.

What Is a Global Talent Strategy?

What Is a Global Talent Strategy?Devising a robust global talent acquisition strategy is crucial for companies looking to attract and hire the most suitable candidates for their business across different countries. Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has also highlighted the benefits of a diverse workforce in its publication. It also mentions how it can lead to increased innovative outcomes and improved financial performance.

An effective global talent acquisition strategy can help businesses navigate all cultural and language barriers and find the right talent for the right job role and location. Here are six important steps to create an effective global talent acquisition strategy:

Global Hiring Needs Assessment

The assessment involves identifying the skill and knowledge gaps and the market the company aims to expand to. A comprehensive hiring needs assessment can help organizations identify suitable job locations and roles. Based on the assessment, companies can either plan to train the existing workforce (for international relocation) or hire new talent.

Research the Local Market

If a company plans to recruit from the local market and does not opt for international relocation, the next step would be to research the local market from where the candidate will be hired. This involves understanding the local job market’s nuances, labor laws, recruitment practices, and cultural differences.

The research should also include understanding the local customs and practices to avoid cultural faux pas and mitigate the chances of alienating a prospective candidate.

Customize Your Recruitment Strategy

Not all countries hire through the same channel. A few may prefer online job postings or outsourcing talent acquisition to a third-party vendor, while others prefer personal referrals.

Businesses must devise their recruitment strategy per the specific needs and preferences of the market. This will require understanding what attracts and motivates candidates in a particular location to develop a strong EVP (employee value proposition). For instance, flexible working arrangements or medical insurance may be a greater incentive in some countries or locations than salary or other monetary benefits.

Refine Your Selection Process

While tailoring your recruitment strategy, it is important to customize the interview or selection process. For example, a few countries may not appreciate including questions like ‘marital status,’ and ‘gender’ to be asked or included in the interview questionnaire. In other cases, a few countries or regions may find an applicant’s photo requirement in the application illegal.

Consider Relocation Packages

Relocating to a foreign location is always overwhelming for a candidate. It can be challenging in many ways – financially, mentally, and emotionally. Companies must ensure that if they plan to relocate an employee, they should offer the employee sufficient financial assistance, training support such as language and office etiquette training, and mental support.

Measure the Effectiveness of the Strategy

Devising a global recruitment strategy is not a one-time process; it needs continuous evaluation and modification as required. The global job market is dynamic, and so is the talent pool. A company must establish and evaluate key performance indicators (KPIs), such as retention rates, time-to-hire, and cost-per-hire, to identify areas for improvement and modify the strategy.

What Are the Advantages of a Global Talent Pool?

Advantages of a Global Talent PoolHiring international employees presents short-term and long-term benefits, such as unlocking doors to new markets, broadening your services, or tapping into a wide talent pool. Here’s a quick roundup of some of the benefits of hiring a global workforce:

  • Attracts the top global talent
  • Effective succession planning to fill key roles easily and effectively
  • Ensures better alignment to business objectives, leading to better performance outcomes
  • Increased diversity and inclusion
  • Increased innovation, agility, and adaptability

Summing Up

The international talent acquisition process demands thoughtful planning and execution. It is vital in attracting and retaining the best talent across the countries. Engagedly offers a comprehensive and tailored recruitment platform to help businesses grow and expand. It is a cloud-based platform for organizations to understand the fine details of international mobility, including HR administration and regional laws. Schedule a demo today!


Request a Demo


Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What does ‘EOR’ mean?

Ans. EOR stands for Employer of Record. The HR service assists businesses with hiring internationally. EOR service providers serve as third-party contractors dealing with payroll, taxation process, employee work permit, compensation benefit, insurance, etc.

EORs help companies eliminate risks of HR-related issues when operating and recruiting in a different country. The service provider allows companies to tap into international markets while ensuring compliance.

Q2. How can integrating cloud-based recruitment software into an organization help implement a global recruitment strategy?

Ans. A robust recruitment software can assist businesses with distributed workforce models. Organizations must know local labor laws and compliance with employment regulations to hire remote teams worldwide. Recruitment software is tailored to match the country’s requirements where businesses wish to operate. The software can help businesses establish operations without setting up a local entity.

Q3. What are the 4 approaches to global staffing?

Ans. The four main approaches to international staffing are as under:

  • Ethnocentric: Companies recruiting from the home country only 
  • Polycentric: Companies recruiting from the host country
  • Geocentric: Companies recruiting candidates irrespective of their nationality
  • Regiocentric: Companies recruiting from specific regions

The Importance of Succession Planning

It’s an unfortunate truth that nothing lasts forever – business is no exception, and one of the most damaging events for any organization is the loss of a key team member. 

Individuals may decide to vacate a role for any number of reasons – retirement, health or well-being concerns, personal circumstance changes, internal promotions, or new career paths opening up – and you need to be ready to replace a team member. 

The key to keeping your business operating smoothly is thorough succession planning. Through this process, you’ll identify the key roles for succession. You’ll also single out the team members who will be best suited to fill the position and the timeline for the process of training the prospective candidate. But does every business need to invest in this process? And are there any pitfalls we should be ready to tackle? 

Also Read: Strategic Workforce Planning: Aligning Human Resources With Business Goals

The Benefits of Succession Planning

There are several key benefits to having a succession plan in place, both for the employee and the employer. These benefits can be felt across many aspects of your business. Let’s explore some of these advantages. 

Protects business continuity and mitigates risk

At the end of the process, your plan will be in place, and all the necessary roles will have a successor. Now, should an employee change their post, key roles will not be left empty. This helps to ensure that business will continue smoothly as changes occur. 

Furthermore, knowing the team members who will be taking on the new roles helps to mitigate risks typically involved with external recruitment. A diligent recruitment process can only take you so far. It isn’t until employees are integrated and working within your business that you’ll have a good understanding of their capabilities. Team members who have been with you for a long time are tried and trusted assets you should leverage.Succession Planning-Risk Mitigation

Promotes loyalty and fosters improvement

There’s nothing more demoralizing than seeing a senior position be recruited externally when quality candidates exist internally. By focusing on the strengths your company already possesses and fostering talent from existing team members, employees will see that loyalty is rewarded with senior roles. This makes them much more likely to work diligently and actively seek to improve their work ethics.

Reduces churn through better preparedness

Many businesses struggle with leadership that lacks the training for the challenges faced by their role. This is either a symptom of an improper hiring process or poor succession processes and a lack of internal support. 

Fortunately, by creating a personal development program as part of your succession strategy, employees are much more likely to feel prepared for future promotions and have the appropriate training to tackle new challenges head-on.

Also Read: Guide to Employee Engagement and Retention in Financial Services Industry

The Challenges of Succession Planning

Unfortunately, it isn’t always a smooth process when actioning a promotion of your succession plan. The larger your organization, the more likely that challenges will arise. You need to be ready to meet them with honesty and openness to avoid problems long-term. Here are some of the biggest hurdles you’ll face with a succession plan.

Succession Planning-SHRM

Taxing to implement

Implementing a succession plan into an established business is not a simple feat. Individual managers will have perceptions of their team and will likely have biases. This creates a fine line between promoting the right team member and the wrong one. 

Furthermore, the nature of the process takes a lengthy amount of time. Team members marked for a future role need to be properly trained and prepared, all while ensuring they stay happy and are effective in their current roles. 

You don’t need a strict succession plan set up for every employee position – an operative reading cold call script examples, for example, is likely not a role you need to form a plan for. But you still need to ensure they have a genuine development path within your company if you hope to keep your team long-term.

Loss of talent being prepared for succession

The most damaging one-two punch is losing a key senior member only to also lose the employee in line for that role during the interim. Given that the rising employee will understand the requirements of the role and its remuneration in great detail, it is not uncommon for them to seek alternative employment, using your offer as a benchmark. 

An event leading to the loss of two staff members in a single department can cause a great deal of friction throughout the entire business, not just within their respective teams. You need to ensure that contingencies are in place for such an eventuality and that you remain flexible to adjust as necessary.

Difficult for some employees to adjust to

Despite collaborating daily, it’s an unfortunate truth that there will always be an element of competition in a growing business. Employees want to be recognized for their contributions and given opportunities to further their careers, so the concept of having specific employees planned out to replace other senior members can cause discomfort and frustration.

Employee AdjustmentIt’s important to be direct with team members about your intentions and to always keep an open mind as to whether your plans should change. If a specific team member showcases their talents consistently, even if they hadn’t previously been considered for a role, you should seek to find a way to foster their enthusiasm. There’s nothing more valuable than employee happiness and staff who are content in their company.

Also Read: How HR Helps Performance Review Calibration and Standardization

How to approach building your succession plan

With the prizes and pitfalls established, it’s time to start designing your business plan. There are several ways to approach the task. You will also need to make some changes for specific business structures or industries. The general pathway, however, to a complete and robust succession plan will follow these steps.

Identify roles most at risk of vacancies impacting operations

Think about the current structure of your company and the roles that are integral to daily operations – typically managerial roles or key infrastructure engineers – and then map out the requirements for that role. 

Treat this process much in the way you would with external recruitment and benchmark your internal talent against the proposed job description. Some companies will opt to create a fresh domain name and host their recruitment efforts there – this can be beneficial for internal recruitment, where you can treat it as an internal job board. Employees can then discuss opportunities with line managers in development meetings. 

Role Identification

Refactor your employee development plan

Although the main goal of this article is to help ensure you can foster internal talent for succession, it would be unwise to focus your development plans on specific employees. Instead, create a holistic development plan that works for the entire company. 

Outline clear progression paths and create a system that allows employees to achieve meaningful progression at all stages of their development. 

Keep communications with your team open

This is good practice for all aspects of employee management, but is especially crucial to understand how your team is evolving, the ambitions of individuals, and whether there is any risk of losing specific members. 

Invest time in private sessions discussing their development, and don’t be afraid to communicate information to the company at wide. For important communications such as these, emails can often get lost in the shuffle, but you can send a fax from Google and use that platform for official updates that will be sure to be noticed. Follow this with meetings to discuss updates and field questions and keep all employees informed of the direction of the company.

Create a timeline for succession

Even after your plan is in place, it doesn’t mean you’re ready to handle the loss of any employees. The next step is to train individuals for the role they’re in line for. You need to have a clear understanding of when they’ll be ready to advance. This is critical if you are promoting a senior member and are promoting another into the original role, as both training plans will need to align to ensure the smoothest transition.

Looking to the future

A succession plan will serve as your guiding light for future growth and business changes, give you confidence in taking risks with your structure, and help you focus on business operations. It also will give your employees clear paths to promotion, which will improve morale and foster a positive workplace culture in turn. Don’t hesitate to invest in putting your succession plan in place today – for the benefit of your business and your team.

Also Read: 10 Best Employee Retention Strategies to Keep Your Best Talents

Learning and Development


Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is an important tool in succession planning?

Ans. An essential tool in succession planning is the talent assessment process. It helps identify and evaluate potential leaders within an organization, ensuring a smooth transition of leadership roles when needed.

Q2. What are the features of succession planning?

Ans. The key features of succession planning include identifying high-potential employees, providing training and development opportunities, creating leadership pipelines, setting clear goals for career advancement, and ensuring a seamless transition of leadership roles within an organization.

Q3. What are the five steps to succession planning?

Ans. The five steps to succession planning typically involve identifying key positions, assessing and selecting potential successors, providing development and training, creating transition plans, and regularly reviewing and adjusting the succession strategy to ensure its effectiveness.

Why Your Business Needs This Talent Management Framework

In the ever-evolving landscape of business, the Talent Management Framework has emerged as a critical cornerstone for success. Talent, once a resource, has transformed into the lifeblood of organizations, influencing their growth and vitality. The ability to attract, nurture, and empower top-tier talent has become a strategic imperative, and it’s the driving force behind why your business needs this indispensable framework.

In this article, we walk through the world of strategic talent management, shining a spotlight on the pivotal Talent Management Framework. Whether you’re a burgeoning startup aiming for rapid expansion or an established corporation striving to maintain a competitive edge, understanding the profound significance of this framework is paramount to your sustained success.

Throughout our exploration, we will dive into the core principles, advantages, and best practices of the Talent Management Framework, unraveling its potential to shape your company culture, foster innovation, and secure long-term viability. By the time we conclude, you will not only grasp the importance but also the absolute necessity of integrating this framework into your business strategy.

So, fasten your seatbelt as we navigate the compelling terrain of talent management, with a particular focus on the transformative power of the Talent Management Framework. Your journey to optimizing your workforce and achieving unparalleled success begins right here.

Also Read: Talent Management- What Is It and Why Is It Important?
Talent management frameworkAlso Read: What Is the True Cost of Recruiting and Onboarding Employees?

Talent Management Software

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1.What Is Talent Management and Why Is It Important?

Ans. Talent management is the strategic process of attracting, developing, and retaining top talent within an organization. It is crucial because it ensures a company’s workforce is aligned with its goals, promotes employee growth, enhances productivity, and ultimately drives long-term success.

Q2. Why do companies need talent management?

Ans. Companies need talent management to attract, develop, and retain top talent. It helps align employees with organizational goals, fosters a culture of growth and development, improves workforce productivity, and ensures long-term competitiveness in a dynamic business environment.

Q3. How to Develop a Talent Management Framework?

Ans. Developing a Talent Management Framework involves strategic planning, identifying key talent, setting performance metrics, and implementing talent development programs. It requires a comprehensive approach to align workforce capabilities with organizational goals for sustainable success.

What Is the True Cost of Recruiting and Onboarding Employees?

It takes 41 days on average to hire someone for a position. Any costs related to hiring a new employee and integrating new hires into a company are referred to as recruiting & onboarding costs. Depending on the role being filled and the business’s industry, the true cost of onboarding an employee or recruiting a new employee varies greatly, but it is almost always enormously costly.

Benefits, marketing, and training costs must be considered when determining the true cost of employee hiring because they increase overall employer costs. In this article, we will go through the true cost of onboarding an employee in detail and offer a way to reduce your hiring expenditures.

The True Cost of Recruiting & Onboarding Employees

According to the statistics by Forbes, the average cost of onboarding a new employee is $1,400. A new hire costs a business about six months to break even, that is, to reap the benefits and returns from the new hire. You can minimize hiring costs and maximize your resources by developing effective hiring and onboarding procedures.

Investments in efficient and clever hiring practices yield larger earnings, faster revenue growth, and reduced attrition rates. Here, we’ll look at the most common hiring expenses encountered in every business and how they collectively affect the cost of acquiring a new employee. The primary factors contributing to the overall cost of hiring and onboarding new employees are listed below:

Emotional and Mental Cost

Emotional and Mental Cost of Employees Onboarding

Finding and hiring fresh talent is challenging. 36% of HR executives claim they lack the funding to hire top personnel. Moreover, organizations are experiencing a financial strain due to increased requests for better pay, time off, flexible work hours, and more benefits. Hiring teams become mentally and physically exhausted as a result. This results in anxiety, depression, stress, and other mental and emotional side effects that affect the recruiter’s health and performance.

Recruiter’s Time, Effort, and Money

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that companies spend an average of $4,129 and 42 days to fill a vacant position. Depending on the length of the search, the type of position, and the salary range, the cost to hire personnel rises accordingly.

A human resources (HR) recruiter is required to manage the hiring procedure at a business. To oversee the full HR administrative process, you require at least one HR manager and one HR recruiter. These HR personnel will use their productive time and specialized skills to screen, contact, interview, meet, and hire the right candidate.

They could spend the same time on other HR tasks like payroll processing, engagement initiatives, onboarding, etc. Therefore, to hire a candidate, you must consider the recruiter’s salary and the time they spend screening prospects.

Advertising Expenses

Hiring an employee includes the very expensive aspect of advertising. To hire the best candidate, you’ll first need an educational, persuasive, and noticeable advertisement for your target audience. Further, reaching your audience through one platform is difficult; you need a comprehensive strategy, including social media and other networks.

Many free solutions let you post a new job opportunity on websites like ZipRecruiter and LinkedIn, but the free or trial versions only provide limited tools to aid your search. So, typically, you’ll need a paid service to maximize a job site’s benefits. The advertising costs of all the platforms you use must be included in the entire cost of recruiting.

Compensation and Benefits

Fair compensation

Ensuring your employee receives fair compensation is one of the hiring process’s more obvious costs. However, the extra benefits you provide to the employee might increase the total cost.

Per a survey by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in March 2023, employers spent $29.70 on wages and salaries and $13.36 on employee benefits. Benefits like health insurance, retirement plans, and employee growth programs impact your budget.

Hiring a new employee with perks might cost approximately 40% of the individual’s base salary. Moreover, employers still have an additional cost for their workers: tax

Background Checks and Pre-Screening

After shortlisting a small pool of candidates, you evaluate each applicant’s suitability before conducting an interview. A phone screening or a video pre-screening are also good options. Pre-screening is a crucial step to exclude applicants who would not be a good fit for the position. If your list of potential applicants has been reduced to 16, you should spend 15 minutes on a phone screening call for each candidate.

The cost of background checks or pre-screening varies from one organization to another. It’s recommended to discover more about your short list of suitable prospects through background checks before making an offer. You may check all information, including criminal databases, verification of their education, and prior employers.

Cost of Bad Hiring

Poor hiring will cost 1 to 5 times as much to replace the position in question, including the lost wages, benefits, and the costs of hiring and training new employees. The management, administrative, and legal expenses of a bad hire should also be considered. It also takes a hit on the direct and indirect costs of lost or damaged funds, supplies, equipment, the working environment, client goodwill, and the employer’s reputation.

Insufficient skill, a lack of expertise, and a lack of time are the key reasons hiring decisions go wrong. Thus, you can save time, money, and effort by outsourcing your HR processes, including hiring, screening, background checks, payroll, and other administrative tasks. However, at some point in their career, every CEO will make a poor hire; these costs are industry-normal.

Cost of Competition

The cost of “lost candidates” is a heavy financial burden to the business. Most small businesses lack the necessary flexibility in the onboarding process, such as providing the job offer quickly or documenting all the official employment details. They, therefore, have to work harder to find people, and if they don’t offer the position quickly enough, the candidates are hired by a different business.

Due to outside competition, the business suffers financial consequences from losing a strong candidate for the position midway through the interview process. HR professionals and recruiters, particularly in small businesses, must be empowered to act quickly on the recruiting and onboarding process.

Cost of Onboarding and Training

Cost of Onboarding and Training

An employee must go through onboarding and training following the recruitment process. It could take almost a couple of weeks, which reduces the effectiveness of the job and productivity. The team manager must spend considerable time with the new hires daily to help them understand their tasks and adapt to the group. It takes away valuable hours from the manager’s schedule. 

Onboarding a new employee also increases the accounting cost by filling out forms, collecting documents, and creating payslips. Some other expenses comprise:

  • The price of IT hardware (laptops, phones, and software licenses)
  • The price of training
  • Cost of employee support (time required for assistance from other team members)
  • Decline in productivity

A new hire needs 3 to 8 months to reach maximum productivity levels. During this period, businesses often lose money as new employees cost more than they produce for the company.

Summing Up

Determining the exact true cost of hiring an employee is difficult as the cost varies with companies and locations. Fortunately, you can reduce inefficiencies and raise onboarding efficiency by knowing all the costs involved. Your company’s success depends on how you bring in and keep top people in today’s competitive labor market. The time and money involved in finding, screening, shortlisting, interviewing, and onboarding employees represent the true cost of recruiting. Using cost-effective recruitment tactics is important to help your company save time and money.

Engagedly can assist you in streamlining your hiring procedure and saving money. It is a perfect tool for people and strategy alignment. Using Engagedly, businesses may develop robust teams that will lead to a successful corporation. To explore more, click on the link below!



Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is the average cost of onboarding a new employee?

Ans. As per a study, the average cost per hire is $4,700, but it differs among organizations. The cost includes the equipment you need for the new employee’s integration into your organization and the time your HR department spends on the process.

Q2. How to calculate the cost of hiring a new employee?

Ans. The cost of new hires can be determined by adding the money spent on marketing, interviews, and training in an online calculator. However, the soft cost, which includes time spent on the hiring process, the impact on morale, and the loss of production, cannot be calculated.

Q3. How to avoid bad hiring?

Ans. Bad hires can be avoided if you use appropriate tools and hiring strategies in your hiring process. The first step in reducing the danger of bad hires is to determine the cost of a bad hire. By doing this, you may improve your business’s productivity and recruitment.


Subscribe To The Engagedly Newsletter 


How Do the Best Organizations Identify and Develop Top Talent

How to identify talent in an organization? Workforce management is a consideration of many parts for any business. It goes beyond scheduling and how to best leverage your employees – including their potential. Identifying and developing top talent is a significant step toward workforce efficiency as you position your best assets and people in positions and paths that would work best. 

how to identify top talent in an organization

Identifying Talent

Managing your workforce should involve understanding who the talent in your organization is – and what their potential is. To achieve the most practical workforce efficiency, it would make sense to see where your assets are and then figure out how to support them.

There are, of course, any number of ways to assess employees for their potential, but often it will be dictated by what the company does and what is most needed. However, creating a talent development program that all employees can use may be the best option.

Also Read: A Complete Overview of Talent Management in a Changing Workplace

Developing Talent

When it comes to developing talent within an organization, giving every member of an organization a chance to build these skills is a wise move. Creating a training system that works within all levels to help identify potential superstars will do much of the work for you in identifying your most talented assets.

Also Read: The Value of Employee Development in the Modern Workplace

With such a system in place, by the time these talented employees are identified, they are already involved in talent development. But how can you take this further, and what sort of elements make for a talent-building program?

Set Clear Objectives

Objectives are an element of workforce efficiency. They serve as a guiding principle for decisions at all business levels. How well do your company’s plans to develop talent account for the overall objectives of the company? These two things should be closely linked.

Set clear objectives

For example, if your company is transitioning from products to a service-based economy, your employees should begin training in skill sets involved with service-based markets. After all, According to the UCLA Anderson Review, “the products and service businesses of the information economy make up about 62% of U.S. GNP as of 2017, up from about 46% in 1967.” Subscription or service-based duties would encounter a separate skill set from marketing one-and-done purchases – rapidly becoming a reality for many employers.

Rethink Skill Sets

When an employee is hired, they may have experiences and skills not utilized in their current position. Still, they can be used as the company’s objectives change, or market forces dictate. Taking a periodic inventory of employees’ skill sets outside of what is expected of the current positions is a vital step toward building workforce efficiency, as businesses must pivot for various reasons. Being an internal resource, employees may offer a wealth of untapped potential for transitions to new avenues.

Upskilling initiatives are also a great way to develop talent. As work grows more decentralized across entire industries, that can leave some employees behind in a skill gap as they must learn new technology and processes that differ from their in-office skills. Helping sales talent adapt to new at-home work methods is an excellent example of rethinking job skills and developing talent.

Also Read: How to Build a Successful Upskilling and Reskilling Program

Provide Multiple Learning Options

An essential element of developing top talent internally is understanding that different learning styles exist. In a broader sense, only some employees will benefit from training the same way, so instructional designers should work multiple training alternatives into whatever talent development program exists. Your talent development program must use various learning methods to improve workforce efficiency.

How many avenues are available for skill development? Do you offer on-the-job learning, coaching, mentorship, and self-guided instruction? These are valid learning styles that result in the potential growth of talent. When designing your skills training, don’t put all your effort into one method. According to a 2019 Training Industry report, 39% of midsize companies use a classroom-led approach to training, 25% blended learning methods, and 17% utilize virtual classrooms.

Also Read: Benefits of Implementing an Employee Career Development Program

Foster a Positive Culture

Promoting a workplace culture around developing talents and skills is critical to make employees more valuable. A strong business fosters a culture of adaptability and exploration. Allowing employees to explore processes and operations outside their department can create a cohesive and efficient workplace.

Making learning a core tenant of employment opens up many options for workforce efficiency. Major companies are investing heavily in education and learning within their workforce, such as in the case of Visa. Their usage of Visa University, an internal training program, yielded surprising results.

Embrace Coaching

One-on-one coaching in the workplace provides many benefits and should be integrated into any program to improve workforce efficiency. Coaching is one of the best ways for a business to leverage experience in a way that directly motivates and educates employees. Coaches can not only help instruct on job-specific processes but can help close skill gaps and promote personal growth. Employees also want coaching: One statistic suggests that 67% of Gen X leaders want more external coaching, and 57% want external development.

Businesses can do coaching within the company by pairing experienced employees with new employees, but external coaching can also be quite valuable. Thanks to their distance from the company’s existing culture, such coaches can identify areas that need improvement or skills that staff should be building to be more effective overall. 

Develop Leadership

Finding leadership and seeking it out at all company levels is critical to increasing workforce efficiency. So often, companies make the mistake of promoting from a poor pool of candidates through rote promotion habits and only looking at one level. A good leadership development plan allows anyone from any group to be put on a path toward becoming the kind of leader the company needs.

Great leaders can come from anywhere within the company. It just becomes a matter of opportunity to develop those skills and recognition to be in such positions. Developing leadership through training programs is a substantial investment toward workforce efficiency.

Also Read: 7 Leadership Traits That Drive High Engagement

Workforce Efficiency Through Talent Development

Understanding how to leverage your company’s #1 resource – the people within- is vital for improving business. Recognizing that talent needs to be discovered, fostered, and developed is one of the most crucial long-term success factors. Leveraging employee development and upskilling to embrace and enhance skills through proper scheduling also presents opportunities. 

Employers can also use AI to optimize employee scheduling. An optimized schedule, factoring in training and development, means a more efficient workforce.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. How do you develop and retain top talent in an organization?

Ans. Developing and retaining top talent in an organization requires a multi-faceted approach that includes:

  • Offering competitive salaries
  • Providing ongoing training and development opportunities
  • Fostering a positive work environment
  • Recognizing and rewarding top performers
  • Having a strong employer brand and reputation
  • Providing opportunities for advancement and promotion
  • Providing a work-life balance and supporting employees’ well-being

Q2. What are the five key areas of talent development?

Ans. Here are the five key areas of talent development:

  • Skill Development: Building specific skills that are relevant to the individual’s field of work
  • Knowledge Enhancement: Staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends, news, and technologies
  • Leadership and Management Skills: Developing effective communication, delegation, decision-making, and conflict resolution skills
  • Personal Growth: Building emotional intelligence, self-awareness, adaptability, and resilience
  • Creativity and Innovation: Developing the ability to think outside the box, take risks, be open-minded, and embrace change

A Complete Overview of Talent Management in a Changing Global Workplace

Businesses are struggling to keep up with their talent management practices. In the current global business environment, it is getting tougher to hire and retain top talent. With the recession weakening revenue streams and the great resignation causing employers to lose their top talent to their competitors, businesses are at a tipping point. 

Continue reading “A Complete Overview of Talent Management in a Changing Global Workplace”

Why Your Business Needs This Foolproof “Talent Retention Strategy”

Talent is always acknowledged. Companies are always on the lookout for talent. Once they hire talented individuals, a business needs a foolproof talent retention strategy to avoid attrition. The year 2021 has been marked as the year of the Great Resignation when thousands of employees willingly resigned from their jobs. The resignations were so rampant that they gave birth to a whole new economic crisis. The crisis started when the American administration declined to provide remote work benefits to employees in response to the lethal COVID-19 pandemic, which fueled rampant resignations from employees.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 4.5 million employees resigned in November 2021. New job openings also fell below 11.4 million.

Why Did This Happen?

Job dissatisfaction or zero pay raise amidst an increased cost of living did not seem to matter much when compared to safety concerns due to COVID. Many people preferred remote working opportunities rather than going outside to work. Receiving a resignation letter from an employee is a considerable cause for concern for an HR, especially, if the resignations are coming from top talent. Companies started to think about how they can retain top talent, reduce attrition, and establish an engaged workforce in the organization. 

Here is where talent retention strategies come into play. What exactly is a Talent Retention Strategy and how can it benefit your business? Without further ado, let us find out.

Why Do You Need a Talent Retention Strategy?

A talent retention strategy is the collective efforts of HR leaders to hold on to the top talent in the organization either by creating a more lenient work culture for the employees or by opening diverse feedback channels. 

With the ongoing COVID pandemic already having crippled the world economy, losing top employees can be a costly affair for companies.

Apart from the high cost of replacing a worker, employee attrition decreases the overall productivity of a company and also lowers the morale of the existing employees.

According to the Houston Chronicle, a high employee turnover negatively impacts the existing employees and customers of the company.  The departure creates an additional workload for existing employees; with such a heavy  workload, it is not possible for them to perform well. 

Therefore, companies should do all they can to retain their talent, and here’s how.

A Foolproof Employee Retention Strategy 

1. Find out why your employees want to leave

Companies experiencing increased employee attrition should first try to gauge why their employees want to leave. It is not always the work environment or insufficient pay raise that urges employees to switch jobs.

Most of the departing employees cite the following reasons for switching jobs:

  •         Huge workload affecting the work-life balance
  •         Boredom
  •         Stagnated career growth
  •         Lack of recognition
  •         Autocratic and opinionated management 
  •         Lack of health insurance
  •         Desire to switch jobs

2. Recognize retention from the beginning

HR managers should complete the screening process strategically when hiring new candidates. Any mistake can cost you losing top hires. The entire interview process should be transparent. Any kind of ambiguity will cost you in the long run. Therefore, identifying the right candidate who will stay with the company through thick and thin is the key to retaining the best talent. 

Screening the candidates based on their previous commitments speaks volumes about their tenacity and willingness to stay at the company when things get tough.

3. Provide effective orientation and mentorship programs

The hiring process remains incomplete until the new hires are given a proper orientation aligned with the objectives of the company. The orientation program should teach the new employees ways to thrive in the company culture. Assigning a mentor to new employees ensures steering them toward accomplishing the company’s objectives. 

New employees may have a lot of inhibitions when they start working in a new environment. The mentors have the responsibility to make them feel comfortable. Once the new hires gain confidence, they can offer fresh ideas that will work positively for the company.

4. Deal with transition effectively

For the past two years, many employees have been working  from home, which has irrevocably altered their working habits. Even if most offices have announced to resume work from the office, it will take time to deal with the transition. After the pandemic, most employees still prefer to work remotely. If companies fail to provide that option, these workers may resign. Therefore, companies should consider providing flexible working hours to employees to give them time to adapt to the new changes.

5. Reduce dependency 

The dependency of the company on their best performers may prove to be detrimental when the best employees leave the organization. To curb such dependencies, companies should try to promote teamwork so that the entire responsibility does not lie on a handful of employees. 

Delegation of responsibilities also reduces the workload thus helping employees maintain a healthy work-life balance.

6. Boost employer-employee connection

Fostering healthy workplace communication ensures active participation from employees. Proactively connecting with team members and making them feel that their decisions are valued can work wonders. Giving the employees a voice in the company’s decision-making helps in retaining employee engagement in the organization. According to the white papers released in a company’s survey, about 90% of the employees unanimously agreed that they would not switch jobs too often if their voices are heard by the management and their feedback worked upon. HR leaders should try to promote constructive and timely communication.

7. Provide competitive compensation

Providing competitive compensation and perks is an extremely important part of any talent retention strategy. If a company is running on a tough budget and is in no position to announce a pay raise immediately, it should consider other ways to compensate employees. Offering a yearly bonus or some perks like health care benefits and retirement plans might keep employees motivated. Companies that offered expansive wellness offerings during the COVID 19 pandemic faced less employee attrition.

Also read: Employee Health and Wellbeing

>8. Invest in your employee’s career growth

People tend to leave if they feel there’s no vertical or horizontal growth in their current organization. Organizations can retain top talent by investing in their professional development, like upskilling. Upskilling is extremely important, especially as the losses incurred by a company due to ineffective training of employees can add up to millions of dollars. 

Moreover, providing avenues for professional education uplifts talent attraction and retention. Setting a clear career path for employees makes them more creative and engaged at work.

9. Inculcate good leadership

If you want to retain good employees, make sure you have good managers in your organization. Your managers should have excellent leadership qualities which will play a vital role in engaging and retaining employees at your organization.  

Training your managers would help them handle employees better. A manager should also be well-conversant in dealing with employees having diverse personality traits; merely instructing them about their work is not enough. 

Managers should also be able to help with conflict and stress management. Instead of passing challenges to their subordinates, managers should know how to tackle them. 

10. Avoid employee burnout

Employee burnout is a serious issue that causes organizations to lose many great workers. Lack of energy, feelings of isolation and alienation, and negative emotions are serious symptoms of burnout. However, with a strategic approach, companies can easily avoid employee burnout. 

Employers should look for people struggling with burnout emotions and empathize with them. They can talk to each team member to find out if there’s too much workload. Think about ways to reduce that if possible, have an outing or a team lunch together if the team had worked too hard to meet a deadline. These gestures can go a long way to help dealing with burnout. 

11. Acknowledge employee contributions

Acknowledging and appreciating an employee’s contributions toward accomplishing the objectives of the company helps in promoting employee retention. Employers should not miss any opportunity to celebrate the company’s achievements together with the employees even if their contributions are not that significant. 

Also read: Employee recognition program

How to Implement a Talent Retention Strategy?

With the skyrocketing cost of replacing employees, it is crucial to have a comprehensive talent retention strategy in place. But is it possible to implement the correct strategy overnight?

Probably not. That’s because each company has its own policies. Changing them to make place for others takes time. Employers should try the employee retention initiatives that are best tuned with their organizational objectives. 

Key Takeaways

Despite all your efforts, some employees may eventually leave your company. But with a time-tested Talent Retention Strategy in place, you can at least make sure they are leaving for the right reasons. 

Employees who willingly switch jobs despite being supported and valued in the current organization can be expected to praise your company, which will have a positive impact on the company’s reputation and future recruitment efforts.

Companies securing high employee retention rates are always at a competitive advantage over others in terms of accomplishing business goals or recruiting new hires. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to develop well-executed employee retention methods to enhance the company’s potential to hold on to top talent.  

Talent Management Software


Worried about how to retain your top talent? Need help to build your brand image? Fret not. Engagedly can help you do both.

Request A Demo

25 Unique Employee Benefit Ideas To Attract the Best Talent

Are you looking for inspirational new ways to attract top talent and improve employee retention? The more excellent your benefits program, the happier your employees will be. 

Through word of mouth and reputation, you’ll find applicants with the desired employee experience clamoring for a role within your organization. And it doesn’t have to break the bank. Check out our top unique employee benefits ideas for all budgets. 

What are employee benefits? 

Employee benefits are indirect, non-cash compensation paid by a company to an employee in addition to their salary. They might also be called fringe benefits. Companies recognize that they need to show appreciation, allowing employees to grow and thrive within the business. Benefits might be anything from an employee discount at a store or additional time off. 

Many employees apply for jobs because of the offered perks and benefits. Job satisfaction and employee satisfaction are linked; ignoring employee satisfaction will decrease commitment, motivation, and productivity. Discover our creative employee benefits ideas if you believe your employees are your most valuable asset.

Why offer employee benefits?

Only 49% of Americans are satisfied with their jobs. Introducing a job perk or two will help improve employee happiness, boost employee morale, and lead to more productive employees. 

Essentially, the more you look after employee health, your company will perform better, and this includes everything from creating welcoming company cultures to offering corporate discounts. So, why should business owners offer employee benefit programs?

  • Attract and retain new and existing employees.
  • Improve employee motivation and morale.
  • Improve productivity and workplace pride.
  • Improve employee communications.

What are examples of employee benefits? 

If you’re looking for a new employee benefits idea for your business, consider the following suggestions. 

Health and wellness benefits 

A health and wellness program is suitable for your employees’ physical and mental health. It’s an excellent way to encourage physical activity and offer a benefits package simultaneously. Anything from gym memberships to health insurance plans will attract and retain the top talent for your business. 

1. Gym membership

Offering a gym membership or corporate discounts at your local gym or leisure center is an excellent perk. Many companies already provide gym memberships, so adding this health benefit to your bonuses will help you compete with the competition. 

2. Healthy snacks

Many offices provide free snacks or ice cream lunches. While these fun food options go down well, why not set yourself apart with healthy snacks that encourage your employees to feel good about themselves?

3. Bike to work scheme

A bike-to-work scheme is a wellness benefit that helps your employees while commuting and in their free time. Bikes are expensive. You can offer to reimburse your workers the cost of their bikes if they cycle to work, improving their mental and physical fitness and encouraging sustainable travel and improving employee motivation.

Employee recognition

Employee reward and recognition are crucial for your company. When a worker does something good, you want to reinforce them positively. However, you shouldn’t solely offer performance bonuses or recognition when they do something well — you should continuously recognize their hard work. 

4. Monthly awards

Holding regular — whether weekly, monthly, or quarterly — awards is a great way to ensure that you continuously support your employees. Make sure you recognize those who are doing well and those who work hard but often slip under the radar. An excellent way to ensure everyone feels included is to host rewards for years of service, birthday parties, and mistakes of the month awards. 

5. New hire welcome packages

Offering desirable welcome packages is an excellent employee perk that will tempt the top talent to join your company. An inclusive introduction, a book with all the details they need to know (including job perks), and personalized company goodies (e.g., a notebook with their name on it or a reusable water bottle) are just a few ideas to put in your welcome box. 

Family-friendly 

Depending on who works in your company, offering family-friendly job perks is an excellent way to encourage a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere. Whether you add dependents to health insurance, provide extensive maternity and paternity leaves, or hold family BBQs, including your employee’s families in your benefits program is crucial.

6. Maternity and paternity leave

Welcoming a new child is an exciting time; you want to ensure your employees feel supported by their company. Paid parental leave is a massive draw for many job applicants. Under the law, parents are allowed up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave. If you go above and beyond your obligation to offer even just an extra two weeks, your employees will likely feel eternally grateful. 

7. Family BBQs

Many employees balk at work socials because it means time away from their families. However, if you host family BBQs, movie nights, or other events open to spouses and kids, you’ll encourage your workers to attend get-togethers and improve office relations. 

Big budget 

Job perks aren’t always about how much money you can throw at your employee benefits package. While not every company can afford to offer high-budget perks, they’re an excellent way to stay competitive. Of course, if expensive meals and costly benefits are out of your budget, don’t worry. 

For instance, a family BBQ doesn’t have to cost a lot but will go a long way to improving your workers’ motivation. However, if you have a bigger budget and wish to spend it on your employees, there are many high-budget rewards and recognition programs you can offer. 

8. Company cars

Company cars enable your employees to work more efficiently for you (particularly if they’re moving about) and enjoy the freedom of a vehicle in their personal lives. You might not offer a company car to all your employees, but rather offer a chance for them to rent an electric car for a weekend away from the company. 

Other high-budget ideas include:

  • Company-wide vacation or retreat.
  • Home loan assistance.
  • Company-wide bonuses.
  • Paying moving companies for the cost of employee relocation.

Community involvement 

There are few better ways to encourage your company’s values than to offer community involvement in gifting and rewards. Charitable work promotes a better attitude within the organization while attracting employees who want to work for a company that cares about their community. 

9. Volunteering PTO days

Whether you offer volunteer time as part of a company-wide shutdown, organize charity events, or offer volunteer PTO, charity work is an excellent way to encourage employees to give back to their community. You might also arrange to match charity donations too. 

Culture benefits 

Office perks should benefit your employees and company. If you’re looking for a creative benefit that sets you apart from other companies, consider offering employees cultural days out or events. 

10. Flextime

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more companies offer flexible hours or the chance to work from home. It’s convenient and allows employees to do things they usually wouldn’t have the time for, such as doctor’s appointments or cultural events. 

For practical reasons, you may need core official work hours or days, but you could encourage a flex schedule on Fridays or in less busy periods.

11. Office Olympics

Holding an office “sports day” is an excellent way to encourage team bonding and get everyone out of the office. You could also join after-work sports clubs or teams to continue the activity beyond the workplace. 

12. Relaxed dress code

A relaxed dress code or ‘dress down Fridays’ are good ways to encourage a more casual atmosphere in the office. 

13. Pet-friendly office

Inviting employees’ pets to work every day or just one day a month or week will add excitement to the office and offer convenience for pet owners. 

Time-off options

No matter how exciting you make your workplace, everyone values time off. You could offer extended paid vacation time to all employees or a reward for commitment to the role. 

14. Extended paid vacation

Burn out decreases productivity. Offering extended vacation time will encourage a better work-life balance and promote a healthier attitude to work.

15. Work from home options

Working from home (WFH) is more popular than ever. While it’s not for everyone, most employees appreciate the option to set up a home office. It enables trust and might improve productivity as well as employee communications if your employees work in a comfortable environment. 

16. Childcare support

Employees with kids will inevitably need to take a sick day to look after their children. Encouraging child support or offering an onsite nursery is an excellent way to improve employee retention. 

Stress relief

83% of US employees develop work-related stress. It almost feels like an inevitable part of modern life. However, the more you can do to relieve workplace stress, the more productive your employees will work and improve their attitudes. Promoting mental health day or offering stress management training is one way to ensure your employees’ happiness. 

17. Free therapy 

Free or subsidized therapy is an excellent job perk that attracts many employees. Therapy is expensive but highly beneficial for your employees’ overall happiness, health, and wellbeing. 

18. Mental health awareness

One of the most important steps to improving mental health is encouraging awareness. Many workers feel stress is not a valid excuse for time off. By highlighting the importance of looking after your mental health, your employees will feel happier and healthier.

Invest in talent 

Workers want to feel valued beyond their current roles. Offering continuing education, tuition reimbursement, or opportunities for professional development is an excellent way to retain employees. 

19. Mentor program

Offering a mentoring program for new employees will help them understand how their careers might progress and motivate them to pursue their goals. If you make it clear that you want to invest in their career and professional progression, they’re more likely to stick with your company than look for work elsewhere. 

20. Tuition reimbursement

Investing in your workers’ talent  is crucial for your company and your employees’ success. Not only will your workers continue to improve themselves, but their new skills will benefit your company. Subsidizing or reimbursing your employees’ tuition is a great way to encourage learning and attract and retain good employees.

Team building

Team building activities don’t have to be boring corporate exercises or awkward ice breakers. Consider how you can introduce new and exciting team-building fun. 

21. Office get-togethers

Regular office get-togethers will improve employee relations, even if it’s just attending happy hours after work. Team meals, theater evenings, or interactive events (such as our sports day idea) are good ways to encourage bonding. The better your team gets on, the more productive and harmonious the workplace.

22. Virtual team building

If your team is still working remotely or you have some employees wishing to work from home, virtual team-building events are more inclusive for remote employees. Whether you hold regular virtual quizzes or remote movie nights,  it’s still essential that you create a social atmosphere. 

Other employee benefits ideas 

Consider the following options if you’re looking for other creative employee benefits beyond financial wellness and holiday parties.

23. Phone discounts

Offering discounts, free phones, or subscriptions are an excellent job perk that doesn’t cost the company too much. It will help retain and attract the top talent. 

24. TGIF giveaways

Everyone loves a freebie. Why not offer surprise gifts to a lucky winner each Friday? You don’t have to offer huge prizes, even something small will go a long way to creating a warm environment. 

25. Free breakfast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Offering a complimentary breakfast option is an excellent way to boost your workers’ productivity, encourage an early start, and look after their health. 

Summing up

Showing employee appreciation is the best way to boost morale and attract top talent. Offering flexible schedules and office perks will demonstrate your commitment to your workers. You could run a referral program to encourage recommendations and offer benefits to your current workers. 

Want to know how Engagedly can help boost employee productivity and performance? Book are free demo with our experts!!

Request A Demo

 

Benefits of Talent Management Software for Your Business

Managing talent consumes 30 percent of a manager’s time, which is quite a significant amount on a manager’s schedule. Although attracting new talent is challenging in every industry, retaining them is even more difficult. Technology plays a big role in efficient and effective talent management. In the light of this, why should talent management software be overlooked? The complete talent management cycle can be enhanced with the use of technology. 

Employees need to believe that their contribution matters. Even if they are working remotely, they must feel connected. Talent management software assists businesses in precisely doing that. It not only helps organizations manage the talent lifecycle but also provides a quick insight into the potential of their workforce.

Also read: 8 Simple Tips To Demonstrate Leadership In The Workplace

What is talent management software?

Talent management software (TMS) is a technology or tool used by a human resource professional or senior management to manage the employees within the organization. It helps employees to deliver their fullest potential in an organization. TMS provides solutions that supports employees not only in their day-to-day work but also in career development. 

How does talent management software work?

Most talent management solutions available in the market have inbuilt modules to support employee performance management and development. As most of them are cloud-based applications, they provide robust security, easy integration, and a range of complementary applications like training programs, payroll, career planning, and secure storage of employee data such as personal information, demographics, and compensation.

The advantages of having a talent management process are many, but some key ones include:

  •  Plan: to align the strategies with talent and the company’s requirements. Work with teams to understand the goal and develop a talent strategy to help them achieve it.
  • Onboard employees: improve the new hire engagement with an onboarding portal that’s well-planned. Provide a paperless hiring process to attract and retain employees. Implement workflow automation in the onboarding, overbidding, and cross-boarding processes.
  • Manage employee performance: it helps employees to manage their goals. Use proper action planning for continuous performance management.
  • Plan and design compensation models: recognize and reward the organization’s best performers.
  • Develop employees: provide an effective and engaging experience to the learners. Schedule and carry out all types of training. It develops the employees as active leaders and helps them succeed. When employees see that the organization cares for their learning and developmental needs, they feel secure and valued. They tend to stay in the organization for a longer time.

Need for talent management software

The primary goal of using talent management tools is to streamline and optimize the entire talent management process within the organization. Particularly, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for medium and large businesses to keep track of their employees.

HR can use a talent management system to handle development, performance, and retention. Here are the 5 most common uses of TMS:

1. Shared data

Let us start with the data, as it is the most important. When data becomes more mainstream, the storage and accessibility of the information seem messier. It’s not uncommon for data to be held in silos, making access and analysis difficult.

An integrated talent management application allows the organization to synchronize its essential HR activities from onboarding through performance evaluation. It provides data exchange inside the company to obtain a complete picture of the employee’s information on a year-on-year basis.

2. Retaining the top talent

Retaining an existing team or employee is as vital as focusing on recruitment and bringing in new talent.

Talent management software helps organizations to track employee performance, skills, training, goal setting and tracking, real-time feedback, rewards, and recognition, future aspirations, compensations, and more. It helps employers to identify employees who are doing well and who need help. This helps employers to retain top talent and guide employees who need help.

Also read: Employee Retention Strategy – How To Retain Top Talent?

3. Improved employee experience

A talent management system makes HR life more accessible and improves employee performance. It can be a handy tool for the employees to access historical, performance-related, and future data. All data is available at the same place and there would not be required to track separately.

As an organization’s talent management system can also be used to onboard employees, employees will be familiar with it from day one. 

4. Modern employee development

An integral part of the talent management software is employee learning and development. It should be an essential benefit that a company should provide to its employees.

For most employees, continuous learning and career development are more important than pay. Around,  80% of employees prefer talent management systems for learning and development. Based on their information, these employees also provide course recommendations, such as courses completed by colleagues with comparable qualities.

How to choose talent management software? 

Choosing TMS often implies a considerable investment for any organization. Capterra published a report with survey results based on 350 questionnaires completed by TMS users. They asked the users about the factors that made them buy TMS. Below are the factors which Capterra found in their survey. 

1. Needs of your organization

There is much to say when you think of your organization’s needs. It is about choosing a talent management tool that meets its requirements. Aligning current and future strategies, managing employee performance and development, employee recognition and rewards, etc.

Select a software which is stable to version updates and supports your future needs at the same time.

2. Find a vendor suitable for you. 

Implementing the talent management tool is a big project. It often involves a lot of employees with close collaboration with the provider of the software. While it is essential to choose a system that meets your needs, it is also necessary to select a suitable vendor. It is because investing in TMS is a long-term commitment.

3. Request for a demo

Before purchasing a TMS, get a demonstration from the provider you’ve chosen. It will assist you in observing the software’s behavior and determining whether it is user-friendly. It also gives you another chance to learn more about your potential provider and ask questions regarding their installation, user training, additional costs, and so on.

Running a pilot program is also recommended.

Also read: Have you set effective OKRs for your customer success team?

Benefits of talent management for the organization

The following are some of the business advantages of TMS.

1. Deeper employee engagement

On-job training, goal setting and tracking, timely feedback, rewards and recognition, and growth promote employee engagement. Companies with excellent employee experience, such as Accenture, have a highly engaged workforce with higher profits than those with poor engagement.2.

2. Minimize attrition

Turnover metrics are crucial since they reveal a lot about talent management systems. Attrition data may be collected, tracked, and analyzed using TMS.

3. Better succession planning

Employees in senior roles hold a unique knowledge critical to completing key business processes. A talent management tool can help succession planning by visualizing strengths and identifying areas of concern.

Benefits of talent management for employees

Talent management has several advantages for employees, as noted below:1.

1. Better onboarding experience

Onboarding is an employee’s first encounter with the organization. It shouldn’t start and end with a PowerPoint presentation, as it is an essential element of the talent management process. It allows organizations to customize and interactively onboard new employees by introducing mentors, buddies, welcoming employees on the social platform, and employing individuals from other departments.

2. More opportunities for training and reskilling

Robust training programs attract many candidates. Once hired, the training program provides a way to help advance employees’ careers. It is more important for experienced employees. TMS makes it simple to discover skill shortages and link workers with training options.

Also read: How To Build A Successful Upskilling And Reskilling Program

3. Career Advancement

Linked training and development opportunities lead to higher employee engagement and improved retention. The talent management tool helps you track and manage the employee with suitable options to help them progress in their careers.

4. Improved performance management

TMS helps the organization shift to dynamic performance management. Setting goals and OKRs to track them, along with intermittent feedback, helps both managers and employees stay engaged and on track.

It acknowledges that workers seek feedback that helps them overcome their deficiencies while also working on their strengths.

5. Employee experience

These tactics work together to improve the employee experience, which is determined by an employee’s overall sentiment towards the company and whether or not they want to create a long-term relationship with it.      

 A talent management system can help employees to feel engaged by empowering the employees and managers to interact with the employee’s professional career progression and encourages them to contribute to their fullest potential by aligning their daily work with business goals

A purpose-driven organization has a higher retention rate because employees tend to stay in the organization for an extended time.

Final thoughts

In a nutshell, talent management is necessary for any business to maintain a stable workforce. It focuses on the development of the organization as a whole. With new opportunities coming up, developing the employee’s potential within the organization is essential for the profitability and sustainability of the business. In the current scenario, having talent management software makes the process of managing talent a lot easier.

Talent Management Software

6 Bold Predictions on Going Back to Work – Srikant Chellappa

It has been more than a year that the COVID19 pandemic hit us, and we all started working from home. Although many organizations have started to work in a hybrid model where employees can work from the office or home but are we ready to be back to work yet? Here are six bold predictions made by our President and Co-Founder of Engagedly, Srikant Chellappa.

1. People will feel less productive

People who got used to working alone and staying focussed on their tasks will feel more distractions, and will feel unproductive. In addition, if they had long commutes to work, that will eat away at their time they normally spent on being productive. However, there will be some who get energy from the presence of their co-workers and may feel engaged but their overall productivity will suffer.

There will be an adjustment period to get back to feeling productive around other people

Also Read: Importance Of Continuous Feedback In The Post Covid Era

2. We will see two types of people

People who are energized by working around other people and people who are annoyed by constant interruptions and time wasting commutes. The second type will be more inclined to choose to work from home at least few days a week.

Organizations will need to know what works best for their people based on their personality and work styles, and accommodate accordingly.

3. There will be more alignment and collaboration between people

While productivity will suffer for a while,

the good news is that people will be working on the “right things”.

There will be better alignment between teams and co-workers so there will be less wasted effort on things that don’t produce results. The trap, they can and, many will fall into is meeting overload and work conversation distractions that can take away from focussed and “deep work”.

Also Read: Tips To Manage Stress Of Your Remote Team

4. People who are not at work will feel left out and may get demoralized

However, there will be some people who will choose to work from home most of the time may feel left out and may get misaligned from the group at work.

Some of them may feel disengaged or demoralized because they would feel they are not being included in important conversations and decision making.

Organizational leaders will need to make a concerted effort to ensure alignment for both these groups of people.

5. Many people will quit if they feel compelled to be at work

Some Managers and Organizational leaders will implore their team members to come to work. But because change is hard, many will choose to continue to work from home. Some Managers will make decisions without their input, because

They were not there when I had to make a decision.

These employees will eventually either become disengaged and their contributions will suffer Or they will quit. We will see an increase in people looking for change in their jobs and possibly even their careers.

6. It will take upto 18 months to feel like Pre-Covid

I fully expect people to start trickling into work by June with most organizational workplaces open by July. However, it won’t feel the same for the reasons mentioned above. Going back to feeling normal will take upto 18 months. Masks and social distancing will continue for several months. People will feel uncomfortable in crowded meetings (eg. All Hands). There will be a cohort who will only want to work in a hybrid environment for a very long time. Most Meetings that people used to “fly to” will continue to occur over zoom for a very long time.

It will probably be 2022 summer when post-covid feels more like pre-covid.


Want to know how Engagedly can improve collaboration of your remote team? Then request for a live demo.

Request A Demo

7 Proven Ways To Become A Better Leader In The Workplace

Finding a strong and effective leader is crucial for the success of any organization. Leaders act as a guide for the employees and the organization and help in improving their performance. A strong leader empowers, motivates, and inspires the team which results in the formation of a high-performance team. As a result, it becomes essential for all organizations to have strong leaders in place who can take it to new levels of success.

But the most common question is, is leadership only reserved for CEOs and business owners? The answer is no. Everyone, be it an employee, line manager, or CEO, can be a leader and demonstrate leadership qualities. Leadership is one of those skills that can be acquired and improved with practice over time.

Here are 7 proven ways to help you become a better leader in the workplace.

Set Goals

Goal Setting is important for every employee and it is one of the first steps toward effective leadership. Once a leader is clear about the goals and vision, they can translate the same to the team effectively. It will help employees to align their personal and professional goals with organizational goals. Moreover, having specific SMART goals helps employees to stay focused and gives them a sense of purpose and direction.

Leadership without a definite goal or a vision is not effective and fails to create an impact.

Also Read: Here’s How To Set Effective Goals For Your Employees

Be Self-Aware

Being self-aware is an important skill to possess for anyone. But for a leader, it is one of the most crucial skills to have. It helps them to become self-critical, gives them a vision, and improves their decision-making and team-handling skills. Moreover, it gives them an insight into their strengths and weaknesses. They should be able to understand areas where they can contribute effectively and where they need support. Also, it helps them to understand the type of leadership that they want to adopt.

Communicate Effectively

Successful leaders are great communicators. They must have the ability to communicate tactfully, clearly, and concisely with members of the team and that outside. Effective communication helps in setting clear expectations and clarify misunderstandings. Moreover, it allows leaders to share important information and ask questions to employees effectively. Leaders must be able to show empathy, and at the same time, inspire and motivate their employees through the way they communicate.

Also Read: How To Communicate Effectively In The Workplace (For Introverts)

Listen Attentively

Being a good communicator is just one aspect of being a great leader. But along with having exceptional communication skills, a leader should also be a great listener. It is one of the most undervalued and ignored aspects of leadership qualities. Being a good listener helps leaders to pay greater attention to their employees and it shows that they care for them. When leaders are an active part of a conversation, they understand not only the verbal cues but also the non-verbal ones.

When leaders pay undivided attention to their employees and listen to their opinions and concerns, they feel valued and are more engaged at work.

Be Open To Change

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them – Albert Einstein.

Most successful leaders value the importance of change and know that it is inevitable. Leaders need to be open-minded and accept change willingly. It reflects the preparedness of the leader when they face uncertainty and challenges. Moreover, when leaders are open to change, it promotes a sense of open culture in the organization. It encourages innovation and new ideas among the employees. When employees are motivated to give their input and ideas, it increases employee engagement and boosts their morale.

When a leader is open to change and adopt new or alternative ways of thinking, it brings positive growth to the employees and the organization.

Also Read: Key Trends In Performance Management

Recognize Success

One of the most inspiring traits of a successful leader is recognizing and rewarding employees for their work. When employees see that their work is valued and appreciated, they put in extra effort and stretch themselves. Additionally, employees who do not receive a reward are inspired to work harder. A simple pat on the back or a simple well done does a lot in motivating and encouraging the employees to work harder. It will help in improving employee engagement, and they will continue to perform at their level best.

Expand Knowledge

A leader is someone who learns consistently, always digs deeper for new knowledge, and doesn’t fear not being the smartest person in the room at all times. There are multiple ways for a leader to advance their knowledge and develop their skills, including attending relevant marketing conferences and workshops, networking with other leaders, and reading books for business owners and entrepreneurs. Being eager to learn and grow as a professional is key to growing the company and ensuring your business has sustained success.

Lead By Example

The best leaders around the world lead by example. They translate what they preach into reality by acting upon it. They lead not only by their words but also by their actions. When leaders lead by example, they gain the trust, respect, and credibility of the employees. It motivates them to follow their leader and helps in the formation of a strong team.

Also Read: Here’s Why Your Employee Rewards And Recognition Fails


Did you know Engagedly’s real-time performance management software can help you nurture future leaders?

Request A Demo

Looking To Be An Effective Leader? Here’s How

A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way – John C. Maxwell.

 

Every organization needs a strong and effective leader to drive it to success. Without strong and clear leadership, it is impossible to achieve success for your organization. Hence it becomes imperative for all organizations to have strong leadership at all levels. Continue reading “Looking To Be An Effective Leader? Here’s How”

Choosing The Right Talent Management Software

Managing talent manually is a tedious task for the HR manager after their company grows to a certain size. This is where talent management software comes to the rescue. Having a talent management system at your organization doesn’t only help the HR manager with their additional tasks but also helps the employees in the company improve themselves from time to time and understand their part in the bigger picture.

Continue reading “Choosing The Right Talent Management Software”

Why You Need to Align Talent With Your Business

You might think it’s no big deal, but it is! When you hire wrong employees, it slows down a company’s growth process and instead of ploughing forward, teams start concentrating only on delivering right. This lag in pace is highly discerning in the long run.

Continue reading “Why You Need to Align Talent With Your Business”

Modern Talent Management: Help Them Grow Or Watch Them Go

According to the 2020 workplace theory, over 36% of the workforce will consist of people born after the baby boomer generation. While most workplaces are still under the process of understanding who Gen Y (Millennial) are and how to work with them, the new generation is entering the workforce rapidly.

Continue reading “Modern Talent Management: Help Them Grow Or Watch Them Go”

6 New Year’s Resolutions Every Manager Should Have In 2018

It’s that time of the year again. The end of another year and the time we think of all that we failed to accomplish.

But once you are close to the end, there’s no point in dwelling over what could have been. Instead, focus on the year ahead of you. Wipe the slate clean and start over with fresh resolutions. And of course, hold yourself accountable to them.

Continue reading “6 New Year’s Resolutions Every Manager Should Have In 2018”