How going hybrid will help recruit and retain employees

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47.7 million Americans, which comes to over a quarter of the U.S. workforce, left their jobs last year either for or to seek new opportunities. With an overflowing talent pool and companies seeking, as well as competing for, the best candidates for their needs, the role of “corporate life” has been reconfigured and reprioritized. Part of “proving your brand” is showing an ongoing commitment to evolving with the changing workforce, namely balancing remote work with the desire to return to the office.

Remote work has largely been replaced with hybrid work models. The transition can be tricky, but departments that struggled and innovated during the pandemic are leading the charge.

Talent acquisition and HR are figuring out how to best re-organize recruitment and employee retention with the new emphasis on, and demand for, hybrid work. HR departments know that hybrid is both a challenge but also a draw for recruitment.  And the medium is the message — HR departments should be using a hybrid model to attract new talent, hire new team members, and instill flexibility into the work culture to increase employee satisfaction.

Recruitment

While it may be that many of the new candidates have chosen to seek alternative opportunities, they still need to stand out within the ocean of talent. And while companies can be more selective about who they offer a position to they need to ensure that they have their hybrid practices in place to attract and retain that talent.

In the current job market, 70% of candidates are turning down roles because the hybrid options are underdeveloped or lacking. So, it’s wise to establish early on that your company has embraced all that hybrid has to offer, demonstrating this through how you conduct recruitment and onboarding.

With hybrid, you get to re-define which parts of the recruitment process need to be in person, and which parts can be a phone or video call. When assessing a skill, better to send the prospective recruit an exam via email as a preliminary assessment. Then, when you’ve seen that the candidate is a strong contender, you can schedule the call with all necessary colleagues. Respecting people’s time and encouraging greater efficiency, for HR and job seekers alike, is the goal.

But this is a double-edged sword. Let employees know that you understand how different and perhaps confusing the recruitment process can be from a distance, and also highlight the benefits. It can be harder to get a feel for a company over video interviews and interactions, but it doesn’t limit candidates by geographic location or any transportation issues.

Communicate with transparency about your hybrid vision. Give employees a detailed explanation of the hybrid work strategy and what the hybrid workplace looks like. Two or three days in the office? Is the team local or international? Wooing prospective hires will hinge upon an understanding of the flexibility that is required of everyone.

Engage in ways that will help them understand the company culture or the team that they’ll join. Once hired, encourage new hires to be vocal about the challenges they felt during the recruitment process and adjust it accordingly.

Onboarding

Far too many companies see onboarding as a box to be ticked for new hires. Respect the fact that onboarding will look different for every single new hire. Think about how, beyond basic training, you can welcome the new member into the culture, and any quirky traditions your organization may have. Hybrid onboarding is not baking where following the recipe to the letter will equal a perfect cake. It’s about understanding your ingredients and how to make the most of each flavor.

It’s an entirely different challenge to make new team members feel like part of your tribe. Schedule meetings with employees outside their department, encourage virtual social breaks, and use in-person meetings to align on work expectations and for bonding activities. Provide not only the sessions they will need to succeed in their positions but about others within the company as well, a VOD content library can offer new hires a broader window into the larger company.

Above all ensure that your new hires are taught how to use the bevy of new tools available in hybrid workplaces. Be sure to invest in tech that is seamless. There’s nothing more awkward than being new to a company meeting and experiencing technical difficulties. Just like in a traditional work environment, the quicker you make your new hires feel comfortable and critical members of a team within the hybrid workplace the sooner they will feel like valuable contributors to the company culture.

Retention

Transparency has become increasingly linked to employee retention, so be upfront about the things you know as well as the things that you’re still unsure of. Create interesting content around hybrid practices to communicate and demonstrate the changes for the entire company.

Invest in long-term training and learning processes that reflect new and existing employees’ needs. A recent survey found that 78% of remote employees feel that their training was insufficient want employers to improve it. Train, check in, and follow up with supplemental materials if necessary. This doesn’t and shouldn’t end with onboarding. Create an environment where even seasoned employees are not shy to ask for refreshers on relevant projects.

Gen Z workers, who are presumably technology gurus or at least tech-fluent, have had challenges posed to them by hybrid work. Ninety-three percent report struggling with creating personal connections with managers and coworkers. If you want to retain employees you need to give them the sense of community they crave — that burden falls on the employer, not the employee.

Take advantage of the convenience and comfort that hybrid provides. If everyone is working from home on Fridays, host a virtual happy hour tone, all to reinforce that the hybrid tools are valuable and available to strengthen company culture.

Read more: How to build a strong hybrid workplace culture

Flexible, hybrid workplaces will finish first in the job seekers market

Hybrid recruitment is ultimately about establishing trust and connection through new platforms. During “The Great Resignation”, it’s necessary to prove to prospective employees that you recognize how different things look two years into the pandemic and, that you’re committed to welcoming them into a hybrid workplace that seeks to learn and grow with them… for the long haul.

Sigal Srur, Chief Human Resources Officer at Kaltura