Sustainability In Recruitment – How To Implement A Sustainable Hiring Strategy
As organizations grow, the need for a sustainable workforce continues to grow with them. To find the right talent, companies must first know what they're looking for, priorities, and long-term goals.
In this blog post, we'll explore how tech companies can implement sustainable hiring strategies to stay competitive and bring in talent aligned with the company’s values.
What is sustainability recruitment?
When something is sustainable, it is believed to meet the needs and cause little or no damage to the user or environment and, therefore, able to serve for a long time.
Sustainability recruitment, therefore, combines onboarding the most suitable hire and then nurturing an environment that endorses, mentors, and fosters that hire through the long term journey of your company regardless of their background.
For example, a company could facilitate programs that support the career journey of their employees by allowing them to partake in activities that encourage learning and improving their skills. This way, they are more inclined to stay with your company for a long time, significantly improving your retention rates and making it more sustainable.
Trends in Sustainable Hiring
With the complexity of hiring, businesses should be aware of a few key trends in sustainable hiring.
The current candidate market sees a subtle misunderstanding between the employer and the job seeker. Many job seekers, especially in the tech industry, are becoming picky about choosing their employer. This is mainly reflected in the high layoff rates in the past months.
1. Job seekers are interested in working for companies with sustainable practices.
This means that businesses need to ensure that their recruitment processes are sustainable.
2. Sustainable hiring often requires a longer-term focus.
This means that businesses need to invest in training and development for new employees.
3. Sustainable hiring is often about more than just the environment – it also includes social and economic sustainability.
This means that businesses need to consider the broader impact of their hiring practices on society and the economy.
How Tech Companies Can Implement Sustainable Recruiting Strategies
Sustainable recruiting strategies are the best way for companies to attract and retain top talent. This has become especially important in the tech industry, where it's common for companies to compete for developers, designers and other digital professionals.
Here's how you can implement sustainable recruiting strategies:
1. Hire people with a passion for what they do
This may seem obvious, but it's an easy mistake to make. If you're hiring employees who don't share your values, they won't be happy or productive at work — and this will affect how they treat customers and clients. It's important to consider how long someone has been doing their job and whether they enjoy it or not. You don't want someone who's on the last leg of their career; instead, look for someone who has been working in their field for years and still loves what they do!
2. Offer flexible work options so employees can have a life outside of work
As tech companies continue to grow rapidly, they're often expanding their global footprint, which makes it difficult for employees to find time for themselves outside of work. Offering flexible work options may be one of the best ways for employers to attract top talent who want to balance their professional lives with their personal ones.
Many organizations have started offering four-day workweeks or other flexible schedules so employees can spend more time with family and friends outside of work hours.
This strategy also helps reduce stress levels and improve employee satisfaction, leading to higher productivity and better overall performance from your team members: sustainability is the best part.
3. Keep your employees involved by encouraging them to participate in company decisions and activities
By doing this, you'll be able to build trust with your employees and create a sense of community. This will also help increase employee engagement, leading to higher productivity.
4. Hire with diversity and inclusion in mind
Diversity is often an afterthought for many companies, but it should be at the forefront of your HR strategy. When building your hiring process, consider how you can incorporate different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives into every step of the process. For example, when crafting job descriptions or posting open positions online, be sure not to use language that excludes anyone who may not fit into traditional stereotypes about what makes someone successful in the role.
5. Invest in a good onboarding process
Companies spend considerable time and money on recruiting efforts to attract top talent, but what happens when a new hire joins? How do they integrate into the company culture? If an employee is unhappy with their onboarding experience or feels sidelined by their employer after an initial period of success, they may leave before they even get started, costing your organization valuable time and money.
When hiring new employees, many companies focus on training them on company culture and how to do their jobs well. However, onboarding is more than just getting someone to speed on their job responsibilities. It's about helping employees feel welcome in their new role and immediately feel like part of the team, so they're motivated to stay for the long haul.
Conclusion
There are currently steps in the right direction being taken by some of the biggest names in tech. However, there is still a long way to go before saying that sustainable hiring is becoming genuinely mainstream in the tech industry. One of the most important things to remember in implementing sustainable hiring policies is that you will not get it right at first.
It will take time, patience, and perseverance to get there, and you must be willing to make mistakes. But once you progress further down this road, away from unsustainable hiring and towards a more sustainable alternative, you will see a difference in the world around you—and that alone should give you ample motivation to keep going every day.
