We've all heard it – "The Great Resignation" is here and the numbers don't lie. By December of '21, over 4 million Americans quit their jobs for the sixth month in a row. Today, the total number of job openings continues to hover around 10.9 million. 

This has given HR professionals and C-suite leaders a lot to think about when it comes to their job recruitment and/or talent acquisition strategies. In response to this evolving talent landscape, employers have been rallying around "The Great Attraction" (instead of the "Great Attrition" or "Great Retention") to flip the script and refocus on positive recruiting and retention outcomes.

So, the question becomes, "How can you beat your competitors to the offer letter and keep employees engaged long-term?" At Whispir, we've worked with numerous companies across a wide range of industries to perfect the formula for fast and efficient recruiting and hiring, including step-by-step guides they can take to boost retention.  

Recruiting and hiring: Keeping candidates engaged with an omnichannel experience

With top talent only staying on the market for an average of 10 days, it's incredibly important to quickly and effectively connect with your preferred candidates. People will usually interact with you 14 times before making a decision about the role, so keeping them engaged along that journey through a well-considered and seamless recruiting experience is paramount.

Here are 4 steps for turning up engagement and landing your dream hires:

1. Even if you're hiring en masse, you can personalize your messaging to differentiate yourself from other employers and truly connect with your audience. Even better, you can use AI to automate the process. 
2. Utilize every channel to maximize your reach and connect with candidates on their preferred channel – whether that's SMS, email, social, video, voice, etc.
3. As important as it is to utilize multiple channels for your recruitment communications process, it's equally as integral to keep messaging and branding consistent. Think about tapping into pre-designed and approved templates that can be easily applied to any form of communication.
4. Leverage AI and automation that turns time-consuming, manual processes into elevated candidate journeys with thoughtful, personalized communications in a matter of minutes.

Make "The Great Attraction" a reality

If you're a hiring manager reading this, you know everything boils down to people and culture – regardless of company size. You may also know that 75% of the reasons for employee turnover can be prevented. For example – there's a 16% decrease in retention rates for employees who aren't comfortable giving upward feedback. You can't be everywhere, all the time – meaning you'll need to enact preventative measures (such as an anonymous feedback tool) while leveraging the right tech to cover your bases and keep your communications human.

What does that look like? Here are 3 quick steps you can take to boost employee retention using quality, transparent communications:  

1. Communication should never be one-way. Leverage feedback forms so you can find out what's working and what's not – and give your employees a space where they feel heard.
2. Celebrate individual successes, team wins, milestones and more with branded, consistent internal communications. Or, take it a step further with ongoing internal newsletters, which can be used to regularly update employees on a number of items.
3. Proactively rollout scheduled, automated messaging around upcoming changes and other noteworthy announcements to keep employees engaged and ensure accurate information is disseminated throughout the organization.

Looking for even more tips to refine your recruitment strategy? Check out our quick guide: "6 ways to boost employee retention with effective communication."

While the world of recruitment, onboarding and retention may be shifting quickly, a personalized communications strategy is a surefire way to attract the type of talent you want and ensure your company is putting its best foot forward. With the tips above and a solid digital platform at the ready, you'll be building the team you've always wanted in no time.