Retain, engage, attract: Talent challenges can be tough. Where should you start?

A robust talent strategy requires a multi-faceted approach that considers the interrelationship of retention, engagement and attraction in helping you find and keep the best people.

As a leader, it’s important that you never consider any one component of your talent strategy in isolation. The greatest outcomes are possible when you develop an approach that encompasses every stage of the hiring journey and the employee lifecycle. 

But what if you need to prioritise? What matters most in talent: retention, engagement or attraction? 

Your retention strategy

Talent retention is critical to the success of your organisation. Your retention strategy allows you to keep great people in your team, providing ongoing learning and benefitting from skills development.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1.3 million people changed jobs in the year ending February 2022. Employee turnover is on the rise, making it a greater challenge for leaders to establish and maintain effective teams.

By establishing a strong retention strategy, you can enhance your organisation's workflow and reduce pressure on your team. It’s worth noting that the cost of replacing an employee is often around 1.5 times their annual salary. Keeping good people onboard is the perfect solution!

Your engagement strategy

Talent engagement is essential, both as part of an ongoing retention strategy and in attracting new people to your organisation, all while improving your employee experience. 

Research shows that employee disengagement costs the Australian economy $2 billion every year. Disengagement at work can undermine productivity and make it harder to retain great people.

When you develop your employee engagement strategy, you can ensure that everyone in your team is working to the best of their ability. Strong engagement drives greater productivity, a higher standard of work and enhanced professional outcomes for your organisation at large. 

Your attraction strategy

In a world of increasing job mobility, talent attraction is an important step in ensuring you have access to the resources your organisation needs in order to grow. 

Most people in the Australian workforce are open to new opportunities. But that doesn’t mean that everyone is actively looking. An effective talent attraction strategy can help you showcase an employer brand that appeals to all talent, including the 78% of professionals who consider themselves as passive candidates.

A proactive approach to talent attraction allows you to consider the ongoing growth and expansion of your organisation, giving you the tools to succeed even when retention alone isn’t enough to keep your team running smoothly. 

Your priorities

Retention, engagement and attraction are all important. 

Retention allows you to establish loyalty and avoid costly hiring and onboarding processes. 

Attraction, which some sources argue is a more critical objective, allows you to grow your team in a values-based, purpose-driven direction.

At Heart, we argue that engagement is the key. Why? Because talent engagement centres on the relationships you build and the experience you provide. Engagement has a profound impact on retention and attraction alike, giving existing employees a reason to stay and new hires a reason to join. 

When you prioritise talent engagement as part of your leadership approach, you’re also prioritising the powerful impact of engagement in helping you retain great people and attract top talent.

Get talent support

Need help with talent retention, engagement or attraction? Contact Heart Talent, and find out more about our innovative marketing-led solutions.