Employeee Research
The Employee Lifecycle
Recruitment and retention is undeniably a key issue on the HR agenda. In the increasingly competitive UK recruitment market, attracting the best staff can be challenging; and once you’ve identified a potential employee, how can you assess their perceptions of your organisation as a possible employer? What’s more, how can you support and get the best from employees through every phase of their service, from recruitment and training to development and retention?
At ORC International we place these issues in the context of what we call the “employee lifecycle”. This model enables us to demonstrate how research can be used to measure, understand and improve each stage of the employer/employee relationship.
Standing out from the crowd: employer branding research and consultancy
Attracting talented staff is a costly and frustrating business. A strong employer brand helps to differentiate from the competition and create a connection which lasts beyond the recruitment stage.
We use creative research techniques to help our clients develop compelling employer brands and measure their impact internally and externally. Our method includes a unique approach to measuring external brand perception, ORC Brandmark. Through using ORC Brandmark our clients are able to:
- Identify what their target markets are really looking for from an employer
- Understand how they are viewed by potential recruits as a possible employer and relative to their key competitors
Engage your new recruits through joiner research
The majority of staff turnover occurs within the first six months of employment. Employees are obviously unlikely to feel aligned to an organisation initially, and so it is important to socialise them quickly, with a clear induction programme, appropriate training and accessible communication channels.
Joiners surveys can be used to research the views of new starters and will identify their initial impressions of the job, attitudes towards their induction and opinions of colleagues. Joiner research enables any issues to be dealt with before an employee considers leaving.
Optimise employee engagement
As employment progresses, a host of issues will affect an employee’s decision to stay or leave a job. Central to this decision is how engaged they feel with the organisation. An engaged employee is a productive one, who advocates your company and continually invests in its success.
Conducting regular employee opinion surveys enables employers not only to measure employee engagement but also to identify its key drivers, thereby highlighting those areas requiring close attention.
Retain your most valuable staff
Disengaged staff drain value from the organisation, are less collaborative, less innovative, less tolerant of change and more prone to absenteeism.
Employee opinion surveys will identify the causes of disengagement, allowing appropriate improvement actions to be implemented, which will hopefully re-engage and retain staff.
Manage employee turnover through leavers research
High labour turnover can be damaging to productivity, detrimental to morale and expensive in terms of recruitment costs. Leavers surveys go beyond the realm of the traditional exit interview, by looking in depth at why staff leave an organisation and identifying what would have prevented them from leaving. Employers can use this information to put measures in place which should reduce the numbers of leavers in the future.
Seeing results of employee lifecycle research
With increasing evidence to suggest a direct link between engaged employees and organisational success, employee lifecycle research could not be more relevant or pertinent. By making a commitment to staff consultation, employers will acquire the insight needed to maximise the full potential of their workforce.
Click here to contact our employee research team >>
Alternatively, contact Marketing on 020 7675 1151 or e-mail website@orc.co.uk
