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How Top Companies Are Using This Secret Method To Recruit Top Talent For The Long Term

While recruitment services have made massive strides over the years, employment of skilled and dependable talent is still a problem plaguing several organizations. Employing top talent for the long-term is an art and may even elude the recruitment strategies of the top organizations in the world.

Solving this problem sets up a business for success as the employees in that organization are arguably be the single most important factor influencing if the goals of the organization are met.

Three of the major reasons why a company may want to hire someone new are:

a) They’re looking for someone to add value to the company

b) They’re looking for someone to help the company make money

c) They’re looking for someone to help the company save money

    While hiring great staff is no easy feat, however, the work doesn’t end there. Staff retention is also very important, as a lot of money is wasted having to retrain new staff every time talent leaves.

    As the world reels from the effect of The Great Resignation, which has seen millions of US workers quitting their jobs, it has never been more important for businesses to be strategic in how they hire.

    According to the 2020 Bureau of Labor Statistics report, US workers spend an average of 8 hours (7.6 hours) working each day. This translates to a third of the day for the working professional. This implies that employees spend more time with each other than any other person.

    It is with this knowledge that the concept of Ikagai is indispensable in helping organizations choose long-term skilled labor.

    Ikigai (pronounced “eye-ka-guy”) is the Japanese concept that combines the terms iki, meaning “life,” and gai, meaning “worth.” It refers to the balance that is found at the intersection of what/ you love, what you’re good at, what you can be paid for, and what the world needs.

    It is believed that finding this balance point will lead to a life of joy and fulfillment.

    Ikigai is vital to the HR specialist as it helps to build employee retention.

    Employee retention is based on 5 main drivers

    • 1) Sense of fulfillment
    • 2) Opportunities to grow
    • 3) Positive reinforcement for good behavior
    • 4) Opportunities for collaboration
    • 5) Clear thought-out processes and workflows


    Some of the questions the recruitment staff can ask during the interview processes to help decide if the hire will be beneficial in the long-term to the organization

    1) What does the company need?

      This refers to the most important goal the company is trying to achieve by hiring a new employee

      2) What is the potential hire good at?

        This refers to skills they’ve developed that help them in the fulfillment of their role

        3) What do they enjoy doing?

          This refers to what they can do without having to deploy much willpower before they get it done

          Criteria to take into consideration during the recruitment process

          Three important factors that need to exist in a good workplace: Some questions you can ask before employing someone is:

          • Trust: Can this person be trusted?

          By gauging if you can trust the person based on their responses and previous work history, you are better able to judge if that person will be a good fit for your organization

          • Pride: Does this person take pride in the work they do?

          This is very important as many people are working in careers they hate. As a result, it is only a matter of time before they end up losing steam and subsequently quitting their jobs for “what they really love.”

          • Relationship: Will this person be able to communicate and relate easily with current employees?

          This will help you gauge if the person can easily connect with the culture of the organization and work collaboratively with other employees.

          For long-term sustainability of quality talent, each employee must feel that their personal and professional goals are aligned and this can only be brought upon by promoting Ikagai .

          For more information on how you can drastically reduce employee turnover and build a work culture designed to success, click here.